Are You Saying It? Doing It? or Living It?

Gospel          
30 August 2009       
22^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time      
Mk. 7:1-8,14-15,21-23

By: Jean Avellanosa-Dee

I had this experience in grade school, like most kids in catholic schools, we began to learn how to pray the Lord’s prayer, the apostle’s creed, the rosary and so on. And it was painstakingly difficult because of all the BIG words I didn’t understood at that time. The teachers would even have you take quizzes about the prayers you were forced to memorize, and if you fail to memorize it ‘correctly’, you might get a failing mark. So I did my best like any diligent kid would do. I was passing the quizzes given by the teacher, but now I wonder if Jesus gave me a passing mark?
The Gospel of today somehow resembles my grade school experience. The Pharisees observed their traditions very well. Yes, they successfully ‘observed’ it and not exactly ‘live’ it. Jesus tells us, like how he kept reminding the Pharisees that the purpose of human tradition is not for it to become the ‘rule and the law’ but only a means to help us live accordingly with God’s commandments. Surely, it is most practical for us to clean our hands thoroughly before meals, but from how it turned out, we put more time and effort in making ourselves physically clean, than spiritually clean.
Like the Pharisees, sometimes, we miss the real POINT of prayer and human traditions. We focus more on the BIG words and practices but actually failed to live the Word. We think that by simply doing our daily routines as a Christian like going to mass, serving in church, praying the rosary 5 times a day, and doing other religious cliches would help us secure a fabulous seat in heaven. These are but means and opportunities to learn about God,  and how He loves us, so that we can be spiritually equipped in using what we learn from these activities and practically applying it in our lives outside the walls of the church. The real challenge of today’s Gospel is not how well you can mechanically follow these traditions, but how well can you live up to the commandments of the Lord.
When I was in grade school, I struggled in memorizing the Catholic prayers. Today,  you and I not only struggle to conform with traditions, but we also struggle in living the Word of God every single millisecond of our lives. I wonder, are we failing or are we passing in Jesus’ point of view? Are we simply doing what we are told or are we actually living what we are taught?