Breaking Open the Word

By James Cavanagh

Aug. 30: 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Scripture readings: Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8 / Psalm 15:2-5 / James 1:17-18, 21-22, 27 / Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Overview:  The readings for this week deal with how we are to live out our faith in the world. Ultimately, our actions spring from our deepest convictions and so what we believe is of vital importance. In the first reading, Moses addresses the Israelites as they prepare to enter the land of Canaan.  After reminding them of how God cared for them during their long sojourn in the wilderness, Moses cautions them about the temptations that await them in the Promised Land. He appeals to them to remain faithful to God and his commandments so that they may live and prosper in the new land. They are not to add to the law, nor subtract from it, but carefully observe everything that the Lord God had commanded them. In our second reading, James exhorts us to “be doers of the word and not hearers only.” What we profess and celebrate in the liturgy must be lived out in the real world. Authentic worship and true justice are complimentary as the former flows naturally into the latter. The sacramental life, in other words, leads to a life of moral rectitude when our faith is true. In this week’s Gospel, Jesus criticizes religious leaders who were more concerned about religious customs and “human precepts” than the commandments. He is not criticizing “traditions” per se, as many Protestants think. Rather, he was criticizing those who elevated man-made traditions, or customs, over the genuine requirements of the law, which need to be “etched on human hearts” for there to be true justice.

Key verse: “Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile” (Mk 7:14-15).

“Catechism of the Catholic Church”:  “The heart is the seat of moral personality: ‘Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication.’ The struggle against carnal covetousness entails purifying the heart and practicing temperance. ‘Remain simple and innocent and you will be like little children who do not know the evil that destroys man’s life’” (No. 2517).

Pope Benedict XVI: “Adherence to the law etched on human hearts is the precondition for all constructive social cooperation. Every culture has burdens from which it must be freed and shadows from which it must emerge. The Christian faith, by becoming incarnate in cultures and at the same time transcending them, can help them grow in universal brotherhood and solidarity, for the advancement of global and community development” (“Caritas in Veritate,” 59).