Message of Abbot Paul - Tuesday 7th February 2023

Who would not be shocked by the mammoth earthquakes that took place in south eastern Turkey and north western Syria late on Sunday night and early yesterday morning? I have experienced many earth tremors and la few earthquakes both in Italy and Peru, so know the sense of fear and helplessness that strikes us when the earth we’re standing on or the building we’re working or praying in begins to shake to and fro or, worse still, up and down. It’s frightening beyond belief. We pray for our brothers and sisters who have been killed or injured, left homeless or without family, friends and neighbours. We pray for those countless people who are helping to alleviate the suffering of survivors and seeking to find those who are trapped under the rubble. Lord, in your mercy be with them all, show them your merciful love and give them all the help they need to face a difficult future.

 

​Today’s Gospel goes further into our reading of Mark, (Mk 7: 1-13), with an argument between Jesus and a group of Pharisees and scribes. It began because some of Jesus’ disciples were eating with unclean hands, i.e. ritually unclean. “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. For the Pharisees, and the Jews in general, follow the tradition of the elders and never eat without washing their arms as far as the elbow; and on returning from the market place, they never eat without first sprinkling themselves. There are also many other observances which have been handed down to them concerning the washing of cups and pots and bronze dishes. So these Pharisees and scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not respect the tradition of the elders but eat their food with unclean hands?’” In their origins, all these laws were norms of hygiene, but gradually they took on an exaggeratedly ritualistic meaning. Jesus’ objective was to recover their original meaning, that of health and hygiene and not of religious observance. This is why he calls the Pharisees hypocrites, who only honour God by lip-service but not by obedience or a contrite heart. As Jesus says of them, taking his words from the prophet,

“The worship they offer me is worthless,

the doctrines they teach are only human regulations.”

And he adds, “You put aside the commandment of God to cling to human traditions. How ingeniously you get round the commandment of God in order to preserve your own tradition!” At times I think this is true a certain Christians, who are more interested in preserving their own traditions than in making the Gospel accessible to those who are searching for God and for his truth. As Jesus concludes, saying to the Pharisees, “In this way you make God’s word null and void for the sake of your tradition which you have handed down. And you do many other things like this.” I hope and pray he doesn’t have to say this to any of us today.