Transforming our Hearts: 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Sermon by Emmanuel Suntheni OSB – Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year B
Sermon and Christian Act in The Word
Theme: The Purpose of Law in Human Life; “Transforming the Heart”: Divine & Eternal Law versus Human Law
Point of reflection: Why do we have laws in the Church and in our countries? Today’s Scriptural readings remind the Christian Faithful that we need law to keep order and harmony in our Churches and societies.
First Reading: Deuteronomy 4:1–2, 6–8
Psalm: Psalm 15:2–5
Second Reading: James 1:17–18, 21–22, 27
Gospel: Mark 7:1–8, 14–15, 21–23
Sermon (Reflection): Today’s liturgy invites the Christian faithful to appreciate the gift of the law that God has given to humanity. Today’s Scriptural readings purportedly offer a reflection on the important theme of what shapes our behaviour in regard to ourselves, to God, and to others. We are reflecting on the purpose of God’s Law in our lives as citizens of the Eternal city and our various countries, and above all as Christians.
The first Scriptural reading of today (Cf. Deuteronomy 4:1–2, 6–8) contains the words of Moses as he prepared the Israelites to “enter and occupy the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you”. He provides the people with an extensive set of laws whose purpose was to ensure that they “long remain in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for all time” (Cf. Deuteronomy 4:40). For this reason, Moses begins his speech with a solemn call to “hear the Law”, and observe it with the utmost attention and seriousness, knowing that the Israelites’ welfare in the promised-land depends on it.
As Moses started by saying hear the law and putting Israelites to enter and occupy the land for the Lord, the God of their ancestors: As Christians too, we belong to different lands which are known in this modern world as countries, we need to abide to the civil law and canon law as we are also Catholics.
The Law for Israelites was a way for the nation to become great and universally admired. Their welfare was to be God’s glory, while God’s glory would be reflected in them. As such, the Law was not a burdensome legal code but the constitution of God’s people. The Law defined who they were, and outlined their distinct way of life. Living by the Law would ensure Israel’s prosperity and lasting possession of the land which God was giving them. This must be the very reason for having canon law and civil law in our Catholic Church and Countries respectively. The law must flow from God which is the Eternal Law and Divine Law not just only from human law which sometimes impedes and destroys the very essence of the aim of the law to provide harmony and order for the people of God.
Today’s second reading comes from the opening part of the letter, which lays the foundations for what follows the law. The author states that in the same way as the Israelites were given the gift of the Law, God, “the Father of lights”, bestowed special gifts on Christians – gifts that are gratuitous and perfect. As in the case of Israel, the foremost among them is the gift of election – God made them the “first fruits of his creatures”, through his word revealed to them. From all of creation, believers were singled out as God’s chosen people. Such a unique status must be reflected through an impeccable life. There is no place for immoral practices or any form of wickedness among them. Like the Israelites before them, Christians are to reflect God’s goodness and holiness.
Believers become God’s people through “the word of truth”, which is the Gospel message. Consequently, Christians must have a life of faith and their “religion” must be that of “practitioners of the word”, who express their identity through concrete actions of two kinds. Firstly, they must show social concern, and practice charity through care for the underprivileged and the most vulnerable in the community – widows and orphans. In the patriarchal system, the loss of male protection meant the loss of legal rights, and exposure to abuses. This was often the fate of widows and orphans.
Secondly, Christians ought to keep themselves “unstained by the world”, which implies living by a moral and religious standard different from that of the surrounding pagan society. Care for the rejected and marginalised would be one visible expression of believers’ opposition to the social structures and practices of the day.
Like the Israelites before them, Christians are envisioned as a people with a special mission and a distinct identity: it is a calling for the Catholics and people of goodwill especially those in legislative powers to make laws which have two elements: social concern to protect humanity and to keep themselves unstained by the world and make laws which are in conformity with the dictates of Church teachings.
