DGeMs- Daily Gospel eMessage
Dear Friend in the Lord,
“Hypocritical Observances” – Faith: In today’s Gospel, Jesus proclaimed to the Pharisees and scribes, that they were deceiving others through their hypocritical living. They showed others that they were “religious and holy” but, in truth, Jesus says, “they only honour God with lip-service.” Ponder on, “How authentic are we in our faith, love and hope in God?”
Fr Philip Heng, S.J.
Mark 7:1-2, 5-8
The Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered round Jesus, and they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with unclean hands, that is, without washing them.
So the Pharisees and scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not respect the tradition of the elders but eat their food with unclean hands?’ He answered, ‘How rightly Isaiah prophesied about you hypocrites in the passage of scripture: This people honours me only with lip-service, while their hearts are far from me. Their reverence of me is worthless; the lessons they teach are nothing but human commandments. You put aside the commandment of God to observe human traditions.’