Tuesday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

Today's Mass Readings

In today's Gospel reading, Jesus rebukes certain religious leaders of His time for adhering to their own traditions while neglecting the more important elements of their faith, namely judgment, mercy and fidelity. Historically, Protestants have often criticized Catholics in a similar manner. They point to passages in the Gospels where Jesus rebukes the religious for following certain traditions, sometimes, although not in this instance, explicitly labelled "traditions." When we as Catholics do follow more minor traditions but neglect the most important things, love and faith, service and truth, grace and mercy, we too may be guilty of what Jesus criticized some of His contemporaries for. Such criticisms, however, do not go for all traditions. In fact, they do not even go for the traditions Jesus speaks of in today's reading. Read carefully. Jesus does not criticize the Pharisees and scribes for cleansing the outside of cups and dishes, nor for paying tithes of mint, dill and cummin. Rather, Jesus criticizes them for neglecting judgment, mercy and fidelity. He criticizes them for their plunder and self-indulgence. Cleaning cups and dishes is fine, but it is far less important than love of neighbor, for example.

Indeed, in today's first reading from St. Paul's Second Letter to the Thessalonians, we hear St. Paul exhorting the Thessalonians to "stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught" and by this St. Paul explains that he means not only those traditions taught "by a letter of ours," but also those traditions that were taught "by an oral statement" (2 Thessalonians 2:15)----that is, oral traditions.

The very context for this passage from St. Paul makes clear that the Church's living traditions which stem through the centuries, through the apostles, back to Jesus, is an important guard for us. In today's reading, we find the Christians to whom St. Paul writes confused by other teachings. St. Paul is telling them to judge those teachings by the apostolic traditions that have been passed on to them. We have access to these traditions as well from the bishops and popes who have guarded this apostolic tradition and continue to apply it to new situations in the life of the Church and the life of the world.

But we must always recognize God's continual call to renewal. We must always be open to Jesus' rebuke in today's Gospel. Are we neglecting the weightier things? This question could serve us well as an examination of conscience. Let us stand fast to the apostolic traditions of the Church, but let us also examine ourselves frequently to make sure that we have the weightier things in the forefront of our minds and actions as we live out our days.

Jeff Morrow