Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 1, 2024
(Deuteronomy 4:1-2.6-8; James 1:17-18.21b-22, 27; Mark 7:1-8.14-15)
Today we
return to the Gospel of Mark after reflecting for five weeks on the Bread of
Life Discourse in the Gospel of John. The theme remains eating, but this time deals
with how we eat rather than what we eat. By “how,” we mean that Jesus will
outline some principles of Christian morality.
We need to
understand that Christian morality is not simply a list of obligations and
prohibitions. Rather, it is about following Jesus in daily life towards eternal
life. Jesus will show us how to fulfill God’s will so that He may welcome us
into His Kingdom. As the book of Deuteronomy states in the first reading: “"Now,
Israel, hear the statutes and decrees which I am teaching you to observe, that you may live, and may enter in and
take possession of the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving
you.”
In the
Gospel, Jesus emphasizes some obstacles that might trip us up along the way. He
particularly insists on avoiding hypocrisy. He criticizes the pretentiousness
of the Pharisees who observe various purification rituals not prescribed in the
Law, while accusing his disciples for not following them. We see this type of
hypocrisy when some people come for ashes at the beginning of Lent but refuse
to reform their lives.
More than
just avoiding hypocrisy, we need to avoid other “intrinsically evil” acts. That is, acts that cannot be justified for
any reason or in any situation. The list is more extensive than the examples
Jesus presents in today’s Gospel, but his serve as fitting samples:
“evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit,” etc.
If it is
necessary to avoid doing evil, it is even more important to imitate Jesus by
doing good. The second reading from the Letter of James indicates the type of
activity Jesus desires when it says: “Religion that is pure and undefiled
before God and the Father is this:
to care for orphans and widows in their affliction.” Consider this true, albeit
amusing, story. Once a bishop removed a priest from his parish to work with him
at the diocesan office. When the priest reported the news to his mother, he was
surprised because she seemed worried. The priest asked her, “Mom, aren’t you
going to congratulate me?” The mother replied, “No. How are you going to get to
heaven if you don’t visit the sick and bury the dead?” We all need to ask
ourselves something similar. “How are we going to please the Lord if we don’t
help the unfortunate and the needy?”
Moral life
is not easy, but it is rewarding. It allows us to avoid the shame and guilt
that invariably accompany vices. It frees us from the selfishness that may seem
pleasant at first but ultimately leads to isolation and misery. Above all,
through moral living, we come to know Jesus Christ, our greatest hope for
eternal joy.
