Rallying to Christ

 

TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

September 1, 2024 - St. Mary’s in Dell Rapids

Dt 4:1-2, 6-8

Jas 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27

Mk 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Praised be Jesus Christ!

       “For what great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the Lord, our God, is to us whenever we call upon him? Or what great nation has statutes and decrees that are as just as this whole law which I am setting before you today?” That is Moses, the lawgiver, speaking to the people, to the children of Israel in this our passage today from the Book of Deuteronomy. I guess we can understand Moses boasting even if it seems a bit foreign to our way of thinking and expressing ourselves. “For what great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the Lord, our God, is to us whenever we call upon him? Or what great nation has statutes and decrees that are as just as this whole law which I am setting before you today?” You would be hard pressed to find an older Catholic today who speaks so confidently of the faith. If you say, “We are the one, true Church,” lots of folks get nervous or embarrassed.

       We live in strange times, because we should be able to express a similar pride in our Catholic faith as did Moses, but a lot of adults around my age (give or take twenty years) just do not seem to be able to do that. These same older people, who may even be regular Mass goers, just shake their head at young people who are enthusiastic about their Catholic faith. Thankfully, I guess, such older folks can more easily identify with our Gospel passage today from Mark chapter 7 than with Moses pride about being part of the chosen people.

       “Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile. From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within, and they defile.”

        Let there be no mistake, when describing a stranger to someone, I too am convinced that it is less a matter of criticizing or condemning anyone, but rather of saying something positive, of knowing how to express approval of that other person for what is good in them. That is only good manners and should always be the case. How would you make a compliment about a person, a third party, whom you are describing to someone who does not know them? It was easier to do so maybe a hundred years ago. People back then would commonly say: He’s a law-abiding citizen. Or… She’s a God fearing woman. These days we have become less specific or maybe politically correct, and so perhaps we might just say: She’s a lovely person. Or… He’s really a good guy. There’s nothing wrong with talking that way, but it gives us less of a handle for talking about that person in the context of an ordered society. It is hard to express any notion about us being answerable to the God Who made us and saved us in Christ, about our relationship to the God Who loves us. We dodge or skirt the issue of what is really important for time and eternity.

       The Lord Jesus in the Gospel registers His concern or disapproval about a common distortion or exaggeration of the law in Israel, which we today would label pharisaism. It was an insistence on certain modes of behavior at the expense of God’s law. In Jesus’ day and yet today for many Jews of the strict observance, this customary law regulates things like washing your hands before meals. It attaches moral significance to them, and it imposes all sorts of dietary rules doing the same. I remember when I lived in Israel in your typical restaurant you couldn’t get a rare steak even if you wanted it, nor could you mix meat and dairy (kosher). I suppose the only thing comparable to it we have in our society would be political correctness or that government hotline in Minnesota during COVID, where you could denounce your neighbor for not wearing a mask or sitting more than four at a picnic table in their own backyard. Pharisaism! It is a kind of hypocrisy, which puts limits on us and restricts the other. Nothing to boast about and certainly no way to save your soul or give greater honor and glory to God.

       “For what great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the Lord, our God, is to us whenever we call upon him?”

       The baptized but unchurched or the fallen-aways have always plagued the Church, what has changed is that my uncle’s silly joke back in the day about being “episcopillow” because he sleeps in on Sunday can nowadays even be repeated in the presence of children: no shame! Faith, belief, religious practice, church has lost its pride of place in society. Similarly, we have a 50% divorce rate even among Catholics, because nobody defends marriage and family anymore. Entering a second marriage within months of a divorce from the first marriage which hardly lasted a year is maybe embarrassing for the family, but not much more.

       Jesus’ listeners needed to hear Him say, “Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile.” Kosher is not a moral category like purity of heart is. My willfulness which puts me at odds with the whole moral law, “From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within, and they defile.” My willfulness is what is damnable. Moses was right when he said clearly to his people that when it comes to God’s law you cannot pick and choose.

Take some quiet time this Sunday to examine your conscience to see whether your embrace of God’s law is complete, with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. St. Ignatius Loyola posed the question as to whose standard you rallied to on the battlefield of life. Christ’s banner or Satan’s, those are the only two choices. I think young people appreciate that sort of talk and older folks should see if they cannot regain some of the enthusiasm of their youth.

       Praised be Jesus Christ!

PROPERANTES ADVENTUM DIEI DEI