"For Goodness' Sake": A Reflection on the Gospel for September 2nd, 2018: Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mark 7.1-8, 14-15, 21-23

1 Now when the Pharisees gathered together to him, with some of the scribes, who had come from Jerusalem, 2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they wash their hands, observing the tradition of the elders; 4 and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they purify themselves; and there are many other traditions which they observe, the washing of cups and pots and vessels of bronze.) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with hands defiled?" 6 And he said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, `This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 7 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.' 8 You leave the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men." 14 And he called the people to him again, and said to them, "Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 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." 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a man."

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Throughout the Bible, it is continuously preached that we must do good because we lovingly desire to do good. Thankfully, we are made in the image of God, and therefore we have a desire in us to do good for the sake of doing good. However, we are granted the free will to decide to act in ways that are not of God’s will, which results in our behaviour not always being altruistic. Humans can be a selfish species. We want to look good and to be perceived as good people to others. Most of what we post on social media tends to be the “highlights” of our lives. We want people to see our best moments rather than our biggest struggles. This is a pretty normal human behaviour. If we are to present our lives for essentially everyone we know to see, it is likely that we will want to feel good about what we are posting and take pride in what others are to see of us. But problems tend to arise when we only desire to do good for the sake of a good outward appearance. Although it is “normal” to want to impress others, we are called to much greater than that. We musn’t hold to the “human tradition” if it puts our earthly desires above God.

Saint Augustine once said: “It is pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.” When we do good only for self-reward, we place ourselves above God.

In this scripture, Jesus rebukes the Pharisees and the Jews for their measurement of faith. They measure faith by the upkeep of the elders’ tradition, which is merely witnessing to others that they are “faithful”. Jesus wants us to have a relationship with Him — like the disciples do — and for that relationship to be more of a testament to our faith than the outward signs of tradition.

From personal experience, I know that practicing faith simply through repetitive actions and traditions is not as fulfilling. When I was younger, I went to church because my family did. It was a sort-of Sunday “tradition” for my family. I didn’t enjoy my time at church because I was there without the intention of having a relationship with Jesus. I am so thankful that I eventually started to become more involved in my faith life and sought to develop a relationship with Him. Having a personal connection with God gives more purpose and meaning to the faith traditions that we engage in. He is why I partake in the traditions that I do. Jesus desires that we look to Him as the fundamental source of our faith, and when we do, it is so much easier to do good for His glory.

​Megan Noye

"Jesus wants us to have a relationship with Him — like the disciples do — and for that relationship to be more of a testament to our faith than the outward signs of tradition." - Megan Noye (Ora Reflections)