Outwardly Fervent, Inwardly True Within

HOMILY: Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

29 August 2021

Mark 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23 

Fr. Ricky Cañet Montañez, AA

I wonder if you’ve seen the video ad entitled “Pandemic Effect” before the company-sponsor was forced to take it down. It was a time-lapse video featuring a pretty girl who grows hairy, pimply and overweight as she sits on a couch watching TV during the quarantine.  Although it was meant to encourage people to “take care of themselves during this pandemic”, it drew a lot of criticisms from the netizens who found the ad to be insensitive to those with health issues. Others also said that the advert may actually foster more insecurities for people who are already going through a very tough time. Some pointed out that “the real pandemic effects are unemployment and people losing their loved ones to COVID-19.” In fairness, to the Belo Medical Group they readily apologised, thanked people who had expressed their thoughts on the video and promised to learn from this experience. 

In today’s gospel passage from Mark, Jesus is calling out the scribes and Pharisees for being a bit superficial in terms of their observance of the Law. This stems from the scribes and Pharisees’ indirect criticism of Jesus by complaining that Jesus’ disciples do not observe the proper ritual washing. It is important to understand that this is not merely a hygienic practice but rather a ritual washing. Having a penchant for observing the tiniest details of the Law, including those that are part of what they call the “oral law”, the “unwritten law”, or the “tradition of the elders”, the Pharisees tend to expect any religious person to adopt their very rigid and high standards of holiness. I don’t think the Pharisees are bad people because they do strive for holiness. There are times, however that they can be too caught up with the mere externals that they fail to realise that they have become oblivious to the true intention of the Law. The Law as we are told in the passage from Deuteronomy should direct our hearts to what is right and good, to the ways of God. That is why Jesus admonishes them to move from “outward observances” to “inward intention” of the Law. Jesus does so by quoting a passage from Isaiah against them: “Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written; This people honours me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts. You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.” (Isaiah 29:13; Mark 7:6-8)

This is the same exhortation we find in the Letter of St. James in the Second Reading. He urges the people to act on the word and not merely to hear the word. Of course, it is important to hear the word (some could not even get passed this stage) but it should not stop there. St. James counsels that the word of truth takes concrete form in their lives through the service they render to the community’s most vulnerable, those who have no legal status in a patriarchal society such as the widows and the orphans. 

Reflecting on the 500 Years of Christianity in the Philippines our very own Cardinal Luis Antonio (Chito) Tagle has challenged church people and the laity to take their calling in Christ seriously. If we are honest with ourselves, how many of us take the time to really understand our faith practices as Catholic Christians? Some do not really know what religious meaning they hold for us. For others, these faith practices have completely lost their meaning and so they perform them out of habit. How many people these days care to have a “church wedding” because they understand the values and principle of such as a religious event? There are those who opt for civil marriage thinking a church wedding is an elaborate and very expensive production number.  Do you really think God intended marriage to be about well-dressed couples and their entourage, or expensive floral arrangements? I am happy for us in San Roque Parish that due to the quarantine, our fiesta became a purely religious event, reflecting and drawing inspiration from the life and example of San Roque of service to the Lord. I believe that we are being invited to strive to make of our religious practices an impetus towards a profound experience of God.     

I also invite everyone to take a long hard look at ourselves and how we choose to express our faith and adhere to our religious beliefs. Are we growing deeper in love with the Lord? Does it encourage us to develop more compassion for those around us?  Are we one of those people who like to flaunt their prayer life, in order to be seen or to be perceived as pious and devout more than anything? There are homes where nightly rosaries are a production number in the household. Everyone is there, rosaries, in hand, kneeling before the family altar bedecked with fresh flowers and candles. However, in order to gather everyone, the mom has yelled, scolded and threatened the kids. “Nasaan na kayo?? Ano? Magdadasal ba kayo o hindi?” And although her eyes are tightly shut as she leads the rosary aloud, she manages to yell out orders to the kasambahay or angrily shout expletives over noises that break her concentration on prayer.  It makes for a funny scene for local sitcoms but it is hardly a model for piety or the religious expression of our Catholic Christian faith. Can we be honest with ourselves and see what aspects of our faith life we need to improve on? 

In so many ways, Jesus reminds us that our religious faith has to be better than the mere “externals” of religion. As a people, we have a number of our pious ‘devotions’ that need to flow from a deep religious conviction. During this pandemic, the image of San Roque is popularly paraded in the streets of communities. Sometimes, organizing such events can be very tense and frustrating for our church volunteers. You know this to be true. The funny thing is, that image nor the Saint in heaven, as Bishop Ambo David ably pointed out, is not “superman”. His presence does not heal. God uses ordinary people like us to minister to the sick, to give them hope and encouragement and care. Our devotion to San Roque should make us healers and consolers to the sick through our prayer, provision and presence. I know, we cannot be physically present for those in isolation but we can still be supportive and emotionally present for them. Just take a closer look at the meaning of the word, “devotion”. It is derived from the Latin devotio, which describes an internal attitude that is close to “consecration, surrender, dedication, and the ready will to perform all that belongs to the service of God.” Within us, are our prayers that speak externally of our disposition and internally of our surrender to God. Each complements the other as our devotion should always lead us to the deepening of our faith. It should make us become more faithful and dedicated to the ways of God in our lives. 

A friend of mine, with a zany sense of humour, says she was sad that the Belo ad was taken down. She found the ad hilarious because it spoke the truth of her circumstance and the change in her appearance resulting from foregone salon treatments and gym sessions in lockdown. I believe that although it is necessary for us to take care of ourselves during these tough times, this self-care should go beyond the mere physical, external appearance. There is also the need to toughen what we call our inner reserves, which includes our mental, psychological and spiritual well-being. Admit it or not, many of us can easily get stuck only in the externals. This time of isolation is the perfect time to examine our own hearts. Pray that we may be fervent and true not only with our external practices but with what transforms us from within to make us more and more Christ-like. May we see, experience and share the fruits of piety in our lives… in our actions and in our dealings with one another.