Every Sunday, Bishop Edward Malesic writes a Scripture reflection for the faithful. Follow the bishop on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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From our second reading, found in the Letter of James, we welcome the word that is planted in us. But we must also let it grow within us. He says, “Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.”
Perhaps that is the problem Jesus had with the Pharisees. They welcomed the word, but it sat without growth in their hearts. They followed the commandments of Moses, almost to the letter. They performed the outward hand-washing rituals of the law, but they wouldn’t let God’s word purify them from the inside out.
That can’t be so for us. Jesus warns us that it is not the outward rituals that purify us, but it is what we put behind them that counts. If we perform the works of God without allowing God to work within us, what good is that? To put it another way, he said to the Pharisees that drinking from a dirty cup will not make one impure but drinking from a clean cup with a dirty heart will.
So, Jesus says that it is what is inside of us that can make us unclean. He gives the list: “evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceits, etc. . . . all these evils come from within, and they defile.” Every evil act begins with an evil interior intention.
Yes, to God, it is what is in the heart that matters. If our hearts are clean, then our rituals will reflect the love of God that allows us to perform them with beauty and meaning.
And more than that, if our rituals reflect what is in our hearts, then the word that dwells in us will want to be put into action. We will want to take care of the poor, the sick, the sinner, and the outcast. We will be doers of the word, and not hearers only. James calls this “religion that is pure” because it wants “to care for orphans and widows in their affliction.”
A person who practices religion for outward show wants to take care of himself. A person who practices religion from the heart wants to take to take care of others.
In a special way, I am remembering the people in Afghanistan, our troops and the people who are in harm’s way. May the word that is within us want to assist them, at least with our prayers, if not with our acts of love.
Have a blessed week everyone.