Twenty Second Sunday of the Year:B: August 29, 2021

MERE LIP SERVICE TO GOD AND MEN  IS NOT SUFFICIENT

First Reading: Deuteronomy 4: 1-2 and 6-8

Second Reading: James 1: 17-18 and 21-22

Gospel Reading: Mark 7: 1-8 and 14-15 & 21-23

   *First reading is from the book of Deuteronomy. Moses exhorts the people of Israel to follow the statutes and ordinances of the Lord God and keep His commandments. They are instructed not to add or deduct anything from them. As a wise and understanding people they are to observe them in letter and spirit. 

   *Second reading is from the letter of St. James. James reminds us that God can be loved and served only through our love for fellow humans: especially by serving the poor, the orphans, the widows and the needy.  He instructs us that we have to be doers of the word and not merely hearers. In that way we will be doing the will of God. 

You leave the commandments of God and hold fast to traditions                                              Today's Gospel reading is from St. Mark. Jesus confronts the Pharisees and the Scribes who accused His disciples of not keeping the traditions and practices of the Jews. This was told in the context of Jesus' disciples eating food without washing their hands as the Jewish custom was. According to their traditions, Jews were expected to wash their hands before eating any food. Jesus goes on to explain that what really makes us impure is not what we eat or drink - that which goes into the stomach- but rather what comes out of our heart: evil thoughts, desires, fornication, theft, murder and adultery. Hence Jesus is inviting us to have a close look at our set practices and observed traditions. He wants us to have a conversion of heart that will lead us to true faith and God experience. Let us not waste our precious lives in trivial matters but rather give due importance to the essential principles of life. It is not enough to do lip service to God and fellow humans but rather serve the fellow humans by concrete actions which come from our heart. (cf. James Ch. 1)

"Serving the poor is serving God." -St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta 

"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." - Mahatma Gandhi