Tuesday, 2/12/13
Our Gospel today is from the first part of Chapter Seven of
the Gospel according to Mark. With Lent starting tomorrow we won’t get to hear
the last part of this passage, so let’s now consult our Bibles for the last
part of this story.
From 450 B.C. the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem began adding
rules to those set down in the time of Moses. By Our Lord’s time these extra
rules far far outnumbered the
original rules laid down in the Bible, and the Pharisees often attacked
Jesus and the Apostles for their failure to observe the many thousands of new
rules.
In today’s Gospel the disciples ate a snack without first
going through a ceremonial washing, and for that the Pharisees accused the
disciples of not keeping holy the Sabbath.
Jesus defended his disciples by saying that the thousands of
rules the Pharisees made up often went against God’s rules. Like, God wants
hungry men to be able to eat without a lot of ceremony. What’s more, Jesus
pointed out that Pharisees often used lawyer’s tricks to avoid doing the right
thing. Like, if they put their money in trust with the temple they do not need
to use it to help needy parents.
Jesus went on to make a major statement, setting aside all
the Bible’s rules about food that could not be eaten. The rule had been that
with land animals the only meat that was lawful was that of animals that chewed
the cud; while with animals from the water it was only the meat of creatures
that had fins and scales. Acting on his own authority, Jesus declared all
previously forbidden foods lawful.
Putting it neatly, he said, nothing that enters our mouths
make us unclean. It is only the hateful things that come out of our mouths that
make us unclean.
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