SOCL, Sunday22B
- Admin
- Aug 31, 2024
- 2 min read
Sunday September 01, 2024
This people honours me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.
See
As disciples, we all need a kind of personal “rule of life” and we are supported by the community of faith and its practices. But the externals of religions—the very supports we need— risk becoming merely cultural, an empty shell, if our heart is not in it. All three readings this Sunday underline the point: Pure, unspoilt religion is this: coming to the help of orphans and widows when they need it.
Listen
Reflect
(Mar-k 7:1-8; 14-15; 21-23)
-Certain sections of the Jewish people put great store on the importance of rules and conventions as a measure of the goodness of a person. Jesus challenges this view. How have you found that getting appearances right did not necessarily make you a good person?
-Even fidelity in religious practice is not enough. “This people honours me with their lips, but their heart is far from me”. How have you experienced the importance of carrying your faith beyond attendance on Sundays? When have you seen that in others? What brought this home to you?
-What Jesus seeks are followers whose faith is whole-hearted and warm, people whose religion is not primarily in dutiful observance but in their enthusiasm for life and their care for one another. It is good to be with them. Think of the contrast between a dinner party at which everything is just right but very formal, and another party which is rather haphazard and casual but full of great warmth.
-“It is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come.” It is also from within that good intentions come. We do have choices. When have you been faced with the choice between good and evil? When did you realize the importance of accepting responsibility for your own life and choices? How has this helped your growth as a person?
Pray
Father of light, giver of every good and perfect gift, bring to fruition the word of truth sown in our hearts by your Son, that we may rightly understand your commandments, live your law of love, and so offer you worship that is pure and undefiled. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen.
References
Comments