Meditation Minute

My Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

 

This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

 

Gospel Reading: Mark 7:1-13

 

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.”

 

What do you think is more important – to have a clean heart or to have clean hands? Today’s gospel message is quite clear. It’s not what’s on the outside that’s important but what’s on the inside. We must have a clean heart and a clean mind if we are to be truly centered on God. The Jews were more worried about their outward appearance and not about their spiritual well being. In other words, they were more concerned about what went into their mouths then what came out. Jesus tells the Pharisees and the scribes that the true defilement is in our words and the sentiment in our hearts. Hatred and evil are born within us, deep inside our minds and our hearts. It starts in our thoughts and our desires. Our soul is the source of our hatred. If we do not purify the thoughts contained within our soul, what good is it to have clean hands. Our thoughts and desires are like the seeds of plants, the plants which eventually fill our soul. We must uproot the weeds so the good plants can grow and prosper. If we have good thoughts and desires, then we will grow good plants and our soul will flourish. If we do not tend the garden, the bad seeds will sprout into weeds which will eventually overtake the goodness in our soul. It is through the grace of God that we can kill the weeds and purify our hearts.

 

A Simple Prayer

 

Lord God, master of all.

Help me to identify the sins in my life.

Give me the wisdom to recognize wrong from right

And the power to change and cleanse my soul.

 

Yours in Christ

Michael Marcon