Tuesday 7 February
Mark 7:1-13
The Pharisees rebuke Jesus because his disciples are eating with unwashed hands, ignoring the rules of ritual purification. Jesus tells them that they are obsessed with external observance of religious rules, whereas what really matters is what is in the heart. It is possible to observe the outward rules while one’s heart is far from God. This is summed up in the quotation from Isaiah: ‘this people... honour me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me’ (Isa. 29:13).
The Pharisees were not evil, and developed their rules with good intentions. They thought that they were keeping the law more perfectly in these ways, but they lost sight of what was essential – love of God and neighbour. Their traditions became more important to them than God’s commandments. Jesus was able to cut through all of this to the heart of the matter, and so his words are as relevant to us today as they were then.
We too can easily become legalistic in our religious lives; we can think that what is important is carrying out various duties. If we go to church and say our prayers, then we feel happy with ourselves. Of course, it is good to do these things, but they can easily become no more than habits. We can perform the actions while our hearts are on other things. We need to remind ourselves that God looks into the heart. He wants us to love and worship him in our hearts, and not just do things out of duty. If our hearts are hardened we can lose clarity about the truths of the gospel and the basic commandments of God.
Today in our prayer we could ponder ways in which we become like the Pharisees. Do we see our religion as a set of actions to be carried out or are we concerned about our interior life? Do we become more attached to liturgies and rituals than to loving God and our neighbour? Do we condemn others because they do not perform certain religious acts? Let us pray that the Lord will show us our errors and fill our hearts with true love for him.
‘Lord, we ask your forgiveness for times when we honour you with our lips while our hearts are far from you. May your Holy Spirit pour your love into our hearts, so that we may stay close to you in all that we say and do.’
1 Kings 8:22-23, 27-30 • Psalm 83(84):3-5, 10-11
Mark 7:1-13
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