Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
The Temple is for People
Introduction
At the dedication of the Temple of Jerusalem, King Solomon prayed to the Lord. He asked God to be always present in the temple for the sake of the covenant; thus, he would be available to people expressing their needs.
After a period of initial fervor, the teaching of the Pharisees began to imply that people were to be sacrificed for the sake of the Temple, that religious traditions (made by people and juridical) were more important than God’s laws, which are supposed to be interior to people and express a personal relationship. Jesus takes them to many tasks for it. For the Temple of the Lord is there for people, not people for the Temple.
Opening Prayer
Father, God of the ever-new covenant,
you have tied us to yourself
with leading strings of lasting love;
the words you speak to us
are spirit and life.
Open our hearts to your words,
that they may touch us
in the deepest of ourselves.
May they move us to serve you
not in a slavish way,
but as your sons and daughters
who love you and whom you have set free
through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
First Reading: 1 Kgs 8:22-23,27-30
in the presence of the whole community of Israel,
and stretching forth his hands toward heaven,
he said, “LORD, God of Israel,
there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below;
you keep your covenant of mercy with your servants
who are faithful to you with their whole heart.
“Can it indeed be that God dwells on earth?
If the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain you,
how much less this temple which I have built!
Look kindly on the prayer and petition of your servant, O LORD, my God,
and listen to the cry of supplication which I, your servant,
utter before you this day.
May your eyes watch night and day over this temple,
the place where you have decreed you shall be honored;
may you heed the prayer which I, your servant, offer in this place.
Listen to the petitions of your servant and of your people Israel
which they offer in this place.
Listen from your heavenly dwelling and grant pardon.”
Responsorial psalm
My soul yearns and pines
for the courts of the LORD.
My heart and my flesh
cry out for the living God.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest
in which she puts her young—
Your altars, O LORD of hosts,
my king and my God!
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
Blessed they who dwell in your house!
continually they praise you.
O God, behold our shield,
and look upon the face of your anointed.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
I had rather one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I had rather lie at the threshold of the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
Alleluia
Incline my heart, O God, to your decrees;
and favor me with your law.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: Mk 7:1-13
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 went on to say,
“How well you have set aside the commandment of God
in order to uphold your tradition!
For Moses said,
Honor your father and your mother,
and Whoever curses father or mother shall die.
Yet you say,
‘If someone says to father or mother,
“Any support you might have had from me is qorban”‘
(meaning, dedicated to God),
you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother.
You nullify the word of God
in favor of your tradition that you have handed on.
And you do many such things.”
Intercessions
– For the Church, that it may not replace the Gospel with rites and laws of human invention, but bring to people the freedom, the gentleness and the light of Christ, we pray:
– For those who are upset by the changes in the Church, that they may learn to appreciate the attempts of God’s people to understand and live our faith in a contemporary way that remains true to the Gospel, we pray:
– For us who share in the Lord’s table, that we may learn from Jesus that love is the heart of the law and that true love knows how to serve, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
we bring before you our readiness
to respond to your love.
Strengthen us with the body and blood
of your Son Jesus Christ,
that with him, we may be dedicated to you
with our whole mind and heart,
and that we may be capable
of communicating your love and justice
to all those around us.
Grant this through Christ, our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
your Son has shared himself with us
in this Eucharistic celebration.
Give us his Spirit of strength, we pray you,
that we may also share in his attitude
of openness to your will
and to the needs of people.
May we thus, fulfill more than the law
and serve you as your sons and daughters,
in whom you recognize Jesus Christ,
your Son and our Lord for ever.
Blessing
As grateful children of God, let us put our hearts in seeking in the commandments, not our will but the will of God, so that we do not ask what God orders us to do but simply how we can respond to his love and show that love to the people around us. May God bless you all: the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Reflection:
6 February 2024
Mark 7: 1-13
Observing traditions
In today’s gospel, Jesus calls the Pharisees hypocrites because they “disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.” Pope Francis explains this passage and says, “Today Jesus wants to caution us too, against the belief that outward observance of the commandments is enough to make us good Christians.
Even if we scrupulously observe all the rules and customs but fail to love our neighbours, we are arrogant and proud. We come across people in our communities and our parishes who say they are deeply Catholic, who attend church regularly but neglect their own families, ill-treat others and use uncharitable means to increase their profits.
Pharisaic hypocrisy has survived through the centuries and is evident even in our lives today. How often do we use the Word of God to scare people? Nowadays, many sermons scare the audience of God’s impending punishments.
God, in his mercy, forgives us and brings us healing and grace for overcoming sin and evil. Let us ask the Lord to cleanse us with the purifying fire of his Holy Spirit. “Lord, let me dwell in your presence and fill me with the knowledge of yourtruth and goodness. Instruct my heart that I may walk in your way of love and holiness.”