Today's Gospel

February 6, 2024

February 6, 2024


Root Out Hypocrisy

3 min


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Gospel

Mk 7:1-13


Now when the Pharisees gathered together to him, with some of the scribes, who had come from Jerusalem, they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands defiled, that is, unwashed. For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they wash their hands, observing the tradition of the elders; and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they purify themselves; and there are many other traditions which they observe, the washing of cups and pots and vessels of bronze. And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with hands defiled?” And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,

This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’
You leave the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men.”

And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God, in order to keep your tradition! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him surely die’; but you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, What you would have gained from me is Corban’ (that is, given to God)—then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God through your tradition which you hand on. And many such things you do.”

Readings are from Dynamic Catholic’s New Testament Bible: RSV Catholic Edition

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Transcript


Root Out Hypocrisy

Welcome back to Radical and Relevant. We're exploring the genius and the simplicity of the gospel. Today's gospel, we encounter the Pharisees. Are there Pharisees in your life that you're dealing with at the moment? Today's reading is from the Gospel of Mark 7:1-13. Now when the Pharisees gathered together with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, they saw that some of Jesus' disciples ate with hands defiled that is unwashed. For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands, observing the tradition of the elders. And when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they purify themselves. And there are many other traditions which they observe and washing of cups and pots and vessels of bronze.

And the Pharisees and the scribes asked Jesus, "Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with hands defiled?" And he said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of 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, the precepts of men. You leave the commandment of God and hold fast to the tradition of men." He said to them. And he continued, "You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to keep your traditions. For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother, and he who speaks evil of father and mother, let him surely die.' But you say, 'If a man tells his father or his mother, what you would have gained from me is Kriban, that is, given to God, then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the Word of God through your tradition which you hand on and many such things you do.'" So Jesus is encountering the Pharisees and He's pointing out the hypocrisy.

And the word I pick today is hypocrites. And the challenge I present for myself and for you is to explore our own hypocrisy. What is the hypocrisy of our own life? In what way are we saying, this is how we're invited to live, this is how God leads us to live, this is what we're called to, but then doing something completely opposite, either willfully or out of human weakness? Either way, let's explore our hypocrisy today so that we can go into the world with the awareness that we're not perfect, but that we're striving to root out these imperfections that God is pointing out for us each day in the genius of the gospel. God bless you. Have a great day. And remember, don't just be yourself, be the very best version of yourself, all that God created you to be.

February 6, 2024

February 6, 2024