Gospel Reflection 2020/2021

“You put aside the commandment of God to cling to human traditions!” This is a fiery remark of Jesus against the hypocritical Scribes and Pharisees.

No, Jesus is not against all traditions.

Jesus Himself was a Jew: He was born as a Jew, lived as a Jew, and died as a Jew. Jesus was circumcised when He was eight days old [Lk 2: 21]; He was presented to God at the Temple according to the Law of Moses [Lk 2: 22-24]; after His death, He was given a Jewish burial [Jn 19: 40].

During His earthly life, Jesus observed the Jewish laws and traditions; and He admonished His followers to do likewise unwaveringly [Mt 5: 17-48]. He and His disciples celebrated the Jewish feasts especially the Passover [Mt 26: 17-30, Mk 14: 12-25, Lk 22: 14-20]. As the Jewish traditions required, they prayed and sang psalms at the appointed hours of the day.

Not all traditions are bad. St Paul [2 Th 2: 15] exhorts all of us to “stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that we were taught by them (apostles), either by word of mouth or by their letter.” [cf. CCC 83]

Here, Jesus is condemning the hypocrites and their hypocrisy.

(1) The FIRST group of hypocrites that Jesus condemns are the ones who abandon the commandment of God and hold onto the traditions of men. These are the traditions that undermine, supersede, contradict and even nullify God’s commandment. Today, there are various unwritten protocols and unspoken rules – in the country, in the society, in the workplace, in the parishes and in the ministries of the Church – that continue to bind us and blind us.

(2) The SECOND group of hypocrites that Jesus condemns are ”whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of filth” [Mt 23:27]. They do not walk the talk and do not practice what they preach. They honour God with lip-service; but their hearts are far away from God. These are the ones who ostentatiously put on external show to conceal their internal evil and the rottenness of their souls.

Fighting hypocrisy begins with our own selves.

The only way to fight hypocrisy is with Truth. And this Truth has already been revealed fully by our Lord Jesus, and handed down to us by the Holy and Apostolic Church. We need to know it deeply in our minds, embrace it dearly in our hearts, and live it genuinely in our lives.

Let our fervent prayer be:

“Lord Jesus Christ, teach me Your Truth that I may know it, embrace it, and live it.”