Dear brothers and sisters, in a more Catholic environment, people are sometimes described using descriptions such as practicing Catholics or non-practicing Catholics. In a more Jewish environment, the language often used to express similar descriptions is a little different. One hears descriptions such as an observant Jew or a non-observant one. Both the first reading from Deuteronomy 4 and the Gospel from Mark 7 provide us with a window into the origin of this language. We hear the verb observe used again and again.
A distinguishing characteristic of the Pharisees and Scribes, who are mentioned in the Gospel, was that they were very observant. They were keen on details not only in their everyday lives but also in other people's lives. In the Gospel, St. Mark reports, "When those 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.” Then, we are told several other things that they had observed (Mk 7:1-8).
The concern of the Lord about the Pharisees and Scribes was not that they were observant. He too observed the law. His concern about them was that in observing, what mattered to them, their focus, was not what mattered to God. The things which were so important to them were not so important to God.
They cared about many externals; God cares about the heart. The “heart” in the biblical sense is the wellspring of our thoughts, desires, feelings, motivations, decisions, and actions. The spiritual battle is a battle for the heart. 2 things stand out about the heart in this sense.
1) As your heart is, so you are. Your heart represents the truth about you (Cf. Isaiah 29:13; Ezekiel 33:31; Matthew 15:7–9). If your heart changes (change of heart), your entire self has changed.
2) Truly understanding someone’s heart is as elusive as can be. It is the Lord who searches the heart and examines the mind (Jeremiah 17:9-10). This is why, at the end of the day, God is the judge, the One who has total access to our hearts. On this background, we may now relate the Gospel to ourselves.
Before we arrived, and since then, we observed many things. We have observed things about ourselves and others.
Some Questions:
1- What have we been observing? What have we been attentive to? Is it what matters to God? Have we been attentive to the hearts of those around us?
2- How have we arrived at the judgments that we have made? Part of the challenge of Jesus to us is reminding us of the need for patience with one another, for creating spaces to allow others to express themselves because the heart remains hidden until one has the space and the freedom to express themselves in words and actions. How does this opening of spaces and freedom for others to express themselves take place in our families and our communities? How well do we strive to understand others and to open ourselves to be understood?
3- As we go through life with its ups and downs, how well do we pay attention to what is happening in our hearts? The heart is where God beckons. What is happening in our hearts is a key aspect of what we must bring to prayer - to our relationship with God.
As we come to the Eucharistic Table, let us allow the Lord to take hold of our hearts, to possess them, to heal them, to restore them, to feel them with compassion and love for him and for one another, so that we can walk with him and one another in love. Amen.