Wednesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
In today’s Gospel, Jesus proclaims to the crowds that the Kingdom he ushers in does not involve a ritual religiosity. The Mosaic Law prescribed strict dietary restrictions around how to clean utensils, how to wash oneself in order to be ceremonially clean, and what foods were considered acceptable and forbidden. In order to maintain one’s ritual purity, a devout person had to avoid any type of uncleanness. Here in Mark, Jesus counters accusations leveled at him; the religious leaders and many questioned his legitimacy when they observed him and his disciples behaving in ways that seemed counter to the Law. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus declared his mission related to the Law, Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them (Matthew 5:17). In today’s Gospel, Jesus describes one specific example of how the Law is fulfilled in a faithful disciple. Fulfillment comes, not from avoiding defilement by adhering to ritual, but by purifying one’s heart. God looks at a person’s heart, not at their outward behavior. Any of us can act pious, our inner condition is what truly defines us and our discipleship.
Jesus gives us some examples of sins that defile our hearts. The list is not exhaustive, obviously, but offers a good representation of the temptations common to the human family. Today’s Gospel offers a wonderful invitation to examine our own hearts, our own consciences. What are the things hidden away, or even not so hidden that currently defile you and me from within?
I wonder if sometimes we attempt to deny our sin by focusing on the “externals,” or even merely rely on external religious practice to check our boxes and convince ourselves of our righteousness. Often, we avoid an honest and vulnerable look within our hearts to identify the root causes of our sinfulness. Henri J.M. Nouwen, Catholic priest, author, theologian, contemplative, reflects on the temptations common to religious leaders in his wonderful little book, In the Name of Jesus, Reflections on Christian Leadership. Nouwen’s audience is priests, pastors, and any Christian leader, but the book has rich, practical relevance for all of us. In one chapter, he addresses the carnality to which each of us is prone. Nouwen writes, The reason for this [temptation to raw carnality] is that [we] do not know how to live the truth of the Incarnation . . . When spirituality becomes spiritualization, life in the body becomes carnality . . . Confession and forgiveness are precisely the disciplines by which spiritualization and carnality can be avoided and true incarnation lived (pgs 67-68). I was particularly convicted by his statement, When spirituality becomes spiritualization, life in the body becomes carnality. I think this truth is what Jesus communicates in today’s Gospel. When we spiritualize our faith, we reduce it to mere religion that easily becomes a pretense. Worse yet, spiritualization (religiosity) opens the door to carnality and the sinful state Jesus describes in our text. Authentic spirituality includes a vulnerable willingness, even a hunger, to come clean from within before the God who loves us and longs to forgive us.
This day would be a great day to plan a time to seek the Sacrament of Reconciliation. As Jesus names our sins in today’s text, he does so not with condemnation, but out of love for us. Let us allow Divine Love to draw us gently into the rich gift of confession, so that we can receive healing, forgiveness, and reconciliation. Hearts purified by Love become vessels of love for others and for our world. Radical disciples of Radical Love are ones who regularly examine their hearts, confess their sins, and walk as children of the Light. Come, Holy Spirit, and woo us; Father, give us the graces we need this day to seek your forgiveness; Jesus helps us to grow in the humility you modeled. Amen and amen!
- Elizabeth Wourms