Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
In a recent homily I shared with you the Pew Research Center’s latest data on religious affiliation in the United States. Apart from the fact that atheism has shown dramatic increase over the last decade, the data also showed the emergence of new group of people when it comes to religious affiliation. They are referred to us the “nones.” On a census paperwork, they would choose “none” to the question on religious affiliation. These are not atheists or agnostics, neither are they are irreligious or ungenuine people; they are simply “none.” You might hear them make statement like “I believe in God but not in religion,” or, “I am spiritual but not religious.” Today, the “nones” make 23% of the American population.
The reason I bring this up is because all the readings today are all about religion – organized religion. The first reading talks about the statutes and decrees that Moses gave to the people to observe. The second reading gives us James’ understanding of authentic religion. In today’s gospel reading, Jesus tries to correct false religiosity, particularly, as he encountered it in Pharasaical Judaism. Jesus was clearly juxtaposing authentic religiosity against and mere human traditions. Let me offer three points for reflection.
1. Why Religion? First, religion in its most basic sense regulates the human-divine relationship. Most religions have statues and decrees because religion is not an individualist pursuit. Religion primarily is about God’s relationship with the community and the relationship of its members within and outside the community. Laws, decrees and statutes become important because they guide the community’s actions both spiritual and temporal. What Moses was trying to communicate to the people of Israel in today’s first reading was simply this – that religion or the Covenant, the laws, statues and decrees that Israel came to know was, first of all, a gift from God. The statues and decrees that God gave the people was a sign of God’s care, of God’s steadfast love and fidelity. Religion was not to be perceived as a burden, but rather as an opportunity and an invitation to participate in God’s life and the life of the community.
For us who are Christians, this is such an important point. We believe that God‘s love and care far exceeds laws and decrees. We believe that God gave us not just a religion but God gave us God’s Son. We believe that in Jesus we can call God “father’ and ‘mother.’ We believe that Jesus gives us more than just a new religion. Jesus gives us his own body and blood so that we can be one with him and he can be IN us. All these things are God’s gifts to us. Today, let us be grateful to God for the gift of faith and for God’s self-gift to us.
2. If You Must, Be An Authentic Rebel.” If religion indeed is a gift from God, then why are people abandoning it? There are quite a few reasons. Let me talk about two of them. From my conversations with the “nones,” the first reason is the liberation from the oppressive potential of religion. The controversy in the gospel reading about the disciples eating with unclean hands lays out just one of the examples of the oppressive potential of religion. People have used religion to justify slavery, the superiority of genders, races and cultures. History bears witness to the fact that religion is used as a tool to condemn, oppress and exclude people. This is burdensome for many people. Many of the “nones” find it liberating to tread the spiritual path rather than the path of organized religions. Not every “none” may be genuine, however, it is a reason we cannot overlook. The second reason is the influence of gross individualism. Especially in our time, there is an exaggerated emphasis on the self. In some way, every religion calls for self-abandonment. Christ himself is very clear. “If you want to be my disciple, you must deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me.” For many people, the Christian demand for self-abandonment is incompatible with the emphasis on the self. Simultaneously, for many people, the demand that a religious community might make on their time, resources, morality or worship is burdensome. What can we learn from all of this? Is there anything we can learn from the growth of the “nones.” I think the lesson is authenticity. May Christ never say about us what he said about the Pharisees: “This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts.” If you are going to be religious, you better be authentic.
3. Authentic Religiosity. So what is religion that is pure and undefiled? James would say, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” Jesus teaches another valuable lesson. Authenticity and inauthenticity come from within us. “Hear me, all of you, and understand. 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.” From the Christian perspective, at the heart of the matter there is only one thing – the ability to love from the heart. At the center of a disciple is love. That is why Jesus brought all the commandments, decrees and statues under two commandments: Love God with all your heart, all your mind and all your strength and to love each other as God has loved us. Everything we do: our worship each Sunday, the prayers we say, the devotions we practice, the charity we give, the social service we do, the food we put on the table, the laundry we wash, the beer we drink with our friends must somehow be an expression of these two commandments. Authenticity comes from genuine love of God and fellow human beings.
Fr. Satish Joseph