Tuesday,
February 11, 2020
5th Week in Ordinary
TimeFeast of Our Lady of Lourdes1st Reading: 1 Kgs 8:22-23, 27-30
Gospel: Mark 7:1-13ONE day the Pharisees gathered around Jesus and with them weresome teachers of the Law who had just come from Jerusalem.They noticed that some of his disciples were eating their meal withunclean hands, that is, without washing them. Now the Pharisees, and infact, all the Jews, never eat without washing their hands for they follow the tradition received from their ancestors. Nor do they eat anythingwhen they come from the market without first washing themselves.
Andthere are many other traditions they observe, for example, the ritualwashing of cups, pots and plates.So the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law asked him, “Why doyour disciples not follow the tradition of the elders, but eat with uncleanhands? ”Jesus answered, “You, shallow people! How well Isaiah prophesiedof you when he wrote: This people honors me with their lips, but theirheart is far from me. The worship they offer me is worthless, for whatthey teach are only human rules.
You even put aside the commandmentof God to hold fast to human tradition.”And Jesus commented, “You have a fine way of disregarding thecommandment of God in order to implant your own tradition. Forexample, 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. Butaccording to you someone could say to his father or mother:
‘I alreadydeclared Corban, which means “offered to God,” what you could haveexpected 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 traditionyou have handed on. And you do many other things like that. ”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE (Daily Gospel in
the Assimilated Life
Experience) Dr. Philip Chua, quoting sources from the National Institute ofHealth, wrote in his Cebu Daily News column years ago that over112,000 bacteria are crawling on our skin. Chua reminds readers of theprudent ways to cut down on bacterial or viral skin, respiratory andgastrointestinal infections, such as “not touching our face because ourfingers are loaded with germs and washing our hands before and aftereach meal, after holding public door knobs, escalator banisters, etc.” The Pharisees’ insistence on the washing of hands before eatingpreempted Chua’s call. But why did Jesus oppose the Pharisees’hygienic crusade? It was because the Pharisees were more after theritual. Today’s Gospel underlines the importance of evangelizing cultureso that faith becomes the moving force of our observance of tradition. –(Atty. Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., J.D., D.M.
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