Tuesday February 9  

FIFTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

 

THE TEMPLE IS FOR PEOPLE

 

Introduction

      After the creation of inanimate beings comes the creation of living beings: fish, birds, land animals, and the crowning achievement, man and woman, made in God’s image and likeness. They are special, for they are also put in charge of the whole of creation, for the task of working for the integrity of creation is heavy with responsibilities.

      After a period of initial fervor, the teaching of the Pharisees began to imply that people were to be sacrificed for the sake of the temple, that religious traditions (made by people and juridical) were more important than God’s laws, which are supposed to be interior to people and express a personal relationship. Jesus takes them to task for it. For the temple of the Lord is there for people, not people for the temple.

 

Opening Prayer

Father, God of the ever-new covenant,
you have tied us to yourself
with leading strings of lasting love;
the words you speak to us
are spirit and life.
Open our hearts to your words,
that they may touch us
in the deepest of ourselves.
May they move us to serve you
not in a slavish way,
but as your sons and daughters
who love you and whom you have set free
through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Reading 1: Gen 1:20—2:4a

God said,
“Let the water teem with an abundance of living creatures,
and on the earth let birds fly beneath the dome of the sky.”
and so it happened:
God created the great sea monsters
and all kinds of swimming creatures with which the water teems,
and all kinds of winged birds.
God saw how good it was, and God blessed them, saying,
“Be fertile, multiply, and fill the water of the seas;
and let the birds multiply on the earth.”
Evening came, and morning followed–the fifth day.

Then God said,
“Let the earth bring forth all kinds of living creatures:
cattle, creeping things, and wild animals of all kinds.”
and so it happened:
God made all kinds of wild animals, all kinds of cattle,
and all kinds of creeping things of the earth.
God saw how good it was.
Then God said:
“Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.
Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,
the birds of the air, and the cattle,
and over all the wild animals
and all the creatures that crawl on the ground.”

God created man in his image;
in the divine image he created him;
male and female he created them.

God blessed them, saying:
“Be fertile and multiply;
fill the earth and subdue it.
Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air,
and all the living things that move on the earth.”
God also said:
“See, I give you every seed-bearing plant all over the earth
and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food;
and to all the animals of the land, all the birds of the air,
and all the living creatures that crawl on the ground,
I give all the green plants for food.”
And so it happened.
God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good.
Evening came, and morning followed–the sixth day.

Thus the heavens and the earth and all their array were completed.
Since on the seventh day God was finished with the work he had been doing,
he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken.
So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy,
because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation.

Such is the story of the heavens and the earth at their creation.

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 8:4-5, 6-7, 8-9

(2ab) O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
When I behold your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars which you set in place—
What is man that you should be mindful of him,
or the son of man that you should care for him?
R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
You have made him little less than the angels,
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him rule over the works of your hands,
putting all things under his feet.
R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
All sheep and oxen,
yes, and the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air, the fishes of the sea,
and whatever swims the paths of the seas.
R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!

Alleluia: Ps 119:36, 29b

Alleluia, alleluia.
Incline my heart, O God, to your decrees;
And favor me with your law.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel: Mk 7:1-13

When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem
gathered around Jesus,
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 someone says to father or mother,
“Any support you might have had from me is qorban”‘
(meaning, dedicated 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.”

 

Intercessions:

–         For the Church, that it may not replace the Gospel with rites and laws of human invention, but bring to people the freedom, the gentleness and the light of Christ, we pray:

–         For those who are upset by the changes in the Church, that they may learn to appreciate the attempts of God’s people to understand and live our faith in a contemporary way that remains true to the Gospel, we pray:

–         For us who share in the Lord’s table, that we may learn from Jesus that love is the heart of the law and that true love knows how to serve, we pray:

 

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord our God,
we bring before you our readiness
to respond to your love.
Strengthen us with the body and blood
of your Son Jesus Christ,
that with him, we may be dedicated to you
with our whole mind and heart,
and that we may be capable
of communicating your love and justice
to all those around us.
Grant this through Christ, our Lord.

 

Prayer after Communion

Lord our God,
your Son has shared himself with us
in this Eucharistic celebration.
Give us his Spirit of strength, we pray you,
that we may also share in his attitude
of openness to your will
and to the needs of people.
May we thus, fulfill more than the law
and serve you as your sons and daughters,
in whom you recognize Jesus Christ,
your Son and our Lord for ever.

 

Blessing

As grateful children of God, let us put our hearts in seeking in the commandments not our will but the will of God, so that we do not ask what God orders us to do but simply how we can respond to his love and show that love to the people around us. May God bless you all: the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

 

Commentary

Pope Francis – Angelus, 30 August 2015
“You leave the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men”
“With these words, Jesus wants to caution us too, today, against the belief, that outward observance of the law is enough to make us good Christians. This is what Jesus condemns because this is a counter-witness to Christianity. After His exhortation, Jesus focuses attention on a deeper aspect and states: “there is nothing outside a man which by going into him can defile him; but the things which come out of a man are what defile him” (v. 15). In this way he emphasises the primacy of interiority, that is, the primacy of the “heart, it is not the external things that make us holy or unholy but the heart, which expresses our intentions, our choices and the will to do all, for the love of God…

Jesus accused the Pharisees and scribes specifically of two things. First, hypocrisy. Like actors, who put on a show, they appear to obey God’s word in their external practices while they inwardly harbour evil intentions. The pharisaic hypocrisy has survived through the centuries and is evident even in our lives today. In our attempts to project ourselves as the best disciples of Christ, we belittle the lives of our brothers and sisters.

Secondly, he accused them of abandoning God’s word by substituting their own arguments and interpretations for the Word of God. In our attempts to infuse greater faith into our listeners, how often do we use the verse of the Scripture to frighten people? Many sermons and preaching frighten the listeners of the impending punishments of God. We don’t believe in a scary God, but in a forgiving and merciful God. And His mercy does not depend on any conditions.
God in his mercy freely offers us pardon, healing, and grace for overcoming sin and evil in our lives. “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9). Ask the Lord to cleanse you with the purifying fire of his Holy Spirit.
“Lord, let me dwell in your presence and fill me with the knowledge of your truth and goodness. Instruct my heart that I may walk in your way of love and holiness.”