Way, Way Deeper

A Reflection on the Gospel ​for Sunday, September 1st, 2024:
Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

---

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

​When the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles. So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?”

Jesus said to them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honours me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.’ You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.”

Then Jesus called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile them, but the things that come out of a person are what defile them.

“For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Did anyone else have a “quotes” phase in their life, a season where you thought that an inspirational quote could get you through anything at all … or was that just me? 

For a few years, at least, I had quotes plastered all over my walls. Anything from a solid Mother Teresa line to a good Mumford and Sons lyric, I had it ready to pull out for any and all of life’s occasions. I’ve since moved on, but the one, singular quote that remains on my wall and continues to be a daily guide for me is this (and it’s a doozy):


“For the greatest things are accomplished in silence — not in the clamour and display of superficial eventfulness, but in the deep clarity of inner vision; in the almost imperceptible start of decision, in quiet overcoming and hidden sacrifice.” — Romano Guardini (The Lord) 


The Gospel passage this week reminded me immediately of these words, which have stood the test of time on my bedroom wall. Amidst the constant “clamour” that so often claims my days, I need nudges and reminders to pay more attention to my interior life, where the most fundamental pieces of my life are found. And this is the nudge Jesus gives us in this Gospel.

My initial reaction after first reading this Gospel was, “Man, I’ve been the judgey Pharisee” and then, “Man, I’ve been the one with defiled hands at the table.” And maybe we’ve all been both.

The line about the Pharisees noticing the defiled hands of some disciples reminded me about how easily I can become fixated on all the exterior “dos” and “don’ts” around me. If I’m honest, I totally know how to look the part of “the good Catholic.” I catch on to how to speak and act just so and can feel like I’m one of the good ones because I do and say all the right things. But I also relate to the guys who showed up to the table the “wrong” way.  I’ve been the one to show up with blatant brokenness. It’s then that the long list of exterior “dos” and “don’ts” fades in the background, and the focus becomes my raw need for radical understanding and mercy. 

To me, the gist of this Gospel story kind of feels like the age-old dilemma of humans grappling with the questions that we’re all still curious about like, “What is the right and proper way?” and “What is mercy?”

Jesus, in response, doesn’t toss out a good quote or a well-crafted explanation to settle the recurring argument. He did what He always does and continues to do: invites us to go deeper — way, way deeper into the wells of our interior lives — not to find the perfect list of “dos” and “don’ts” but to find Him. From Him, we learn right judgment, mercy, how to act, speak and live.

Whether I’m the Pharisee or the obvious sinner on any given day, He invites me to go deeper than the “clamour and display of superficial eventfulness,” so that I can learn to move, act and speak with the clarity of His presence living and breathing within me.



Catherine Burnham

---