Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 7,1-13
When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus,
they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands.
(For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their hands, keeping the tradition of the elders.
And on coming from the marketplace they do not eat without purifying themselves. And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed, the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds.)
So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, “Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?”
He responded, “Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors 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.”
He went on to say, “How well you have set aside the commandment of God in order to uphold your tradition!
For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and ‘Whoever curses father or mother shall die.’
Yet you say, ‘If a person says to father or mother, “Any support you might have had from me is qorban”‘ (meaning, dedicated to God),
you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother.
You nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many such things.”
Religious structuralism that drives away rather than re-unites
1) Religion: is a term that means “to re-unite” or to return to. In our case, religion is re-uniting with God. This is why Christianity is a key way to re-unite with God. Religion is that which permits you to unite with the divine. In Catholicism, reuniting allows us to encounter God in His presence. It is a way of life because your life and the life of others changes as a result of the encounter with Jesus. You will see or encounter people who truly transmit God to us through their experience, not a theory nor a degree in theology. They transmit Him as a result of their encounter, they reveal Him in a concrete way, through their own life. You will be able to say this person is religious not because of how much they pray, do or say but because they breathe God all the time. Your life has to re-unite and lead you to encounter God again because of the good it does for you and for me. The key to everything is reuniting with Him for life.
2) The norms: In our religion, norms are acts of love. They are small acts of love that represent our love for Him. Like lovers who do acts of love for their loved ones: they take them a rose, candy, chocolates, do something nice for them, call them, ask how they are doing, and are aware of their needs. That is why norms such as the Mass or the Rosary should not be seen as a burden, but rather as acts of love to forge and strengthen your relationship with God. This is what happens in marriage, if you never speak with your husband or wife or have gestures of love, in a year you become strangers and even enemies. That is why it is nice to do small daily acts of love. The same happens with the work of God in your life, you have to have small acts of love with God and for God. What gesture of love will you do for Him today?
3) Structuralism: It is when you turn the religious and the norms into a suffocating structure, where, instead of reuniting your life with God, you end up cutting the rope because of so much weight put on you. This leads you to lose that which is essential. So, instead of thinking about how to talk to God and show him everything that you have in your heart, they make you question how you place your hand, how you comb your hair, how you did your genuflection, etc. Structure is good because it supports a path, structuralism is bad because everything focuses on structures that suffocate.
Do not suffocate with religion, rather re-unite your close ones with God, from the freedom of the children of God. Remember strength, courage and humility. Religion is to enjoy the encounter with God and not to feel the burden of trying to encounter God.
God bless you and be with you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Remember, Heaven is our goal!
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