“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.”
The Jewish religion of Jesus's time had great concerns about religious contamination. The Law of Moses taught that contact with a dead body, sexual contact, touching a person with leprosy, and eating certain foods rendered a person unclean in God's sight. They should not join the family during their common meals, nor enter the synagogue or temple until they had performed certain ceremonial washings, and offered particular prayers and sacrifices.
This tradition, which sounds like an unnecessary hassle to Christians, encouraged the devout Jew to be aware of God's presence at all times. His eye is on the sparrow, and I know he watches over me. Whether one is clean or unclean at any given hour, our Good God knows and cares about me.
This contamination was not necessarily sinful, it was just not fitting and right that unclean persons should enter the presence of the all-holy God in their present condition. Uncleanness was sometimes unavoidable due to other obligations, such as burying the dead; and the devout person dealt with it as soon as possible. When Tobit immediately left his family's Passover meal to bury a murdered man, he performed a most necessary and admirable deed.
However, it seems, there are some suspicions about uncleanness. Nosy people might ask, why did they become unclean? Or, why do they have this unclean condition like leprosy or a continual menstrual flow? Why don't they avoid contamination like I do? The religious tradition offers many opportunities to prove our superiority to others.
Today, without this religious tradition, Christians still find ways to prove their superiority to others. I might be healthy when others are sick; wealthy beside their poverty; adroit vs clumsy, well-dressed vs slovenly; and so forth. Imaginative as I am, I can always find something -- Anything! -- to raise me above the hoi polloi, and then Thank God I am not like the rest of men, Young people, as they struggle to find their uniqueness in God's presence, can be especially vicious toward their peers; but many people never outgrow that teen affliction.
In today's gospel, the Lord counters that impulse with a new teaching, uncleanness comes from the heart. We're all equal in God's sight and those who think they're better have not seen themselves through the eyes of the One who made himself the least of all.
Crucifixion was a Roman method for humiliating the victim, their family, friends, neighbors, and fellow citizens. A passerby, knowing nothing about the crucified one, might suffer that grief as they wonder why humans are more barbaric toward one another than the most savage carnivores. But the Lord raises his cross before our eyes to shame the arrogant and raise up the lowly. And those who see and confess their sins as they gaze on his cross are relieved of uncleanness and guilt.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.