Readings: Genesis 2:4-9,15-17, Ps. 104:1-2,27-30, Mark 7:14-23
“Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile, since it enters, not the heart but the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? … It is what comes out of a person that defiles.” (Mark 7:18-20)
Food is an all-important factor in human life. However, food has also caused many deaths. Nations have gone to war over food, and kings have been dethroned. Friendships and brotherhoods have fallen apart because of food; even birthrights have been exchanged over food bowls.
- The saying is true: where there is food, there is life! Nevertheless, one has to be careful because not all “foods” are food. Some so-called foods are poisonous. The first law God gave humanity after creation was centred around food: “You are free to eat from any of the garden’s trees except the tree of knowledge of good and evil. From that tree, you shall not eat; the moment you eat from it, you are surely doomed to die.”
- Food is good, but not every meal is good for you. No matter how hungry you are, ensure that what you are about to eat will not lead to your destruction. Learn to exercise self-discipline and caution. This brings us to the point Jesus is making in today’s Gospel passage.
- Yesterday, we read that Jesus and his disciples were accused of committing a sin by eating without first washing their hands. In his defence, Jesus quoted Isaiah: “These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” Meaning that the people were more concerned with frivolities, that is, with the letter of the law rather than the spirit of the law.
- Jesus teaches us that God is not so much offended by our failure to wash our hands before eating as He is by the thoughts we carry in our hearts. If we eat with dirty hands, we might fall sick (or even die because of germs), but this is not as bad as suffering eternal damnation in hellfire as a result of the dirt we have inside our hearts.
- The Jews took the laws concerning food seriously to the extent that they declared certain foods unclean, capable of defiling a person. Jesus says that food does not defile, but the thoughts within one’s heart defile. No one sins unconsciously; we are the products of our thoughts.
- If you want to live a good life, start by selecting your thoughts as you would select your food. As there are poisonous foods, so there are poisonous thoughts. Jesus is not demanding the impossible from us. Jesus wants us to know that if we are serious about eliminating sin, we must start from the roots.
Let us pray: Almighty, ever-living God, give us the grace to stay spiritually healthy. May what we eat or refuse to eat not bring us to your wrath. We ask this through Our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. May God’s abundant blessings be upon us all. (Wednesday of week 5 in Ordinary Time. Liturgical Colour: Green. Bible Study: Genesis 2:4-9,15-17, Ps. 104:1-2,27-30, Mark 7:14-23).
@Rev. Fr. Evaristus E. Abu