Scripture Study for
Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Deuteronomy 4:1–2, 6–8 / Psalm 15:1a / James 1:17–18, 21b–22, 27 / Mark 7:1–8, 14–15, 21–23
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Understanding the Word
By Dianne Bergant, C.S.A.
Moses calls the people to hear (shema). It is a solemn summons used to assemble the people of God for consultation, worship, or war. It is used here to stress the significance of the proclamation of the law that is to follow. Obedience to the law is not for Israel’s sake alone. Israel’s compliance will serve to witness to the other nations the extraordinary character of these statutes and decrees. Such obedience is, then, a sign of Israel’s wisdom. The nations will recognize the wisdom contained in this law, and conclude that only a great people would merit so great a God.
Three characteristics of God are praised in the Letter of James. God is first described as the fountain of giving and the source of all the gifts themselves. Furthermore, God’s goodness is constant, not intermittent. God is the source of both our birth and our re-birth or salvation. Finally, the Christians are admonished to avoid those practices of the world that challenge Christian values. They are also to intervene on behalf of the community’s most vulnerable, the widows and orphans who have no legal status in the patriarchal society. When they do this, the word of truth will take concrete form in their lives.
The conflict between Jesus and some of his opponents concerns ritual cleansing. The custom of hand washing originated as a regulation observed by priests when offering sacrifice, and over time developed into an obligation for everyone. Jesus’ disciples were not observing this custom. Jesus’ response to criticism is swift and incisive. He explicitly draws a comparison between those whom the prophet condemns and the scribes and Pharisees who condemn the disciples. The very ones who demand strict observance of their law fail to observe God’s law. Jesus uses this encounter to teach a deeper lesson. He insists that defilement originates from the innermost recesses of the heart, not from some external behavior.