20260210 SACRAMENTAL PRESENCE OF GOD IN TRADITIONS
10 February 2026, Tuesday, 5th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
1 Kings 8:22-23,27-30 |
'Listen to the prayer your servant makes in this place'
In the presence of the whole assembly of Israel, Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord and, stretching out his hands towards heaven, said, ‘O Lord, God of Israel, not in heaven above nor on earth beneath is there such a God as you, true to your covenant and your kindness towards your servants when they walk wholeheartedly in your way. Yet will God really live with men on the earth? Why, the heavens and their own heavens cannot contain you. How much less this house that I have built! Listen to the prayer and entreaty of your servant, O Lord my God; listen to the cry and to the prayer your servant makes to you today. Day and night let your eyes watch over this house, over this place of which you have said, “My name shall be there.” Listen to the prayer that your servant will offer in this place.
‘Hear the entreaty of your servant and of Israel your people as they pray in this place. From heaven where your dwelling is, hear; and, as you hear, forgive.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 83(84):3-5,10-11 |
How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.
My soul is longing and yearning,
is yearning for the courts of the Lord.
My heart and my soul ring out their joy
to God, the living God.
How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.
The sparrow herself finds a home
and the swallow a nest for her brood;
she lays her young by your altars,
Lord of hosts, my king and my God.
How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.
They are happy, who dwell in your house,
for ever singing your praise.
Turn your eyes, O God, our shield,
look on the face of your anointed.
How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.
One day within your courts
is better than a thousand elsewhere.
The threshold of the house of God
I prefer to the dwellings of the wicked.
How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps118:34 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Train me, Lord, to observe your law,
to keep it with my heart.
Alleluia!
Or: | Ps118:36,29 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Bend my heart to your will, O Lord,
and teach me your law.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 7:1-13 |
You get round the commandment of God to preserve your own tradition
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?’ He answered, ‘It was of you hypocrites that Isaiah so rightly prophesied in this passage of scripture:
This people honours me only with lip-service,
while their hearts are far from me.
The worship they offer me is worthless,
the doctrines they teach are only human regulations.
You put aside the commandment of God to cling to human traditions.’ And he said to them, ‘How ingeniously you get round the commandment of God in order to preserve your own tradition! For Moses said: Do your duty to your father and your mother, and, Anyone who curses father or mother must be put to death. But you say, “If a man says to his father or mother: Anything I have that I might have used to help you is Corban (that is, dedicated to God), then he is forbidden from that moment to do anything for his father or mother.” 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.’
SACRAMENTAL PRESENCE OF GOD IN TRADITIONS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 Kgs 8:22-23, 27-30; Ps 84:3-5,10-11; Mk 7:1-13]
The Temple had just been completed, and today was the day of its dedication. Solomon gathered all the leaders and people of Israel in Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, to be placed in the inner sanctuary of the Temple in Jerusalem. Reflecting on this day of dedication, it was the realisation of a dream fulfilled — to build a house for the glory of the Lord, the God of Israel. Solomon was already aware that God did not need a house, as He had said to David through the prophet Nathan when he wanted to build a house for Him: “I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built me a house of cedar?'” (2 Sm 7:6f).
And so, in his prayer of dedication, Solomon was filled with humility that God would condescend to allow him to build a house for Him.After all, God, as Solomon said, is the Lord of heaven and earth. He said, “Yet will God really live with men on the earth? Why, the heavens and their own heavens cannot contain you. How much less this house that I have built!” So it was indeed gracious of God, who did not need a house to be built for Him since He was a pilgrim God, and yet readily accepted the Temple built in His name.
But why did God allow the Temple to be built? Indeed, God does not need a Temple or a Church to house Him. He is not a domesticated God living in a particular place. God is present everywhere; heaven and earth are full of His glory. So it is not God who needs a Temple, but we who need a Temple to remind us of His presence. The truth is that when we live in the world, we tend to forget that the whole earth speaks of the glory of God. We make a distinction between the mundane and the sacred. Hence, we need to dedicate or consecrate certain places or things to remind us of the sacred. This is what sacramentals are all about — using things, words, and gestures as signs and symbols to mediate the presence of God. We are human beings, and we communicate our feelings through signs and symbols.
