Daily Reflection | Gospel Reading | RVA

Gospel: Mark 7:14-23
Jesus then called the people to him again and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and try to understand. Nothing that enters a person from the outside can make that person unclean. It is what comes from within that makes a person unclean. Let everyone who has ears listen. ”When Jesus got home and was away from the crowd, his disciples asked him about this saying, and he replied, “So even you are dull?

Do you not see that whatever comes from outside cannot make a person unclean, since it enters not the heart but the stomach, and is finally passed out?” Thus Jesus declared that all foods are clean. And he went on, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him, for evil designs come out of the heart: theft, murder, adultery, jealousy, greed, maliciousness, deceit, indecency, slander, pride and folly. All these evil things come from within and make a person unclean.”

Reflections:
“What comes out of a person is what defiles him.”
Biblical scholars might put this in the category of sayings attributed to Jesus that actually have their roots in the early life of the church. Recall how Peter, in the Acts of the Apostles, had a dream that prompted the insight that traditional dietary laws no longer applied to the church. This opened the way to a new policy of receiving gentiles into the church without the requirement of circumcision or submission to Jewish religious law. It is hard to believe that such a revelation would have been necessary for Peter had Jesus clearly taught that “all foods are clean.” Nevertheless, that insight ob­viously had its roots in the me­mory of Jesus and his consistent spirit of freedom in the face of the law—as well as the opposition and controversy this provoked. Here Jesus defines the basis of this controversy by shifting the debate away from externally im­posed laws to the content of our hearts. It is not our obedience to external rules or regulations that determines our righteousness or “cleanness” but the quality of what is inside us.“Cleanness” is not a word we tend to use. Substitute “Good Catholic.”

© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: Mark 7:1-13
One day, the Pharisees gathered around Jesus, and with them were some teachers of the law who had just come from Jerusalem. They noticed that some of his disciples were eating their meal with unclean hands, that is, without washing them. Now the Pharisees, and in fact all the Jews, never eat without washing their hands, for they follow the tradition received from their ancestors. Nor do they eat anything, when they come from the market, without first washing themselves.

And there are many other traditions they observe; for example, the ritual washing of cups, pots and plates. So the Pharisees and the teachers of the law asked him, “Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders, but eat with unclean hands?” Jesus answered, “You shallow people! How well Isaiah prophesied of you when he wrote: This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. The worship they offer me is worthless, for what they teach are only human rules. You even put aside the commandment of God to hold fast to human tradition.” And Jesus commented, “You have a fine way of disregarding the commandments of God in order to enforce your own traditions! For example, Moses said: Do your duty to your father and your mother, and: Whoever curses his father or his mother is to be put to death. But according to you, someone could say to his father or mother, ‘I already declared Corban (which means “offered to God”) what you could have expected from me.’ In this case, you no longer require him to do anything for his father or mother; and so you nullify the word of God through the tradition you have handed on. And you do many other things like that.”

Reflections:
"This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me."
Sometimes Jesus dispatches his critics with a single ringing re­ply. At other times, as in this case, we might feel his response could use some editing. Is it disrespect­ful to acknowledge this? Here would have been a good oppor­tunity for Jesus simply to chastise those who obsess about rules and rituals while ignoring the spirit of the law. They obsess about eating with clean hands (which doesn’t, by the way, seem like such a bad thing), while ignoring the need for clean hearts. But the confus­ing illustration about someone who says, “I already declared Corban” is not one of his most memorable come­backs. Nor is the rather weak add­-on, “And you do many other things like that.” One can only imagine the frus­tration Jesus endured with so­ called “teachers of the law” who nit­pick and criticize him and his disciples for every technical viola­tion. The church has its own zea­lous guardians of the law. They complain to the bishop or send reports to Rome about any de­viation from the rules or rubrics of worship, while ignoring injustice, or the call for mercy. They teach “human rules,” while ignoring the commandments that truly count: to love God and our neighbors as ourselves. And many other things like that.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: Mark 6:53-56
Having crossed the lake, they came ashore at Gennesaret, where they tied up the boat. As soon as they landed, people recognized Jesus, and ran to spread the news throughout the countryside. Wherever he was, they brought to him the sick lying on their mats; and wherever he went, to villages, towns or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplace, and begged him to let them touch just the fringe of his cloak. And all who touched him were cured.

Reflections:
"And all who touched him were cured."
The first reading describes the story of Creation: the origins of night and day, dry land, vege­tation, and the starry firmament, all of which God made and de­ clared good. We fast forward in the gospel reading to the world that human beings have crea­ted, filled with suffering, po­verty, and sickness. Yet where Jesus travels, a new creation sweeps over the land: the sick are healed, even by touching the hem of his cloak. It is as if in the presence of Jesus the darkness recedes, health and wholeness prevail, dry land emerges from the flood, and the original good­ ness of Creation is restored.We cannot expect to repro­duce such miraculous effects. But the evidence of Christ’s presence in the church is not signified simply by worship and prayer. The true sign is the pre­sence of goodness, the spread of justice and peace, the evidence of healing and wholeness in both the community and the wider society. Our efforts may represent no more than the hem of Jesus’
cloak, but whatever they touch is included in God’s new Creation, and it is good.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: Luke 5:1-11
One day, as Jesus stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, with a crowd gathered around him listening to the word of God, he caught sight of two boats, left at the water’s edge by fishermen, now washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to pull out a little from the shore. There he sat, and continued to teach the crowd. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.”

Simon replied, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing. But if you say so, I will lower the nets.” This they did, and caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. They signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came, and they filled both boats almost to the point of sinking. Upon seeing this, Simon Peter fell at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Leave me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” For he and his companions were amazed at the catch they had made, and so were Simon’s partners, James and John, Zebedee’s sons.Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. You will catch people from now on.” So they brought their boats to land and followed him, leaving everything.

Lectio Divina
READ: Isaiah recalls his first answer to God’s call: “Here I am. Send me!” St. Paul, thanks God that he too, despite his sins, was called by Christ, to be an apostle. Simon Peter, despite his own sins, receives Christ’s call, and follows.
REFLECT: Jesus can call any disciples he likes. Surely he could do better than us! But he called Simon, even though he knew he was “a sinful man.” He did not demand that Simon become a better man before he was qualified to follow. Jesus welcomed and called him just as he was. It was the same for Paul. It is the same for us. We just have to over­ come our fears and accept the invitation. God’s grace can make up for whatever we are lacking.
PRAY: Lord, we know we are unworthy servants; but by your grace you can purify our hearts and use us to ac­ complish your will.
ACT: If Jesus found us at the water’s edge, would we rather he passed us by? If God asked, “Who shall I send?” would we answer, “Here I am. Send me?” What fears might prevent us?

© Copyright Bible Diary 2019