February 07, 2017 Tuesday
5th Week in Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Gen 1:20-2:4a
Gospel: Mk 7:1–13
The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 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: These people honor 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 commandment of God in order to implant your own tradition. 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 let him do anything for a father or mother. So you nullify the word of God through the tradition you have handed on. And you do many other things like that.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
No amount of good works can hide bad motives from God. He sees how far a person’s heart is from him, even if that person appears to be doing good. Because God sees motives and intentions, he takes offense at good works done for a show.
Motives and deeds could go opposite ways. An example we can immediately cite is the non-payment of minimum wage by pious employers. This can implicate God because workers begin asking: Aren’t our employers God-fearing? God has good reasons to take offense at this kind of spirituality.
God dislikes good deeds done with ill motives. This is not a floccinaucinihilipilification of the good works done by hypocrites. Admittedly, their good works have their own lucky beneficiaries. But if we want these good deeds to please not just people but God, we need to comply with the requirement of good motives because God reads hearts and will not be taken in by appearances. – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM.
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