There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man

Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to Him, having come from Jerusalem. Now when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault. For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders. When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches. Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, "Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?" He answered and said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:

'This people honors Me with their lips,

But their heart is far from Me.

And in vain they worship Me,

Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'

"For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men--the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do."

He said to them, "All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother''; and, 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.' But you say, 'If a man says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban"--' (that is, a gift to God), then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do."

When He had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear Me, everyone, and understand: There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!" When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable. So He said to them, "Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?" And He said, "What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man."

- Mark 7:1-23

Yesterday, we read the story of Jesus walking on the water to His disciples, who are straining at the oars as they cross the Sea of Galilee. "Be of good cheer!" He said. "It is I; do not be afraid." From there, they went to Gennesaret, a region of Gentiles, where He performed many healings -- many sought simply to touch His garment and were healed.

Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to Him, having come from Jerusalem. Now when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault. For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders. When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches. We recall that Jesus is in Gentile territory (that is, it is mixed with both Gentiles and Jews), where He has performed many healings. The tradition of the elders are practices handed down as custom -- as my study bible puts it, "a body of interpretations of the Law handed down orally, which for the Pharisees and the scribes is as authoritative as the written Law of Moses." In this tradition, purification -- "cleansing oneself from defiling contact with Gentiles or sinners" -- happens through an outward act of ceremonial washing. So, in this place of the Gentiles come the Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem to Galilee, and they are displeased that Jesus' disciples do not hold to these traditions of purification.

Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, "Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?" He answered and said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: 'This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men--the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do." My study bible points out here that Jesus is not tearing down the practice of customs or traditions. Rather, He is pointing out what is more important, what takes precedence first. It is similar to Jesus' teaching of the Great Commandments: the first is to love the Lord with all one's heart and soul and mind and strength, and the second is to love one's neighbor as oneself. In this sense, to worship God -- that is, what is truly Good, what is Love -- is then to understand right relatedness to others. Relationship to and knowledge of God sets down an understanding and growth of righteousness in the world, in worldly relationships. So it is with tradition as well: it is the commandments of God that take precedence, that must come first and then determine the worth of tradition.

He said to them, "All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother''; and, 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.' But you say, 'If a man says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban"--' (that is, a gift to God), then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do." Jesus gives examples of what He is talking about. "Corban" means that which is given to God, an offering, a promise. So, by this practice, someone could dedicate property or earnings to God in order to prevent use by parents -- while continuing to use them themselves. My study bible says, "These secondary traditions obscure the primary commandments of God and obedience to them . . . human traditions can prevent people from coming to God. God's commandments, here in this example, teach love and right-relatedness. But human tradition in this case is used as a hypocritical cover for selfishness, greed, hard-heartedness. Perhaps we can think of examples of this kind of "giving" today, too!

When He had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear Me, everyone, and understand: There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!" The note in my study bible here is worth repeating: "Jesus teaches that nothing is of itself spiritually unclean. God makes all things good. Sins committed of our own free will, what comes from within us, defile and make the heart impure." Jesus' concern is with our hearts, our inner life, the life of the soul and spirit -- the things that make us truly who we are. Once again, as in His previous teaching in parables, He appeals to our spiritual "ears" of the heart -- to those who are capable of truly hearing.

When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable. So He said to them, "Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?" And He said, "What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man." Here again, Jesus is concerned with the heart. In yesterday's reading, we discussed Jesus' words to His disciples out on the Lake, "Be of good cheer!" In the Greek, these words imply taking courage, more specifically a heart warmed and emboldened through the light of Christ, as in light from a lampfire. Here, Jesus describes what it is for a heart to be truly defiled and uncleansed, without that light and the baptism of the Spirit and our choice to cooperate with grace. All the things that we harbor in our hearts make us, in effect, who we are. "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:21). My study bible teaches, "All these evil things are not what God created. We will them; we produce them; they are our sins coming from within us. They are a perversion of what God has made." Note that "an evil eye" is jealousy or envy, covetousness; this expression is still used and understood as such through many countries in the Mediterranean, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

So, what we are to guard against, then, is what remains in the heart. And here is the great message of Christ. What, then, do we seek to purify? What needs a "baptism" or cleansing? Is it all the outer objects of our lives, even the foods we eat, or is there a deeper part of ourselves whose food and drink and objects of desire are the things we must take care of? When Jesus speaks of the substitution of "traditions of men" for the commandments of God, He's speaking precisely of this mix-up, this confusion of the outer with the inner. It's not image in the eyes of others that we should be focused on, but our image in the sight of God, the one that God gives us as a gift to cherish in our hearts, to treasure and to grow more deeply into. This gift is authentic identity. In some sense, we remember the prefiguring of the Eucharist in the feeding of the five thousand in the wilderness, and come to understand more deeply what it is He is giving us, the things with which we are truly fed, our real "daily bread." It is this which we need in the heart, it will both baptise and anoint, heal and nurture, and build what we need. Will you let Him in when He knocks at the door of the heart?