Today's Gospel

The Forbidden List

Welcome back to Radical & Relevant, where each day we explore the gospel. We're looking for a word or a phrase or an idea that the Holy Spirit uses to capture your attention so that we can live out the gospel more fully today. Today's reading is from the Gospel of Mark 7: 14-23, "And He called the people to him again, and he said to them, 'Hear me, all of you, and understand there is nothing outside a man which by going into him can defile him, but the things which come out of a man are what defile him.' And when He had entered the house and left the people, His disciples asked Him about the parable. And He said to them, 'Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a man from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart, but his stomach and is passed on?' Thus, He declared all foods clean. And he said, 'What comes out of a man is what defiles a man. For from within, out of the hearts of man come evil thoughts, theft, fornication, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a man.'"

What jumps out at you today? One of the things that captures my attention is Jesus' list. It's a list of things that we don't talk that much about in the world. It's a list of things we don't even talk that much about necessarily at church. But these things are becoming increasingly a part of our culture, a part of our lives, and making us spiritually ill, destroying our relationships, eating away at the fabric of our society. And so maybe today for us to take a few minutes and to reflect on the list, one thing at a time, not just to gloss over it, and say, "Oh, no, I don't do that." Maybe you say theft. "Oh, no, I'm not a thief." But maybe I am. Maybe you are, because maybe we speak poorly about somebody. And in doing so, we steal their good reputation.

And so not just to take the literal interpretation of these things, but to look deeper into these things which are sins, which we also don't talk that much about in society or in church. But to look at these things and to go deeper than just the literal and to ask ourselves, "How are these poisoning our hearts, our souls, our lives, our relationships, and how we've been called to, to change, to grow, to develop, to be transformed?" Because at the end of the day, Jesus constantly wants to turn our lives upside down, which as it turns out, we'll be right side up, if we would just let him. And so maybe our prayer today is come to Jesus and say, "Jesus, turn my life upside down. I'm gonna hate it, but I know it's the best thing for me." Have a great day. Remember, don't just be yourself. Be the very best version of yourself, all that God created you to be.

I hope you're enjoying the daily gospel reflections. So, one of the things I love doing, spending this time with you each day. Recently, I released a book called 33 Days to Divine Mercy. If you haven't had a chance to check that out yet, I encourage you to do that today.