In the Gospel passage from Mark that we hear today, Jesus is being accused of being too relaxed about following the laws of his Jewish religion. Why? Because some of his disciples were eating without first washing their hands. In the Jewish tradition, meals were a time for giving thanks. Washing hands was a traditional act of purification before a devout Jew prayed to God on High before eating. So it was an important and worthy practice. Jesus responded to the Pharisees and Scribes by reminding them that, too often, religious people substitute human religious traditions for God’s laws. You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition, he says. It seems we Catholics sometimes still do that today. On the internet there is vitriolic criticism of people who receive communion in the hand even though all customs about communion reception are clearly man-made. There is caustic criticism of Pope Francis for suggesting that the Church’s approach toward divorced people or LGBTQ+ people — man-made rules — are not sufficiently person-centered, or pastoral. Today’s Epistle from the letter of James is almost a response to Jesus’ critics: Religion that is pure … is this: to care for orphans and widows … and to keep oneself unstained by the world. Custom and tradition are important. They hold a community together. But custom and tradition are not supposed to be chains that keep the community from growing and changing as it responds to new needs and insights.
— Blog entry by Sister Mary Garascia
