Commentary to the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time -Year B

THERE IS A RELIGION OF THE LIPS AND THE HEART

 Introduction

In Egypt, there has never been a code of laws. The very word "law" was unknown because the pharaoh, incarnation of the god Ra, established, by his word, what was just and right. He—the Egyptian texts recalled—"takes advice from his heart, dictates to the scribe excellent provisions" and orders the courts to enforce "his words."

Nothing like this happened in Israel, where the law was not of the king but of God. The king had only the executive and judicial power. His task was to establish peace and justice in the country (Ps 72:1-2), ensuring that all observe the law of the Lord to which he was subjected. On the day of his coronation, he was given a copy of the Torah to meditate upon every day of his life (Dt 17:18-20), resisting the temptation to introduce changes or additions dictated by political opportunism and human cunning, so different from the wisdom of God.

He who, like the Pharaoh, assumes himself to be "wise like God" (Gen 3:5) and decides to manage his life with the wisdom of this world is condemned to failure. To him, though intelligent and cultured, the Bible denies the title of "wise" (Ps 14:1) because "true wisdom" manifests itself only where there is the "fear of the Lord" (Prov 1:7). The "religion of the lips" is a discovery of human wisdom and is a ploy to mask one's unfaithfulness to the Lord; only the"religion of the heart" is genuine because it comes from the word of God and is expressed in love.

To internalize the message, we repeat: "Religion that is pure and faultless is this: to help the orphans and widows, and keep oneself free from the things of this world."

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

This passage belongs to the first of the speeches that make up the book of Deuteronomy, and that would have been spoken by Moses in the land of Moab, at the end of the forty years of wandering in the desert, on the day of his death (Deut 1:1-5). They appear as his last words, as the spiritual testament in which he recalls the events of the past and urges the Israelites to remain faithful to the law of the Lord, to build a happy life in the land they are about to enter.

However, the attribution to Moses is a literary device used by the sacred author to give authority to his words. The book has not received its final version before the fifth century B.C. The passage of our reading was written in Babylon, probably by a priest of the temple of Jerusalem. It is addressed to the Israelites, who were disappointed and resigned to their sad fate. The author invites them to be aware that all is not lost because, although they were defeated and humiliated, even if they are away from their land and no longer have a temple to offer the first fruits and holocausts to the Lord, they are still in possession of his greatest gift, the Torah for which they are renowned among all the peoples of the earth.

In the first part of the passage (vv. 1-2), he insists on the absolute value, the inviolability of this law that cannot be changed because it is not the work of people but God. Two temptations must be avoided: reducing it, deleting challenging and complex provisions, and, secondly, adding new requirements dictated by the "wisdom" of humans.

This second temptation is particularly insidious because it regards as "will of God" those people's rules. From this misunderstanding stems idolatry of the law and the lack of respect for people and their conscience. Those who introduce these rules easily convince themselves of interpreting the mind of God, matching their mind to that of God (Ezk 28:1), and impose their precepts in the name of heaven, forgetting that these are just their work.

In the face of undue addition to the law of the Lord, Jesus invites his disciples to assume a free and serene attitude. Shake off—he recommends—this unbearable burden, without remorse, without worrying about criticisms and, sometimes, even the threats of those who claim to do it in the name of the Lord (Mt 11:28-30).

In the second part of the passage (vv. 6-8), the justified pride of the pious Israelite for the Torah appears. The God-given law is loved because it is genuine, not altered by rigid interpretations, stringent formulation, and arbitrary additions. Even today in Israel, respect for this law manifests itself in attitudes and moving rituals. A roll of the Torahdamaged or became unfit for use is never destroyed. It is devoutly placed in a clay pot and buried, as people do with a loved one. Before the reading of the sacred text in the synagogue, the celebrant raises the open roll and proclaims: "This is the Torah that Moses set before the children of Israel by the Lord's command. It is a tree of life to those who make it their own, and those who uphold it are filled with joy."

Second Reading: James 1:17-18,21-22,27

We begin reading from the letter of James today and will continue for five Sundays. It can be considered a meditation on the gospel morality. It was written in the year 60 A.D. by a Christian of the community of Jerusalem. In it, Jesus' name appears only once (Jas 2:1), yet it is by his words, especially those contained in the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5–7), that the author was inspired. He presents himself under the pseudonym of James, "a servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ" (Jas 1:1). In today's passage, the theme of "God's word" is presented.

