Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time-B
Today’s Gospel recounts a conversation between Jesus and the Pharisees about how the law tradition is observed in everyday life. The particulars, or a segment of the law, concern the Pharisees’ objection to some of Jesus’ disciples not washing their hands before eating. Following the tradition of their ancestors, they were concerned about purifying themselves before acquiring food and consuming it. It is part of a complicated system of purity painstakingly recorded in the Book of Leviticus.
Many of the laws were established in a religious context, but the rules were meant to keep a person physically and spiritually pure. Centuries later, the idea of washing one’s hands before eating is commonplace with our knowledge of microbiology. So, too, blood touching was first mandated by the belief that blood itself is life and the spilling of it is death. Hence, the individual had no dominion over life and death; that power resides solely in God’s control. The prophetic law was quite before its time, especially what we know about blood-borne diseases.
Jesus was a Jew and fully aware of the laws. His mother presented him in the Temple, and by the Law of Moses, his whole life and ministry show his knowledge and adherence to Jewish tradition. However, throughout his ministry, there were conflicts between the strict observance of the law and the spirit of the law. The Pharisees were outraged at Jesus’ healing and his disciples picking corn on the Sabbath. Jesus’ mission was not to disregard or disobey the law altogether, but rather, he came to fulfill it. “Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law until all things have taken place.”
During his conversations, Jesus informed the Pharisees that the law has its place but is not the means to transform the person. Jesus points out that the observance of the law can happen even without agreeing with it. We can obey a law with an interior disposition opposing that law. For example, a Jew may abide by the commandment not to murder someone while at the same time having a hateful heart. The complete transformation of the person is what Jesus came to propagate on earth.
Jesus tells those in earshot, “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.“
The point of this exchange is to bring into perspective the need for the law to guide our spiritual journey, but it is not the end or be all. It was first established when neophytes of religion began their spiritual journey to God. Over thousands of years later, the same holds today. When children start their spiritual journey, they are first told about right and wrong. When they progress, they are then taught the Ten Commandments of things to do or not to do. When that lesson is learned, and the love of God begins to grow, conduct is determined more by a loving expression than by the dictates of a rule. The law becomes nothing more than training wheels, reassuring a steady progression of moral development.
The Pharisees and Scribes were unaware of how Jesus would fulfill the law. They could not have known that the plan of God to have his Son save the world would encompass the law but far surpass it. No longer would there be a gulf between God and his people. Jesus became the bridge that broke down any barriers, making God accessible to anyone. To ensure the connection, Jesus left us gifts of the Holy Spirit and himself to effectuate the intimate relationship. Through baptism, the Holy Spirit resides within us, and the reception of the Eucharist strengthens that bond.
The law is essential, and following it is the first step on our spiritual journey. The human desire to progress is innate, and that drive extends to a spiritual dimension. A person can never be settled or happy without growing. When we know the law is a means to inner transformation, we can understand what Jesus was trying to teach the Pharisees. To move ahead, we must accept the gifts and use them to grow and be better positioned for our promised inheritance without rejecting the law.