Reflecting deep faith or disinterest
Gestures are symbols of faith as we enter the presence of the sacred
September 3, 2006 -- 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Michael Stubbs
When entering a church building, we Catholics will usually dip our fingers in holy water and make the sign of the cross. That gesture recalls our baptism, the sacrament which brought us into the community of faith symbolized by the church building. That gesture can also put us into the proper frame of mind, as we enter into the presence of the sacred.
On the other hand, when made hastily and without thought, that gesture makes the person look as though he or she is chasing flies. At best, it then looks like an automatic gesture performed from habit, rather than a meaningful sign of faith.
The practice of washing before entering into worship is found in many religions of the world. For example, the Moslems often locate a fountain outside the entrance to a mosque for that purpose. During Old Testament times, there was a large bronze basin filled with water standing at the door of the Temple of Jerusalem. Some scholars believe that it served for the purification of the priests, while other scholars hold that it played a symbolic role. In any case, the Law of Moses required the Israelite priests to wash themselves when approaching the Temple.
Eventually, the Pharisees started to extend the ritual requirements regarding the Temple to the home. They wanted the Jewish home to become a place to sanctify the family. Similarly, the ritual requirements which originally only applied to the priests were also extended to lay people. In that way, the Jewish people could become a holy people, dedicated to God. This approach explains the criticism leveled by the Pharisees against Jesus' disciples in Sunday's gospel reading: "Why do your disciples not follow the traditions of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?" (Mark 7:5) Washing the hands before meals had become a pious practice, in imitation of the priests at the Temple washing their hands before a sacrifice. It is comparable to our dipping our fingers in holy water when entering church.
On the surface, there is nothing wrong with that. But if a pious practice remains at the surface, it can distract us from going further. And Jesus was concerned about that.
In Sunday's gospel reading, Jesus distinguishes between superficial religious practices and the decisions which go to the heart of our relationship with God. He sums up the distinction in a little saying: "Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile." Jesus then lists a number of sins which flow out of the decision to turn away from God. They matter a lot more than the decision to wash your hands.
There are other places in the gospels where Jesus observes the religious traditions of his people. As such, he had no problem with them. At the same time, he wanted to insure that those traditions were invested with meaning. He wanted to avoid them turning into empty gestures. He wanted them to reflect a deep faith in God.
(Fr. Stubbs, a priest of the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas, has a master's degree in theology from Harvard.)
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