In the first part (vv. 17-18), in response to the one who claims that evil also comes from God, James affirms that only good comes from the Lord because he is light, and there is no darkness in him. The "word of truth," the salvation that has been realized in Christ, is a gift that comes from him, the Father of light. To gain salvation, listening to this word is not sufficient. To produce abundant fruit, it must be accepted with docility (v. 21), that is, with a well-disposed spirit. If the heart is not open to the truth, this word, like the seed, falls on a rock, withers, and dries.

Even docile and attentive listening is not enough. One must make one final step, the decisive one: to put the Word into practice. Listening to that does not change life is useless. It is like the foolish behavior of one who beholds his face in a mirror, notices the spots, but walks away without cleaning it up (vv. 23-24). The word of God is the mirror that reveals the features that make us like the Father who is in heaven and highlights the ugliness that disfigures us and that must be corrected to become more attractive in the eyes of God and people.

Finally, to those who confuse "religion of the heart" with formalisms and the meticulous execution of rituals, James provides the criterion for determining whether one is practicing the true religion. The real one lies in "helping the orphans and widows in their need and keeping oneself away from the world's corruption" (v. 27).

In the Bible, widows and orphans represent anyone in need. Listening to the Word of God leads one to assimilate the feelings and the kindness of the Lord for the weakest. To practice this religion, it is necessary—James continues—to keep oneself "pure," that is, "detached from the things of this world." The egoist, who accumulates assets for oneself and does not practice sharing with those in need, is not a true disciple. The sacrifices pleasing to the Lord are "to do good and to share what one has" (Heb 13:16).

Gospel: Mark 7:1-8,14-15,21-23

After meditating for five consecutive Sundays on Jesus' discourse on the bread of life, we resume reading the gospel of Mark that will be with us until the end of the liturgical year. In today's passage, a question that touches on a central element of the Jewish religion, "the purifications," is raised. To the ancient, the world is divided into two opposing spheres. One is pure in which the forces of life operate, and the other is impure where the seeds of death are present.

The Israelites considered impure anything that, in any way, met the lifeless idols, unable to favor life which is the monopoly of the "living and true God" (1 Thes 1:9). Their instinctive dislike for the idolatrous world manifested itself in extreme forms of separation. When, for example, they came into possession of a foreign land, they did not eat the fruits of the fields for five years. They waited until all traces of impurities disappeared (Lev 19:23).

The pagans were considered unclean. They were called "dogs," and this epithet appears even on the lips of Jesus (Mk 7:27). The people of Israel were holy (Deut 7:6), especially the temple in which the Lord had taken up residence.

Any contact with the Gentiles or the objects they touched was a source of contamination and required rigorous purification. In this regard, the provisions of the rabbis were comprehensive. They did not neglect any detail; they specified the level of contamination and which specific ablution was to be performed. They distinguished the different types of water to use; they explained how the items purchased at the market be sprayed before being used. Ignorance of these rules was inexcusable and was the source of a curse (Jn 7:49). Any transgression was considered infidelity to God and the sacred traditions.

The first part of the passage (vv. 1-8) refers to a heated dispute between Jesus and some Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem. They accuse Jesus because his followers do not respect the distinction between the sacred and the profane: "They were eating their meal with unclean hands" (v. 2), and this casual and provocative behavior they can only have learned from their teacher.

The accusation did not refer to the neglect of hygienic norms but to the lack of the ritual, gesture to be performed after taking a bath by anyone who wanted to keep his distance from the pagans, rejected by God. From where did these strict rules and obsessive observance come from? From the "tradition of the elders," from those teachings of the rabbis, which was attributed the same value as the word of God contained in the holy scriptures.

The Bible states that, before eating the sacrificed meat of the temple, the priest washes his hands and feet (Ex30:17-21). However, some particularly devout groups of lay people had also adopted the customs of the priests' sacred banquets in their homes. Little by little, this practice had spread among the people, giving rise to the belief that the Lord had dictated the rule. The formula that was used to recite was as follows: "Blessed are you, Lord our God, king of the world, who hast sanctified us with your precepts and has commanded us the washing of hands."

The spiritual leaders had blessed this tradition, likening it to God's law, that law which—as we have seen in the first reading (Deut 4:2)—should not be altered in any way, or must not suffer cuts or additions.

If these rules had been framed properly, they would not have been a particularly negative factor. They were simply expressing a need, thoroughly studied by modern psychological science, to resort to certain practices to exorcise phobias provoked by what is considered a threat to their identity. They became dangerous because they were made equal to the word of God, leading to a distortion of the face of the Lord and our relationship with him. The consequences were the same ones that can occur even today when this unconscious equation is reintroduced. Let's see them.

