The Gospel for today (Mark 7:1-8; 14-15; 21-23) has Jesus contending with the Pharisees and scribes and the lack of insight by his disciples, although the latter is left out of this reading. The whole of Mark 7:1-23 is worth reading. Jesus criticises the Pharisees, who have already criticised the disciples for not carrying out the ritual washing, for meticulously observing the rituals of their faith but ignoring or avoiding the deep heart that is the wellspring of faith.
Because this gospel text is so familiar, I find it all too easy to gloss over it and think - oh yes, outward show is not as important as attitudes of heart and mind. A timely warning. Of course, I would be on Jesus' side against those Pharisees who loved empty display.
Well, Jesus was a good Jew and according to some exegetes, probably belonged to the Pharisee tradition. So he is criticising from within the tradition, so to speak, rather than from outside - a 'them and us'. He was steeped in his tradition and the Law, the Torah. For the Jewish people the Law, the Torah was, and remains God's great gift of life. It is the Way, it 'delights the soul'. The Rabbis had a tradition of 'the hedge around the Torah'. These were observances which were meant to actually help the Jewish people observe the heart of the Law. However, like all things that are meant for good they are open to manipulation, misuse, overuse and becoming empty of their deep meaning.
Because Jesus (or the evangelist) quotes from Isaiah in this 'conversation' indicates that it is not a new problem. It is as old as the Jewish people themselves, as old as humanity. We have the gift of greatness and we also have the burden of darkness. It is so easy for us to turn the best of things to manipulative, selfish ends. We only have to listen to the manipulative words of some politicians, activists, spin doctors to hear this happening today.
Jesus takes us back to the heart of faith, our deep beliefs which are the direction of our hearts. It is interesting that the attitudes Jesus condemns are also outward manifestations - 'fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, malice, deceit, ....These things come from within and make one unclean.' So it is indeed about the inward and the outward because who we are in the depths of our being will of necessity manifest itself. If the heart is hard, closed, fearful so will one's actions manifest that. If the heart is striving to love, tender, forgiving then so will one's actions manifest that.
I think the reality is we all sit somewhere between the ritualistic Pharisees the confused disciples and Jesus' passion for the deep meaning of God's commandments. In our human journey we move, we change, but the direction of our heart, the desire of our heart to daily be converted is what is important.
So, what do I learn from looking again at this familiar text? First of all - that I need to constantly question what I assume to be right or wrong, not to sit back and think that I have arrived. Habits of mind are even more potent than the externally ritualistic washings Jesus condemned. The habits of mind that enable me to put people into categories of 'good'; 'not so good'; 'indifferent'. The habit of mind that allows me to justify as accaptable actions that stem from avarice, malice etc. that Jesus condemned. To judge by some unexamined yardstick rather than to take whatever I do, think, say, believe and allow it to be bathed in the light of the Gospel. I may return to what I believe, I may shed it, I may modify it, but whatever happens it will be closer to the heart of God.
Secondly - outward signs are important. Lovers have rituals between them that may seem trite or even difficult to an outsider. These rituals are a 'hedge' By lovers I mean whoever loves deeply be it spouses, parents and children or friends. The longer those lovers are together, the more those rituals are put to the test. Where love grows too habitual or even indifferent those signs become empty - just as Jesus condemned. However, when lovers have been together for a long time and are steeped in their love, those rituals preserve, deepen and renew that love. Love must be nurtured. So must faith be nurtured so that heart and action are congruent.
As hmans we are the face of God. We manifest the God in whom we believe with every breath we take. It is unavoidable. So, let the outward signs, the daily signs of love between lovers, become a potent expression of the God of Jesus.
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