Homily
for July 21, 2017
Every
religion has certain set of rules surrounding offering worship and sacrifices
to God. For instance in our first reading this morning, God establishes the
feast of Passover for the people of Israel and we can see the rules attached to
this feast.
There is
an exact day to pick up the lamb, there is an exact day to slaughter the lamb,
there is an exact way to prepare it, (not to be boiled or fried but simply
roasted), there is an exact way to eat it, there is even a way to dress to eat
it and there is a time frame within which it must be totally consumed. And not
just that, there is a memorial that must be celebrated every year.
In a
similar way, we know that there is way to make the sign of the cross, there is
way to say the rosary, there is a way to genuflect in church and there is a way
to behave before the Blessed Sacrament. Etc. All these are rituals which should
help us connect with God!
However,
as we see in our Gospel passage, there is an extent to which our worship of God
becomes reduced to mere observation of rules. This was the problem of the Pharisees.
It is like
building a mansion and putting a housekeeper in charge of keeping it clean. One
day, you travel to a distant place and leave an instruction behind: “Keep this
house clean always, don’t even allow a fly perch on the wall.”
Then after
some time, your come home and your housekeeper would not allow you enter your
own house because according to your instruction, nothing should enter the
house, not even a fly should perch on the wall.
It sounds
funny but this is what happens when we observe rules at the detriment of
actually worshiping God. No wonder, Jesus says: “I desire mercy not sacrifice.”
Let
us pray: Lord Jesus, may my worship of you be pure and sincere. Amen.
Be Happy.
Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Friday of
the 15th Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: Exodus 11:10-12:14 and
Matthew 12:1-8).
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