The first and severe one is to attribute to God the distinction between pure and impure people, between the righteous and the sinners. This discrimination and the relative norms to avoid prohibited contacts lead to isolationism, trigger intolerances, and put into action perverse dynamics of aggression. These are not willed by God, for whom all people are pure (Acts 10), and there are no differences of race, gender, and social status (Gal 3:28). Even the separation of clean and unclean creatures, between sacred and profane, is not desired by the Lord but by people. He "loves everything that exists and hates nothing that you have made" (Wis 11:24).

"In the judgment of God—the rabbis taught—man must give an account of everything that his eye has found pleasure and of which, however, he has not enjoyed." Their words reflect the serene mentality of the biblical man who rejoices in the beauty of nature and thanks to God for the food, wine, health, beauty, sexuality, and for all the gifts he received from the Lord (Deut 8:10).

The equation of the "tradition of the elders" to God's will involves a second major drawback: the absolutism of ritual practices. Whoever believes it to be established by the Lord fulfills it carefully and convinces oneself to be right with God and others.

The wisest among the rabbis had sensed this danger. They complained about the insufficiency of these practices and had called for the conversion of heart. The monks of Qumran, who also made liberal use of purification rituals, taught: "We cannot sanctify or purify ourselves in lakes and rivers nor purify ourselves by washing with any water. We will remain impure as long as the commandments of God are despised."

Jesus puts himself in the spiritual line of the prophets and pious masters of his time. He focuses on the renewal of life and takes a strict position against the religion reduced to mere compliance to a legal code. He says that God is not interested in external purity, formalisms, and solemn liturgies of the temple appearances. Like the prophets(Am 5:21-27; Is 1:11-20; 58:1-14), he unreservedly condemns this "religious farce" and, quoting Isaiah, says: "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. The worship they offer me is worthless for what they teach are only human rules" (vv. 6-7).

The evangelist Matthew records another prophetic word, which Jesus seems to resort to resolving disputes with the proponents of the cult of traditions: "Go and find out what this means: What I want is mercy, not sacrifice!" (Mt9:13; 12:7).

In today's passage, those who defy these traditions are described as hypocrites, that is, actors, comedians who cover their faces with the mask of piety, devotion, obedience; who pretend to be pious, but, instead neglect the single worship pleasing to God, love, for the brothers and sisters. They honor the Lord only in word with their lips, not with their hearts (Deut 6:5).

The evangelists would not have retained these harsh words of the Master if they had not understood the perennial relevance of the risk of introducing into the church this hypocritical worship and the danger of equatingGod's law with the traditions of humans. The strict observance of the clear and well-defined rules gives the feeling that it makes one feel right in front of the Lord; it even leads one to claim to be in credit with him.

Building up one's life in the freedom of God's children, to be continually available to the brother or sister, is more complicated. The needs of people change, and the one who loves must ask oneself, at any time, what he is called upon to do, what is required, what the brother expects of him. Love does not respond to a set of rules but reinvents itself as it goes along; it requires fantasy, attention, unconditional availability.

The religion of the heart can be practiced only by those who have reached a mature and adult faith, those who are free, sincere, and open to the light of God and the Spirit. The "infants in Christ" (1 Cor 3:1) fear the risk; they prefer to receive precise and meticulous provisions, though, in their hearts, they realize that this religion is not liberating, does not communicate joy and inner peace but only generates tensions and anxieties.

In the second part of the passage (vv. 14-23), Jesus establishes the criteria to distinguish between pure and impure actions. Those that defile a person do not come from outside but from within, from the heart.

The twelve defects (six in the plural and six in the singular) that make a person impure are points from which the religious must examine themselves. What discriminates between good deeds and evil deeds is not the compliance or deviation from a norm, but the fact of being for or against man. And what is stated for food goes for all the other precepts derived from the "traditions of the elders."

At the center of the steps that, from the south side, led into the temple in Jerusalem, numerous water tanks were used for purification of priests and pilgrims who went up to offer sacrifice. To a Christian, these tanks are no longer needed because, from his disciples, Jesus asks only the purity of heart. To the question: "Who will ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who will stand in his holy place?" the psalmist's answer is the one "with clean hands and a pure heart" (Ps 24:3). The Lord also adds: "So if you are about to offer your gift at the altar, and you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar, go at once and make peace with him, and then come back and offer your gift to God" (Mt 5:23-24). Only the one who is at peace with his brother or sister is pure and can approach God.

Click here to listen to a commentary by Fr. Armellini