Saint Frances Cabrini Parish

Father Kleppner - August 30, 2009

I share with you the following reflection on this Sunday’s readings by Patricia Datchuck Sánchez

Authentic holiness
Dt 4:1-2, 6-8; Ps15; Jas 1:17-18, 21-22, 27; Mk 7:1-8,14-15,21-23
Have you ever felt that you were simply going through the motions of your day-to-day existence? We get up, get dressed, go to work, come home, have supper, go to a meeting, go to bed and then repeat the same routine the next day and the next and the next. Because of the unavoidable repetitiveness of our daily actions and responsibilities, we tend to fall into a rut that may be boring but is nevertheless somewhat comfortable in its sameness and predictability. In those times when this repetitive routine carries over into our spiritual life, we may find that our holiness is not real. Prayers become rote and participation at liturgy becomes more of a habit than a commitment. Like Eleanor Rigby in the Beatles song of the same name, we begin to wear the face that we keep in a jar by the door. Our piety becomes superficial, and because it is no more than skin-deep, we sink into that place of disconnectedness that we call hypocrisy.
Each of the sacred texts for today addresses this disconnect while urging believers toward integrity and authenticity of life. True piety is not a practiced and soulless routine but a holiness that arises from within a heart that is consciously in love with God. This God, as the first reading has affirmed, is “so close” that every human cry, every prayer, every sigh is heard. This God mediated a law through Moses, the observance of which leads to life and well-being, to wisdom and intelligence. Clearly the Israelites understood that the law was not intended to be an imposition of a punishment but a guide that would direct the truly observant toward holiness that was reflective of their God.
Although the law was initially rather simple in its governance of the relations between God and humankind (Commandments One through Three) as well as the relationships between human beings (Four through Ten), it eventually evolved into a complex maze of legislation. By the time of Jesus, ordinary folks needed professional assistance to make their way through the myriad details that governed every aspect of their waking lives. These religious professionals, the Pharisees, were revered and admired for their dedication, and rightly so. But eventually, as Jesus points out in today’s Gospel, their dedication to so many minute details skewed their judgment and sensibilities. Like so many very well-intentioned and holy people, they began to pay more attention to the letter than the spirit of the law. Gradually, their observance devolved into external rituals that were very conscientiously performed but were becoming less and less informed by interior holiness.
When Jesus recognized this lack of integrity, he warned his disciples against it. Quoting the prophet Isaiah, Jesus called forth a commitment from his disciples to assure that the faith they professed with their lips sprang from a heart that was given completely to God. Within such a heart, values can be appropriately set. Then the disciple understands that true cleanliness arises from the purity of one’s interior inspiration and not from soap and water.
In order to promote this authentic holiness in his readers, the letter of James (second reading) directed his readers to the word of God: Welcome the word, hear the word and be doers of the word. This word is planted within you, insists the ancient writer. Because of this, we must tend the living word of God that speaks its relevant truth to every era and every generation so it can grow and bloom and bear the good fruit of holiness. This holiness finds its first expression in us when we praise God at the Liturgy of the Word and the Eucharist. Then, that same holiness is to be carried forth from the celebration and translated into the care and service of others, particularly God’s least ones.
Believers cannot remain true in holiness of we allow our piety to devolve into empty external ritual. To guard against this disconnect, we require a daily reconnection with God, with the truth of the Word, and with others, whose needs, struggles and sorrows should keep us honest in our striving for wholeness and holiness.

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