My Dear People,

Today both readings deal with following the Law. In Deuteronomy, Moses exhorts the people to follow the law of God, in the gospel Jesus tells the people that we must follow the Law of God from our hearts.

Moses is giving exhortation to the new generation which will enter the promised land. Having recalled the main events in Israel’s journey from Sinai-Horeb onwards, in which God’s special providence was evident, the text now stresses the privileged position of the Hebrew people, chosen as they are from among all the nations of the earth, and enabled to draw near to him in a close relationship guided beyond the experience of the Gentiles. If the generation going to the Promised land remains faithful to God’s law, everything will go well for them. It is used here to stress the significance of the proclamation of the law that is to follow. Obedience to the law is not for Israel’s sake alone. Israel’s compliance will serve as witness to the other nations of the extraordinary character of these statutes and decrees. Such obedience is, then, a sign of Israel’s wisdom. The nations will recognize the wisdom contained in this law and conclude that only a great people would merit so great a God.

This is the charge with which Moses sends the people to the Promised land.  The themes of these verses are typical of Wisdom writing. The very life of Israel, shaped as it is by obedience to the Law, will be an eloquent lesson for all other nations. This passage opens an out-reaching, implies a universal mission for the chosen people, a message which looks far ahead and will find its fulfillment in the future spread of the Church throughout the world.

The Gospel today shows the Pharisees complaining about how the disciples of Jesus washed their hands. They were concerned about the procedure and rituals which were not part of the law of God, yet it was a very important point for them. In a sense they had gotten away from what was important: the decrees of the law of God, and focused on what was secondary: the washing of hands. Jesus calls them on it. And he is very emphatic, and he points out that these people honor God with their lips, (that is, they say all that the law requires), but their hearts are far from me. In vain they worship me. They follow the law, but their heart is away from God.  In other words, they follow the letter of the law but not the spirit of the law.  They miss the important point of the law.  As Jesus pointed out, it is from the heart that comes great malice, such as unchasteness, murder, theft, adultery, deceit, etc. All these evils which come from the heart are the ones that defile. These are the ones that one should pay attention to and are often overlooked or ignored.

This shows us that often we may follow the letter of the law, but if our hearts are far away from God, we let other thoughts of malice enter. Like the Pharisees, when we have our hearts away from God, even though we may follow the law literally, we do not see the evil which is created within. When we see the wrong in others, which is easy to see, we may not see the wrong in ourselves. For this reason, Jesus mentions we must follow the law of God with our hearts and not just with our actions.  

 Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. Vincent Clemente