Human Traditions

Tuesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes

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Gospel of Mark 7:1-13

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, ".....You disregard God's commandment but cling to your human tradition.....You nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition that you have handed on."

Unclean Hands  Once again Jesus and his disciples are under scrutiny.  This time the Pharisees and scribes question why Jesus and his disciples eat meals with unclean hands.  The elders are more concerned about following traditional Jewish law than bending the rules or making exceptions. I figure with all of Jesus' travels it was difficult to keep his body clean.  He and his disciples shook the dust off their feet and probably brushed off the dust with their hands! The Pharisees and scribes insisted on pointing out everything wrong with Jesus and his followers.  They knew he was popular around the land.  Why not continue to mock and question?  Maybe enough questions will  gather condemning evidence against this self-proclaimed Son of God.

 Mud Pies  My sister and I used to love to make mud pies and mud pottery as kids.  We often sourced dirt from my grandmother's flower beds.  Grandma didn't like this very much, especially with her back porch covered in mud.  We'd be careful not to uproot her shrubs or her flowers.  She'd remind us to clean up after ourselves when we were finished. Wash those hands and feet!  I became quite a little potter in my younger years, creating all sorts of bowls and dishes.  I'd often collect grassy weeds and pretend to "cook" them in my designed pots.  My grandma's aluminum pie pans would be filled with globs of mud sprinkled with weeds! Ummmm, good.  My sister and I never ate our mud pies or the weeds in our mud pots, but I knew some kids who didn't mind a tasty dirt snack.  My sister and I created our own  "tradition" of playing with dirt.  We always had so much fun!  Fortunately, we grew out of our kid-inspired mud-digging explorations.  We began to form our own traditions.  

Human Traditions   We are all familiar with human traditions.  We celebrate holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas with family. We hold graduation parties, baby showers, and bachelor/bachelorette parties.  We  chant our favorite college fight songs and attend favorite sporting events year after year.  We enjoy our traditions.  They bring us comfort. They make us feel good. They are just plain fun!    Sometimes in the midst of celebrating our human traditions we lose sight of God.  We are so focused on our own pursuits that we neglect God's hand in our traditions.  If it wasn't for his divine presence in our lives, traditions would not be as meaningful.  We cannot disregard God's commandments clinging to our own traditions.  Both go hand in hand. How important for us to take a moment and say a prayer of Thanksgiving to Our Lord.  Praise him for the blessings he's bestowed on each one of us.  Never take for granted God's love for us.  

Why don't we start our own divine traditions?  Say a daily rosary.  Read the scripture passages for the day.  Spend fifteen minutes in front of the Blessed sacrament.  Begin monthly confession.  Read works from spiritual writers.  Take five minutes while we are cleaning ourselves in a hot bath or shower to say:  "Thank you, Lord, for the many traditions you've blessed me with!  I love you very much and seek to follow your way and your light!"

I love this passage from Psalm 33:

He frustrates the designs of the nations,

he defeats the plans of the peoples.

His own designs shall stand for ever,

the plans of his heart from age to age.

Our own human traditions may change according to God's will.  However, divine traditions will always stand the test of time.

-J.