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From the Pastor's Desk: August 29, 2021
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Today after five weeks of reading and reflecting on the Sixth Chapter of the Gospel of John, we return to our regular Gospel readings for this year from the Gospel of Mark. The readings for this Sunday invite us to an extended meditation on the role of law in our lives. Law that finds its place in our heart as the inner sanctum where we can be pure or defiled and both conditions try to go beyond their confines to influence the decisions of our lives.
In today’s First Reading, we are reminded that the purpose of the Law is to enable us to grow closer to God and to show our intelligence and wisdom. Intelligence is something that shines from within. It’s not just the information we receive that counts, but how we process it and use it. Wisdom influences how we perceive the world. It makes us see causes, connections, and consequences, and our actions show or disprove that we are wise.
In today’s Second Reading, St. James reminds us that to please God we should strive “to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” The “world” today believes that if something feels good, you should do it, but the world is also witnessing how much destructive behavior comes from following that principle. We are wounded by original sin and our own sins; not everything as a result feels good that is good–addicts destroy themselves by trying to feel good. Lots of behavior turns into compulsive behavior that we can’t control: this is a stained heart that Our Lord wants to make clean again through love and mercy.
In today’s Gospel, using the example of dietary laws, Our Lord is teaching us that the “Devil made me do it” as an argument has no merit. The problem of evil has plagued man and philosophy almost since Creation, and a trend has always tried to blame God or other things as the cause of sin when all man needed to do was look in the mirror. The Pharisees in Our Lord’s earthly time were focused on externals and had lost sight of the bigger picture. Our Lord reminds us in today’s Gospel that defilement comes from hearts and endangers other hearts, and we should strive to maintain a purity of heart, not just ritual cleanliness. In Jesus’ time, the Pharisees had derived over six hundred rules and regulations from the Law, all derived from the Law spelled out in the Old Testament books (Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, etc.). However, they had lost sight of the fundamentals: love for God and neighbor, not just ritual cleanliness.
The Lord created everything good and for the good, but His creatures freely chose to do evil instead: the fallen angels, starting with the Devil, and humanity, starting with Adam and Eve. If the world is a mess, it is because we, sinners, made it so. This sobering reality is not meant to discourage us; instead, it makes us realize that not only do we need Savior, but have one: Our Lord – the giver of the perfect law. How will you response?
The message for us is one of obedience to the law of God. Let us pray that we will find time to reflect upon our personal disposition in regards to our relationship to God and one another, so we could do something beautiful with our lives for God. ”It is much easier to conquer a country than to conquer ourselves. Every act of disobedience weakens my spiritual life. It is like a wound letting our every drop of one’s blood. Nothing can cause havoc in our spiritual life as quickly as disobedience.” -St. Mother Teresa
I wish you a blessed week!
With prayers,
Fr. Andy
