Wednesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary
Time
(I Kings 10:1-10; Mark 7:14-23)
As we prepare for Lent, we might ask
ourselves the following questions: How can the Church’s prohibition of eating
meat on Lenten Fridays be justified in light of today’s gospel? If Jesus really meant that “’that everything
that goes into a person from outside cannot defile,’” how can it be a sin for a
Catholic to eat meat on a Lenten Friday?
There is some doubt whether Jesus actually
made a statement to the effect that Jews could eat non-kosher foods. More likely -- many scholars say -- the words
were added to Jesus’ teaching on sins of the heart. After all, the evangelist Mark wrote for a
primarily non-Jewish community. These Christians needed reassurance that the
agreement worked out by Paul and Barnabas at the so-called Council of Jerusalem
was valid.
It is also true that what defiles a person is
not simply the act of eating pork or shellfish but the defiance of God’s
authority. For this reason Jesus does
condemn arrogance in this same passage.
Considering the action in this way legitimizes the Church’s capacity to
bind its members on matters such as fasting and attending mass.
It is also likely that we often think much
differently than Jesus. We are usually
concerned about doing the minimal amount to achieve our goal. So we ask, “Is abstinence necessary?” Or, “How about confession; do I have to go if
I have not committed any mortal sins?”
Jesus, on the other hand, wants us to love God with our whole heart. Living in his way, we will likely abstain
from more than meat on Lenten Fridays and avail ourselves of Penance more than
the Church-mandated once a year. We will
readily make sacrifices of time and energy to know and love the Lord better.
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