This explains the incarnational dimension of our relationship with God. We have a body; we are not pure spirit. Therefore, the only way we can relate to God and to one another is through our bodies. We need to feel, to see, to touch, and even to smell. This is why Catholic liturgy is deeply sacramental. Besides the Eucharistic celebration, we have the other sacraments, and we make use of many sacramentals and devotions. These are not to be used superstitiously, but as means to help us remain faithful in prayer, to experience the touch and mercy of God through statues and processions, and to evoke sentiments of love and reverence. We use incense, rosary beads, the Holy Bible, colourful vestments, flowers, crucifixes, and candles to make present the sense of the sacred.
As King Solomon says, this is where the people could offer their prayers, knowing that God hears them. “Listen to the prayer and entreaty of your servant, Lord my God; listen to the cry and to the prayer your servant makes to you today. Day and night let your eyes watch over this house, over this place of which you have said, ‘My name shall be there.'” The Temple gave the people confidence that God was with them, although they also knew that God is everywhere and not confined to the Temple. The calling of His name is but an appeal to His presence and power. Hence, with confidence, King Solomon could say to the Lord, “Listen to the prayer that your servant will offer in this place. Hear the entreaty of your servant and of Israel your people as they pray in this place. From heaven, where your dwelling is, hear; and as you hear, forgive.” In our case, we experience God’s forgiveness whenever we celebrate the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
All these sacramental practices are rooted in Christ, who is the incarnation of God. In Christ, God’s promise to David was realised when He said, “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me.” (2 Sm 7:12-14) Jesus is the Son of David, and God is His Father. In Christ, we come to see the Father, for as He said to Philip, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe because of the works themselves.” (Jn 14:9-11)
However, we must avoid falling into superstitious and legalistic practices like the scribes and Pharisees in today’s Gospel. Jesus was not against the Jewish dietary regulations of His time, but it was their hypocritical and legalistic approach to such practices that earned His reprimand. These practices that the Pharisees and scribes insisted upon were not the Mosaic Law itself but oral traditions meant to safeguard the observance of the law. Indeed, the traditions in question, as the Lord said, concerned man-made regulations. So when “the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, ‘Why do your disciples not respect the tradition of the elders but eat their food with unclean hands?’ He answered, ‘It was of you hypocrites that Isaiah so rightly prophesied in this passage of scripture: This people honours me only with lip-service, while their hearts are far from me. The worship they offer me is worthless; the doctrines they teach are only human regulations. You put aside the commandments of God to cling to human traditions.'”
What is more important in the practice of traditions is that they lead to a true observance of the fundamental laws of Moses. Instead of practicing traditions in a way that helped them observe the law faithfully, not only in letter but in spirit, they developed interpretations that exempted them from fulfilling the law. A case in point is caring for and respecting the elderly. Moses said, “‘Do your duty to your father and your mother, and anyone who curses father or mother must be put to death.’ But you say, ‘If a man says to his father or mother: Anything that I have that I might have used to help you is Corban,’ then he is forbidden from that moment to do anything for his father or mother. In this way, you make God’s word null and void for the sake of your tradition.”
Consequently, while recognising the necessity of sacramentals in our relationship with God, such as signs, symbols, and the observance of certain traditions, we must distinguish the means from the end. Human life depends on tradition — from family and community to society, religion, and culture. Without traditions, we would remain disconnected from our past. Regardless of the religion or race to which we belong, traditions are part of our lives. Even within Christianity, it is not true that only Catholics have traditions; Protestants also have their own traditions. Such traditions are often unwritten, and even when formally established, they should not contradict Scriptural authority but serve to make explicit and experiential what the Word of God teaches and seeks to mediate.
Therefore, the issue is not whether we have traditions, because we cannot do without them. What is critical is whether the practise of these traditions brings us closer to the Lord and helps us to live the Word of God more faithfully. Traditions must be tested by God’s Word, and since traditions can change with time and new circumstances, it is important to discern whether they remain faithful to the teachings of Scripture. The true test is not whether we practise a particular tradition, but whether we remain faithful to the purity of our faith, which is love of God and love of neighbour. Jesus teaches us that all traditions must conform to the Word of God. Hence, we must get our priorities right by distinguishing between adherence to tradition and obedience to God’s Word, and between the signs of the Kingdom and mere human traditions.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
