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Only the Tradition of Love

5th Tuesday in Ordinary Time
Feast of Saint Marina


IN TODAY'S GOSPEL (Mark 7:1-9), the Lord confronts the Pharisees and some scribes on the misguided observation of the tradition of the elders, the set of injunctions and practices that the rabbis added to the Law of Moses. The Jews had so forgotten the heart and spirit of the Law of Moses that the tradition of the rabbi came to be observed not for love but for the sake of it. In the process, they lost their freedom of mind and heart and got enslaved instead into it. In the process, they have forgotten that the tradition had turned into something beneficial for the sake of it, forgetting the place of God in it; worse, they even believed they did it for God. So the Lord reminded them using the words of Isaiah (29:13): "These people honors me only with lip-service, while their hearts are far from me. The worship they offer me is worthless, the doctrines they teach are only human regulations." They have forgotten to teach of the love of God instead.
 
One of the classic examples that the Lord cited that highlights the deterioration of faith, confused by mere human regulations, is the tradition on Corban (v. 11), which means "an offering, especially to God". A false sense of devotion to God done by offering a Jew's financial resources to God has arisen that resulted in neglecting the care, and the financial resources need in such care, of elderly parents. The young Jews erroneously thought that the care of the elderly meant less compared to the dedication given to God. In a sense, they chose to neglect the care of their parents in favor of what they thought was a better act of dedicating the resources to God.
 
And Jesus felt indignant to such an irresponsible choice of priorities. He wants the Jews to do Corbias, but not at the expense of the care of the elderly parents. Because doing that violates also an important Law of Moses: Do your duty to your father and your mother (v. 10; Leviticus 20:9). And the God of Love, the Lord knows, prefers that we live in love instead of getting into the motion of worshipping his Father. The worship they offer me is worthless (v. 7)... In this way, you make God's word null and void for the sake of your tradition which you have handed down (v. 13).
 
In order to understand this Gospel, the question we have to as ourselves is: Will God want us to neglect the care of our family in favor of what we thought of serving Him? Should we neglect the care of our aging parents in order to devote time to serving in the parish? Should we neglect the care of our very young children in order to help out in the parish? If we really listen to the will of God, will this be a choice that He wants us to make? Will it be a reflection of a loving God if we despise our family in favor of what we think is a service to God? Would it be a surprise then that Saint Peter and the married members of the Twelve had to bring with them their family as they moved from place to place preaching the Gospel?
 
There is a sound basis for the Church to require that priests and religious be unmarried individuals. In addition to the complexity of property ownership, She does not want children and spouses to be neglected in the name of God. In fact, the gravity of a need to serve aging parents can be an important point of discernment of whether a person is called to the life of priesthood.
 
The same principle must also rule the choices of the laity. The married have the prime obligation of taking care of their dependent children as well as their aging parents. The unmarried had to take care of their aging parents. Any call to serve the community must be discerned through the resolution of such a primary obligation in that state of life. Because the Lord does call a person to serve in the parish, he will ensure that obligations arising from these states of life had been covered with and not neglected. The existence of neglect in these states of life is a sign that there may be no call yet to perform such a community service without going against the true will of God for the person.
 
Again, the basic question rests on love. Are we loving in this choice or in the other? Do we cooperate to be channels of God's love according to His will with this choice or the other? It is always love. It is always for the love of God who loves us first. There is no other tradition to follow and live in but the tradition of love.
 
FATHER, thank you for asking from us nothing but a loving heart expressing Your Infinite Love in every act we perform each day. Thank you for being willing for our lives the simplicity of love like Yours, and not the complexities that we create for ourselves. Thank you for simply asking us to love You and live in that love in a communion of love among each other Your children.
 
LORD, thank you for the many things you have shown us that unmistakably reveal to us the loving Father. Thank you for showing us that the most enduring tradition that we must live is only the tradition of love, and not even the most profound worship could replace such love, or mean anything to the Father without love. Thank you for being the Father's mirror before us. Amen.  

 
 Today's Gospel reading is taken from The Jerusalem Bible (1966)
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