Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Beyond the Rules and Traditions

YOU HYPOCRITES

Gracious God, as a loving parent, you provide us with guides to help us be in better relationships. Sometimes we ignore them. Other times we apply them too rigidly. Open our hearts and minds to better accept and apply them in the spirit of your love.

Share a story of when you followed the spirit of the law instead of the letter of the law.

Ruben García, founder of the Annunciation House network for migrants in El Paso, Texas, describes the nonprofit’s mission in an interview with Maryknoll Magazine on Nov. 14, 2012. (Octavio Duran/U.S.)

Last year, the Texas Attorney General filed a lawsuit to shut down Annunciation House, a Catholic nonprofit in El Paso that aids migrants and asylum-seekers, accusing it of “human smuggling.” This move was criticized by Catholic immigration advocates, including El Paso Bishop Mark J. Seitz, who said that the nonprofit provides essential services such as food, shelter, and legal assistance to migrants in accordance with Gospel values. Annunciation House has operated for over 46 years, offering hospitality and support to migrants. The lawsuit, initiated by Attorney General Ken Paxton, claims the nonprofit’s activities amount to facilitating illegal entry into the U.S. and human smuggling.

Bishop Seitz and other advocates defend Annunciation House, emphasizing its role in offering humane support to migrants and criticizing the lawsuit as an attack on charitable work. They argue that if Annunciation House’s work is deemed illegal, then similar work by hospitals, schools, and food banks would also be illegal. Bishop Seitz affirmed the Church’s commitment to defending religious freedom and continuing to serve migrants. The matter remains pending in court.

(Catholic Leaders Outraged at Attempt to Close Migrant Shelter, Maryknoll Magazine, February, 2024)

When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. —For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their hands, keeping the tradition of the elders. And on coming from the marketplace they do not eat without purifying themselves. And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed, the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds. — So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, “Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?” He responded, “Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written: This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts. You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.” He summoned the crowd again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile.

“From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they defile.”Mk 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Jesus addresses the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and scribes who strictly follow the traditions of the elders but, on this occasion, miss the deeper purpose of the commandments. As missionary disciples, we are encouraged to reflect on how we approach traditions and rules in our lives. Are we being hypocrites like them? By examining our true motives and the reasons behind traditions, we ensure that we follow God’s commandment to love, rather than using them to burden, judge, or exclude others.

How do you handle the disillusionment you experience in your faith life and community? How are you being called to nourish yourself and others?

Reach out to someone who has had a negative experience of church and doesn’t feel welcome. Listen to their story, be really present to them, and offer them your empathy and support.

Loving God, help us see beyond the surface, beyond external acts, to a deeper purpose. May our thoughts be kind, our actions compassionate, and our motives pure. Guard us against hypocrisy. Let us not cling to human rules and traditions but rather embrace your commandment to love one another.