Homily
for September 3, 2006 Liturgical
Year B - Cycle II
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Joshua Nyoni Topic:
A Clean Heart
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Reading
I
Book 1:1
Reading I Dt 4:1-2, 6-8 Moses said to the people: “Now, Israel, hear
the statutes and decrees which I am teaching you to observe, that you
may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land which the
LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. In your observance of the
commandments of the LORD, your God, which I enjoin upon you, you shall
not add to what I command you nor subtract from it. Observe them
carefully, for thus will you give evidence of your wisdom and
intelligence to the nations, who will hear of all these statutes and
say, ‘This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.’ For
what great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the LORD,
our God, is to us whenever we call upon him? Or what great nation has
statutes and decrees that are as just as this whole law which I am
setting before you today?”
Reading II
Jas 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27
Dearest brothers and sisters:
All good giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from
the Father of lights, with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused
by change. He willed to give us birth by the word of truth that we may
be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.
Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to
save your souls.
Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this:
to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself
unstained by the world.
Gospel
Mk 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem
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 summoned the crowd again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and
understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that
person; but the things that come out from within are what defile.
“From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity,
theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy,
blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they
defile.”
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In the first reading, we heard Moses urging the people to be
faithful to God’s laws, without adding anything to it, or subtracting
from it. The Law, I would say, must not be looked at as something like
a burden to be endured, but as a source of life and of wisdom. In the
law, we see what God wills for us. Of course, what He wills is always
good because from Him abounds good. When He created all that which He
had created, “He saw that it was good.” Moreover, it came from Him, who
is good. What God wills for us, is always good. In keeping the laws
ourselves, I should say, we actualize, we put into practice as it were,
that very good which springs from God. In keeping the laws, we
experience God’s goodness.
From James in his letter, he clearly indicates the way to
holiness, the way to sanctity. James is very practical and down to
earth. He says, “The very heart of holiness consists not just in
listening to God’s word, but in taking care of the orphans and the
widows.” He says, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and
the Father is this, to care for the orphans and the widows in their
afflictions, and to keep ones self unstained by the world.” To the
people of Israel, God had given them the law, through Moses of course.
“Now Israel, hear the statutes and decrees which I am teaching you to
observe, that you may live. In your observance of the commandments of
the law of your God, which I enjoin upon you, you shall not add to what
I command you, nor subtract from it.” The learned scribes and the
Pharisees did exactly the opposite. They created and added more ritual
rules. Rules to do with, as we know, with washing, bathing, cleansing,
preparing equipment, some animals for offerings and all this for
sacrifice, etc., and maybe there were also some rules for some special
clothes to wear and all that. Their worship and their religion
emphasized on externals. They forgot, I would say, the internal aspect
of religion. They forgot the essential; they forgot the heart, love and
mercy.
Even the prophets themselves, God warned Israel through the
prophets. If you read or see in James 6:6, you will see God saying, “I
don’t like your sacrifices or holocausts. I want your hearts set. I
want the sacrifice of the heart.” Without the sacrifice of the heart
within, the external, I would say, is of no value. The God we believe
in is a God of the heart.
As we normally do, we come to church with our bodies bathed
and cleansed. We put on our best clothes and all this. We made all
this, you know what I am talking about, so that we can look …. Yes. I
do not want to say, but you know, don’t you. So we can look handsome,
maybe like myself, no? We do all that to beautify the external.
However, the real issue is that we should not forget the heart. We
shouldn’t forget the heart. We should beautify or adorn our hearts, so
that we leave all that which is evil. We put on all that which is good.
To have some kind of a heart that forgives, a heart that is humble, a
heart that goes out to service, and all this.
Jesus places much emphasis on the heart because the heart is
the source from which all our thoughts, our words, and all our deeds,
they flow from the heart. If the heart is clean, then all that flows
from it will be clean. If the heart is a mess, you will see the mess
outside. This is very true. Where did all the evil that you see in the
world begin? They began inside. Someone commented, “All is inside.” My
question to each one of us today is this: What are you cooking inside?
What are you frying in your heart there? Please check that.
Allow me to conclude with this. Today, pollution has become
a big issue, and rightly so. People want clean water, clean air, and
clean food. However, we should be even more concerned about the most
dangerous pollution of them all, namely evil, pride, anger, hate, lust,
greed, and envy. All these are dangerous pollutants. So what must we
do? We must purify the source. The heart is the source. All our
thoughts, words, and deeds flow from this wellspring. If the heart is
clean, all that flows from it will be clean. “Blessed are the clean of
heart, they shall see God.” Please do something about that heart which
I see. I am looking at it.