When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem
gathered around Jesus,
they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals
with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands.
(For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews,
do not eat without carefully washing their hands,
keeping the tradition of the elders.
And on coming from the marketplace
they do not eat without purifying themselves.
And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed,
the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds.)
So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him,
“Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders
but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?”
He responded,
“Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites,
as it is written:
This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.
You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.”
He went on to say,
“How well you have set aside the commandment of God
in order to uphold your tradition!
For Moses said,
Honor your father and your mother,
and Whoever curses father or mother shall die.
Yet you say,
‘If someone says to father or mother,
“Any support you might have had from me is qorban”‘
(meaning, dedicated to God),
you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother.
You nullify the word of God
in favor of your tradition that you have handed on.
And you do many such things.” Mk 7:1-13
How many times do we pray or go to Mass and go through the motions? It’s easy to do, especially if we don’t prepare ourselves and remember that we are encountering Christ and He is truly present. We sometimes are like the Pharisees who were paying lip service to God but were not worshiping with heart. They were more worried about following rules than loving the poor and having compassion on them. Receiving the Eucharist at Mass, prayer, and caring for others with heart or compassion is the foundation of Christ’s teaching. We must prepare ourselves and continue to gain knowledge about them so that we make them the center of our way of life. Anything less is not living out our baptismal vows and we make ourselves out to be a Pharisee who is hypocritical. We are not worshiping we are checking another thing off our to do list or going to Mass because it is in the schedule or we have to. We are not praying, we are just saying memorized words without meaning or heart. We do not care about others we are takers. Don’t get caught being a Pharisee, but be Christ for others and worship God with your heart.
Today’s challenge: Live with passion for Christ and others. Live with purpose, don’t go through the motions. Worship with your heart and have compassion on others.
Be a servant, become a saint!
#Christian YOLO
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