Be Doers of the Word and not Hearers Only

08-29-2021Weekly ReflectionFr. Manasseh Iorchir, VC

In today’s world, as was in ancient times, nations are said to be great if they have a powerful military, strong economy, achieve significant scientific and business feats, and possess international diplomatic integrity. Israel had left Egypt and, after forty years of desert wandering, was about to enter Canaan, the promised Land. Moses, their leader, wanted them to have a unique national identity and so he invented a new standard of measuring national greatness. According to him, Israel was to be a nation of God’s people and they would achieve that by observing God’s statutes. They would be acknowledged as great in wisdom and understanding, not because of their military might or economic strength, but because of their diligent observance of God’s just statutes.

We are the new Israel, and the fi rst reading today reminds us that, in God’s sight, we are not great because of what we own; we are great if we generously apply ourselves to faithfully observe the Divine law of love.

In the second reading, St. James admonishes us to be doers, not just hearers, of the Word. For him, pure and true religion is simply love and care for the afflicted and the constant struggle to keep oneself unstained by the standards of the world.

This is what the Pharisees failed to understand in their zeal to ensure strict adherence to the law. Their multiplication of precepts, and their demand for rigid observance of traditions, like washing of hands before meals, led them to outrageously equate man-made traditions to Divine law. By doing so, Pharisees fell into the habit of operating as if their rules could replace the Decalogue. Jesus condemned this pharisaical attitude in today’s gospel. He would rather have our hearts purified with goodwill, charity and justice. We pray that God’s Word to us today may make available to us wisdom and understanding so that we are adequately enabled to perfectly observe God’s law in a manner that would truly please Him.

God bless you.

Fr. Manasseh

BACK TO LIST