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Theo Tigno•
2/7/2011 8:21 pm
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Tuesday, February 8th 2011 |
Mark 7: 1-13
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 went on to say, "How well you have set aside the commandment of God in order to uphold your tradition! For Moses said, Honor your father and your mother, and Whoever curses father or mother shall die. Yet you say, 'If someone says to father or mother, "Any support you might have had from me is qorban"' (meaning, dedicated to God), you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother. You nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many such things."
Dawg's Thought:
Today's prayer intention - for Len Campbell who is going into surgery on Tuesday.
A friend of mine recently told me that he wished that he knew as many prayers as I know. To that, I responded, "all that means is that God gave me the gift of a decent memory." What good is knowing various prayers from the treasury of prayers that we have if you don't pray it? In the same way, what good is it to be able to quote scripture if all you want to do is prove that you are right?
What knowledge can we offer that God doesn't already know? What quote from the Bible can we give Our God that He didn't inspire?
In today's reading, Jesus reveals the desire of God: "their hearts are far from Me." He wants your heart. He doesn't want you to merely pay for the "gym membership"; He wants you to come into the gym so that you can become better. He doesn't want you to merely memorize the Bible; He wants your heart to be open to hearing His voice speaking through the scriptures.
Lord, let us be a people that honor You with our lips,
and in giving praise, we raise our lowly hearts to You.
Let us not offer this praise in vain,
but rather, may the praise we offer open our hearts
to Your divine providence.
Take care and God Bless.
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