Please Pass The Purell | August 30, 2015

 August 30, 2015

If you were to go out to dinner with my brother, Mikey, you should know that he will automatically pull out individually wrapped moist towelettes from his pocket and place one at everyone’s place with the understanding that we are all obviously unclean and that he is heroically helping us behave like civilized people as opposed to Neanderthals. He is a self-proclaimed germa-phobe and hand washing and purification rituals are his obsession. I’ve witnessed him use rubber gloves to pull his clean laundry out of the dryer. He has the uncanny talent of being able to open all doors both in public and in his own home with his elbow. He is completely horrified in places like Disneyland where children everywhere recklessly touch railings with their hands and heaven forbid with their mouths. He replaces his pillowcase with a clean one every single day. One time my family was at mass together and strategically right before the Our Father when the congregation holds hands, I feel something nudge my side; it was my brother handing me the mandatory bottle of Purell that I was forced to use before even thinking about holding his hand, and I was also instructed to pass it down to everyone in our pew. I’m not making stuff up people! The Purell comes back out directly after the Sign of Peace! Now, I am not reporting these things to make you think my brother is insane (wink wink), in fact, he proudly proclaims all these same stories so as to evangelize the obvious truth about the importance of clean hands, and today’s gospel just might be one of his favorites for that very reason!

The Pharisees were trying to document as many things against Jesus and his disciples as possible so they spent a lot of their time watching their every move. Things haven’t changed much in two thousand years and we still have people in our churches that are concerned with the minutia. Instead of singing the song, “They’ll know we are Christians by our love,” they sing, “They’ll know we are Christians by our ritual.” Again and again, the Pharisees have left out the why and Jesus used this opportunity to remind them that the why is the very foundation of all of it and without the foundation; the ritual is just a show. He points these educated scholars to their own scripture when Isaiah talks about this very thing: “Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written: 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. You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.”

Even if the Pharisees never quite understood…do WE get it? Jesus wants our hearts in the game and tradition, rules, and rituals were designed to turn our hearts toward God, change our minds to be more like Christ, and from there we will be inspired to serve others in love. The gospels from this past week have been hammering that point in and since we know better, we must DO better. Sometimes we put the man made rules and rituals above the ones that God specifically gave us. God’s commands are all about relationship with Him and how to treat one another while our rules might be more about proving or religious devotion as some sort of show (remember the long tassel competition and the bedazzled phylacteries from a few days ago?).

One of my favorite lines from this gospel is, “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.” Oh Jesus, you’re always saying super shocking things to make your point and I love you for that! When he says, “the things that come out” the crowd thought the word “poop” (which Jesus knew that they would), but Jesus was really referring to the word “crap.” The crap we heap on each other in word, judgment, false witness, gossip etc. and he mentions the following: “evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.” (It just makes me laugh when Jesus does that because I love a good play on word, and/or I might actually be a 12-year-old boy who giggles at the word “poop”, but I digress)

Today’s gospel reminds us that if we can focus so much energy on cleaning our hands (or on religious bells and whistles) then we should be able to also obsessively clean our hearts. A clean heart allows the eyes of our soul to see the real meaning behind our traditions and when we know why behind the things we do, we can do them with even greater devotion and reverence. The why gives the ritual its power and there is something so beautiful in understanding the purpose of something. Purpose not only unfurls our wings but give us the lift to actually take off and fly. So please pass the spiritual Purell that sanitizes our thoughts, words, actions, and gives us a reason to fly.

NOTE: In no way am I suggesting that my brother is a Pharisee, just that he would approve of the hand-washing portion of the story.

Reading 1 DT 4:1-2, 6-8

Moses said to the people:
“Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees
which I am teaching you to observe,
that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land
which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. 
In your observance of the commandments of the LORD, your God,
which I enjoin upon you,
you shall not add to what I command you nor subtract from it. 
Observe them carefully,
for thus will you give evidence
of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations,
who will hear of all these statutes and say,
‘This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.’
For what great nation is there
that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us
whenever we call upon him? 
Or what great nation has statutes and decrees
that are as just as this whole law
which I am setting before you today?”

Responsorial Psalm PS 15:2-3, 3-4, 4-5

R. (1a) One who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.
Whoever walks blamelessly and does justice;
who thinks the truth in his heart
and slanders not with his tongue.
R. One who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.
Who harms not his fellow man,
nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor;
by whom the reprobate is despised,
while he honors those who fear the LORD.
R. One who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.
Who lends not his money at usury
and accepts no bribe against the innocent.
Whoever does these things
shall never be disturbed.
R. One who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.

Reading 2 JAS 1:17-18, 21B-22, 27

Dearest brothers and sisters:
All good giving and every perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of lights,
with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change. 
He willed to give us birth by the word of truth
that we may be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you
and is able to save your souls.

Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.

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.

Alleluia JAS 1:18

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Father willed to give us birth by the word of truth
that we may be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MK 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem
gathered around Jesus,
they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals
with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. 
—For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews,
do not eat without carefully washing their hands,
keeping the tradition of the elders.
And on coming from the marketplace 
they do not eat without purifying themselves. 
And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed,
the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds. —
So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him,
“Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders
but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?” 
He responded,
“Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:
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.
You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.”

He summoned the crowd again and said to them,
“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.”