Daily Reflection – 2/6/2024
Sacred Scripture
Now when the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. (For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their hands, keeping the tradition of the elders. And on coming from the marketplace they do not eat without purifying themselves. And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed, the purification of cups and jugs and kettles [and beds].) So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, “Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?” He responded, “Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written: This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts.’ You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.” He went on to say, “How well you have set aside the commandment of God in order to uphold your tradition! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and ‘Whoever curses father or mother shall die.’ Yet you say, ‘If a person says to father or mother, “Any support you might have had from me is Corban”’(meaning, given to God), you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother. You nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many such things.” (Mark 7:1-13)
Reflection
Today’s scripture is quite intense. Once again, the Pharisees confront Jesus. Once again, Jesus confronts them with the truth about their beliefs. Once again, Jesus speaks to us about our relationship with Him.
That relationship with Him defines our lives. Every word and every action flows from the status and the depth of our relationship with Jesus Christ. And make no mistake. There are no boundaries about that relationship.
Jesus wants all of us: mind, body and soul.
Why? Because he wants us to join Him in the eternal kingdom. He knows the evils and the snares confronting us every day. He knows that we might believe we love Him, but the grind of life throws up many other alternatives. To escape that, we too often turn to distractions rather than living our life with and for Him.
He loves you and me more than any other person or force does. He gave His life for you and me, God became man, and that man did everything He could for us. He lived among our ancestors; he loved them. He stood up to His enemies, but He loved them. He saw His mother and his closest friends suffer for Him. And He loved them.
He asked only one thing: Love me. Truly love me.
What’s the price of that love? A weekly visit to Church? Not quite. That weekly visit to Church must be matched by our striving every single moment of our life to love Him so much that we live His word.
Live His word.
The measure of who we are is whether we have strived to live out a life that is consistent with His life. Is that hard? You bet it is. We are flawed human beings. We live on the sandpaper of life. That sandpaper scratches us every day. But His words are like silk to us. His words overcome all of that. He reminds us:
I love you. I came to live among you. I suffered for you. I gave my earthly life for you. I did that so you would know the power of my love for you.
You.
Thankfully, thankfully, thankfully, we have Jesus. Jesus secures for us much more than a new set of traditions. He secures for us rescue from our failure to obey God and he secures for us new hearts capable of obedience.
If your lips and your heart do not match, close the gap. Maybe you’re going to church out of tradition, but in your heart you’d rather be elsewhere. Maybe you sing the Sunday songs, but your heart feels cold toward the lyrics. Maybe you speak in Christian jargon that your heart doesn’t really believe. You must close the gap between your ‘lips’ and your heart. But how?
Start being honest. Start speaking, singing, acting in alignment with your heart. Say to God, “I want to want you, but I often forget. Please forgive me and help me.” Or, “I know I should want you, but I don’t. Please forgive me and help me.”
And here’s the really good news. He already knows, and he loves you. He knows your heart better than you do, and he loves you. When you speak honestly with him like this, he won’t be shocked. Like a father whose wayward son is finally returning home, he’ll run to embrace you.
Prayer of The Day
“Lord Jesus, fill me with your Holy Spirit and make my heart like yours. Strengthen my heart, mind, and my will that I may freely choose to love what is good and to reject what is evil.”
Daily Note
Compassion, care, inclusion, and love are at risk in our world today. God is calling each one of us to do what we can to live by the core messages of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, not by trying to “contain” God but by living the moral and ethical demands that Jesus calls us to fulfill.
