Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle B September 2, 2018

First Reading
Deuteronomy 4:1-2,6-8
Moses tells the Israelites to observe the commandments that God gave them.

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 15:2-3,3-4,4-5
Those who do justice will find favor with God.

Second Reading
James 1:17-18,21b-22,27
James teaches that Christians should be doers of the Word.

Gospel Reading
Mark 7:1-8,14-15,21-23
Jesus teaches that it is that which comes from our hearts that defiles us.

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 summoned the crowd again and said to them,
"Hear me, all of you, and understand.
Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person;
but the things that come out from within are what defile.

"From within people, from their hearts,
come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,
adultery, greed, malice, deceit,
licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.
All these evils come from within and they defile."


Background on the Gospel Reading
This Sunday, our lectionary returns to Mark's Gospel after a number of
Sundays in which we heard the Bread of Life discourse from the Gospel of
John. Recall that we focus on the Gospel of Mark in Lectionary Cycle B,
but substitute John's report of the multiplication of the loaves and
fishes for Mark's report of this event.

In today's Gospel, Mark provides a significant amount of information about
the Jewish observance of ritual-purity laws. Most scholars believe that
Mark includes this information because his audience includes Gentile
Christians who have no knowledge or experience of these laws. We can
infer, therefore, that many in Mark's community were not Jewish
Christians.

In this Gospel, Mark addresses the question of which Jewish practices
would also be observed in the newly emerging Christian community. This was
a significant question for the early Christian Church, especially in
communities that included both Jewish and Gentile converts to
Christianity. We also hear this question addressed in the letters of Paul
with regard to table fellowship. In Gospel passages such as the one today,
we see the Gospel evangelists finding justification for a Christian
practice distinct from Judaism in the remembrances of Jesus' teaching and
the practice of his first disciples.

Jesus first criticizes the Pharisees for putting human tradition above
God's Law. Here, Jesus is referring to the tradition of the elders, the
teachings of the Pharisees, which extended the ritual-purity laws of
Temple worship to everyday Jewish life. Jesus criticizes the Pharisees for
making this tradition equal to and as binding as the Law of Moses.

Next, Jesus comments on the meaning behind the Pharisees' language of
holiness—clean and unclean. Jesus teaches that a person is not defiled by
the food that enters his or her body, but rather by sin that emerges from
his or her words and actions. In this teaching, Jesus unmasks a deeper
question behind the one posed to him by the Pharisees. The real issue is
holiness, which is not found in external acts alone. Holiness comes from
within and is evidenced in the actions and attitudes that emerge from a
person's life.

If we read today's Gospel carefully, we will see a pattern in Jesus'
teaching method that will be repeated in the weeks ahead. Jesus' first
teaching is directed to the Pharisees who questioned him. Jesus' words are
then directed to the crowd, teaching that a person is defiled by his or
her words and actions, not by the food that he or she eats. In verses
omitted in today's reading, we learn that Jesus returned home with his
disciples, who in turn questioned him about what he had taught. The words
we read at the conclusion of today's Gospel are addressed to Jesus'
disciples. Mark's narrative shows several audiences for Jesus' teaching:
his antagonists, the crowds, and Jesus' disciples. As we see in this
reading, the words to the Pharisees are often words of challenge. The
teaching to the crowds is often a general, sometimes cryptic, message.
With the disciples, who often misunderstand Jesus' words, further
explanation is offered about his message and its meaning.

Jesus' words challenge us as well. In our desire to show that we are holy,
we might also give too much credence to externals, following rules without
thinking about the intention behind them. Jesus reminds us that we do not
make ourselves holy by our actions. Rather, we become holy when we allow
God's Spirit to transform us. Our actions should be an expression of the
conversion of our heart to God and to God's ways.


Family Connection

Children have learned the importance of following rules. Like the
Pharisees in today's Gospel, they often bring to our attention the
infractions of others. Even parents sometimes get caught off guard by
their children's observations: "Why don't you have to go to bed at 8:00?"
or "But I saw you eat a cupcake before breakfast once." Our rules for our
children are not arbitrary. We establish and enforce family rules with the
intention of helping our children grow to be healthy and mature adults. We
foster this maturity when we also initiate conversations with our children
about the purposes behind family rules and teach them the essential values
that rules help us observe.

As you gather as a family, list some of your most important family rules.
Together, try to write a single, positive statement that captures the
essential value behind your family rules. In today's Gospel, we hear Jesus
criticize the Pharisees for making their rules about ritual purity equal
to the commandments of God's Law. Read today's Gospel, Mark
7:1-8,14-15,21-23. When we remember the essential element behind our
rules, we see that our rules help us be the good people that Jesus wants
us to be. Conclude in prayer together that we may always honor God's Law
in our words and deeds. Pray together today's psalm, Psalm 15.


Sources: Loyola Press; Sunday Readings