Sunday, August 29, 2021

 Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 29, 2021

(Deuteronomy 4:1-2.6-8; James 1:17-18.21b-22.27; Mark 7:1-8.14-15.21-23)

Every now and then there is an uproar over the Ten Commandments. If an entity were to place a representation of the Commandments in a public place, it is certain that atheists or secularists would protest. Twenty years ago a judge had a granite monument made with the Ten Commandments inscribed on it for his court. After the protest, a higher court ordered that the monument be removed. It said that placing the monument in the court was a violation of the separation between church and state. So the judge campaigned for support. He carried the monument of almost 2,400 kilos to different parts of the country, claiming the injustice of the ban.

In one sense the judge was right. Sure, the Ten Commandments occupy a central space in our religion, but their meaning is not primarily religious. Rather the Commandments form the principles of natural law. That is, they convey the core of what is right behavior as determined by human reason. They prescribe the obligations and prohibitions to make social life possible. For this reason the first reading insists that the people of Israel have to put them into practice.

In the gospel the Pharisees criticize Jesus' disciples for actions that have little to do with the Ten Commandments. They say that it is terrible that the disciples do not wash their hands before eating. But neither the Ten Commandments nor the other precepts of Jewish law require such a washing. It is a tradition of their elders imposed by religious superiors to prevent impure particles from touching the lips of the Jew. Yes, it is not very difficult to comply with this rule. However, multiplied hundreds of times in different areas of life, such traditions can become unbearable.

Jesus has always carried out the Ten Commandments and all the rules of the Law. However, he insists that the traditions of the elders do not pertain to this category of duties. According to Jesus, pleasing God consists both in loving God and neighbor and in avoiding evil. The second reading of the Letter of Santiago sums up his way of thinking. It says that religion is about helping the unfortunate and distancing oneself from influences that corrupt the soul.

Today the traditions of the elders occupy the minds of many Catholics. Some insist that they kneel when they receive the host and that they take it on the tongue. In addition, they want the priest to offer the mass with his back to the people and to use Latin. These things are not bad, and they probably help some to pray more fervently. However, they do not have the same value as acts of compassion. Bringing food to the homeless after Mass is worth much more than a woman covering her hair in church or anyone fasting three hours before Mass.

In a prayer book a theologian reflects on "the God of the law." He says that sure God is present in the Ten Commandments so that when we fulfill them, we find Him. But, asks the theologian, is God present in the directives of the superiors? He answers his own question with "yes" when we obey the directives out of love for Him. If we follow the bishop's directive to receive the host in the hand or the pastor’s directive not to park the car in any area for the love of God, we will find Him. It is like this when we fulfill the traditions of the elders. When we do so out of love, we find God.