The Gospel passage of today presents a confrontation between Jesus and the religious leaders of his community. The Pharisees and the Scribes of Jesus’ day were known for their almost fanatical preoccupation with observing the Law in minute detail. Wanting to be totally faithful to God, they developed a set of very detailed regulations on how a faithful Israelite ought to fulfil God’s Law given by Moses. These regulations were the “tradition of the elders.” A good example of just how detailed these instructions were, was the demand for ritual washing of the cups and plates before every meal. Jesus’ disciples apparently violated some of these regulations. The leaders were scandalised and denounced the disciples to their teacher: Jesus. This gave Jesus an opportunity to present his views on how the Law of God should be observed and fulfilled.
As a faithful and devout Jew, Jesus did not violate or oppose the practice of the Law. But he differed from the Scribes and Pharisees on how the Law was to be implemented. While the Scribes and Pharisees focused and emphasised actions and behaviour as manifestations of the Law, Jesus argued that the primary function of the Law was to shape the heart. Thus, while the Scribes and Pharisees paid special attention to the ritual and legal aspects of the Law, Jesus gave primacy to its moral and ethical dimensions. This must be the approach for the Christians to live by laws so as to transform and shape the heart not following the law for the sake of pleasing other human beings who act like small gods.
In line with his approach, Jesus, quoting Isaiah, accused the leaders of hypocrisy. Their focus on external and ritual behaviour, with corresponding multiplication of minute rules, led them to obscure the primary purpose for which the Law had been given. As was evident in the first reading, the purpose of the Law was to guide the Israelites towards a secure and prosperous life as the community of the covenantal people. The minute rules on washing and eating hardly served such a purpose.
Jesus offered his own interpretation of the Law, highlighting the disposition of the heart as the centre from which both moral and immoral actions come. For him, uncleanness is not a matter of what one eats or touches. The categories of clean/unclean are defined by how a person touches others through his or her actions. True uncleanness comes from the human heart and adversely affects others, thus working against God’s design for human life. The Law and its precepts were intended to transform a person is such a way, as to make him or her a living reflection and expression of God’s Law encoded in the heart.
Hence, as Christians, we are called today to understand the law as a tool to transform our lives, to be better people as cherished by the Gospel.
Christian Act in Word of God “The law must transform my heart”
Today, we appreciate God’s love for us shown in giving us the gift of the Law, and for reminding us about its true purpose. The Law is meant to enhance our relationship with God and build our faith. The Law is God’s gift to those whom he has chosen, and, as Christians, we are indeed the chosen people of God, and we have a particular responsibility to reflect God’s creative design. This is exactly what the first reading from the book of Deuteronomy reminds us about – that the purpose of the Law is to build harmony with God, with the community, with others, and with the environment. We can ask ourselves, does the law I encounter in my Christian life transform my life?
For Christians, the Gospel becomes a new Law, replacing the one given by Moses on Sinai. If we put the teaching of the Gospel into practice, then we fulfil the Law of Moses. For James, this implied looking after the vulnerable and underprivileged in our surroundings. We fulfil the Christian Law when we reach out and care for those in need of any kind, and we never lack such persons in our surroundings.
In the Gospel reading, Jesus challenged his contemporaries to a new understanding on how to practice God’s Law. According to him, the correct practice of the Law is not limited to the implementation of external rules and practice. The Law is meant to shape the heart. This inner focus characterises the Christian understanding and approach to the laws and rules of faith and conduct. These are meant to instil the values of love, mercy, goodness, and all others that reflect God’s relationship with humanity. The heart is the seat of good and evil. If the heart is transformed, the behaviour will automatically reflect that goodness. If the heart remains polluted by vice, the individual will never act morally.
Action: From today, I must be transformed by the laws I encounter.
Prayer: God our Father, we thank you for the gift of your law to us, which is there to guide our earthly journey. Help us not to be discouraged with the slowness of reforms in our Church, countries and places of work. Help us to reflect your goodness in all that we do and that the laws we encounter in our Church and different countries transform our hearts to be better people. We make our prayer through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
- By God’s Design: 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time - October 4, 2024
- Doing Good in Jesus’ Name: 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time - September 27, 2024
- The Mercy of God: 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time - September 20, 2024
