20150210 ALL TRADITIONS MUST BE SUBORDINATED TO THE ONE TRADITION
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Genesis 1:20-2:4
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God said, ‘Let the
waters teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth within the
vault of heaven.’ And so it was. God created great sea-serpents and every kind
of living creature with which the waters teem, and every kind of winged
creature. God saw that it was good. God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful,
multiply, and fill the waters of the seas; and let the birds multiply upon the
earth.’ Evening came and morning came: the fifth day.
God said,
‘Let the earth produce every kind of living creature: cattle, reptiles, and
every kind of wild beast.’ And so it was. God made every kind of wild beast,
every kind of cattle, and every kind of land reptile. God saw that it was good.
God said,
‘Let us make man in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves, and let them
be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all the
wild beasts and all the reptiles that crawl upon the earth.’
God created man in
the image of himself,
in the image of God
he created him,
male and female he
created them.
God blessed them,
saying to them, ‘Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and conquer it. Be
masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven and all living animals on
the earth.’ God said, ‘See, I give you all the seed-bearing plants that are
upon the whole earth, and all the trees with seed-bearing fruit; this shall be
your food. To all wild beasts, all birds of heaven and all living reptiles on
the earth I give all the foliage of plants for food.’ And so it was. God saw
all he had made, and indeed it was very good. Evening came and morning came:
the sixth day.
Thus
heaven and earth were completed with all their array. On the seventh day God
completed the work he had been doing. He rested on the seventh day after all
the work he had been doing. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy,
because on that day he had rested after all his work of creating.
Such were
the origins of heaven and earth when they were created.
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Psalm
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Psalm 8:4-9 ©
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How great is your
name, O Lord our God, through all the earth!
When I see the
heavens, the work of your hands,
the moon
and the stars which you arranged,
what is man that you
should keep him in mind,
mortal
man that you care for him?
How great is your
name, O Lord our God, through all the earth!
Yet you have made him
little less than a god;
with
glory and honour you crowned him,
gave him power over
the works of your hand,
put all
things under his feet.
How great is your
name, O Lord our God, through all the earth!
All of them, sheep
and cattle,
yes, even
the savage beasts,
birds of the air, and
fish
that make
their way through the waters.
How great is your
name, O Lord our God, through all the earth!
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Ps118:24
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Train me, Lord, to
observe your law,
to keep it with my
heart.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Ps118:36,29
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Bend my heart to your
will, O Lord,
and teach me your
law.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 7:1-13 ©
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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.’
ALL
TRADITIONS MUST BE SUBORDINATED TO THE ONE TRADITION
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: GN 1:20-2:4; Mk 7:1-13
Man is
both an individual and a social being. As such he is a product of society
and society is a product of him. Society molds him in many ways but at
the same time, he can change the course of society. Hence, man does not
live in a vaccum. He is inserted into society with a culture and
tradition. No one can live without culture or tradition. Whether
we belong to a tribe, a society or a religion, we cannot underestimate the
power that tradition and culture have over us. This is because
culture and traditions express our collective understanding of life; its values
and they are statements of belief. Hence, Jesus who is incarnated among
us and who belonged to the Jewish Tradition Himself, challenges us to be
critical of our traditions and culture so that observance of such traditions
will free us for life and not inhibit us from life. What critique then
should we make of traditions so that theyl remain relevant and empowering?
Firstly,
we must be vigilant of defective traditions. Today with so much
talk on inculturation, we must be watchful that we do not employ, adapt, invent
or copy traditions from our own cultures or of others without discerning
whether such traditions truly promote good values such as love, understanding,
compassion and sharing. Not all traditions are compatible with the
gospel of Christ. For example, we cannot surely import the caste
system of Indians nor the slavery system of the Ancients for the people of
today. Any tradition that is oppressive, sectarian and protectionist must
be corrected or disowned.
Even
for us Catholics, we must be discerning as to what are the Catholic
traditions that continue to be of meaning to us. We must not allow a
superstitious practice of rituals and Catholic traditions, just like the way
our ancestors practised certain Chinese customs more out of fear than because
they promote good value system. During Chinese New Year many things
are done simply to protect oneself from harm and not because we are concerned
about the good or well being of others. Some of our defective religious
traditions would be to think that if we attend nine novenas, say three special
prayers to a particular saint etc, we will have our petitions answered almost
in a mechanical manner.
Secondly,
we must avoid falling into formalism. This is to say that we must
not behave like the Pharisees who, whilst practicing traditions that are good,
but without interiorization and personal conviction. Indeed, in the
gospel Jesus accused them of observing the customs of the elders without
intending to live what they do. They were simply observing them to
impress on others and make themselves feel justified before God and man.
Citing from Isaiah, Jesus said, “This people honours me only with lip-service, while
theie hearts are from me. The worship they offer me is worthless, the doctrines
they teach are only human regulations.”
Applying
this snare for ourselves, many of us can observe the traditions without any
sincerity. So we can be so used to attending Mass, saying the Divine
Office, Grace before meals, the rosary etc without paying attention to what we
are doing. We go through the motions without really praying from our
hearts. Such formalism as Jesus said, is hypocrisy because we are only
concerned about the externals; not what they truly symbolize.
Thirdly,
we must avoid a more subtle and self-deceptive way of making use of
traditions. The danger here is not because the traditions are
irrelevant or that we are just observing them in a ritualistic manner but we
make use of them for our selfish purpose. Indeed, this was what happened
to the Pharisees. Jesus reprimanded them for using the “Corban” principle
to avoid their obligation to their parents. Hence, Jesus remarked “in this way
you make God’s word null and void for the sake of your tradition which you have
handed down.” Jesus criticized them saying, “’How ingeniously you get round the
commandment of God in order to preserve your own tradition!”
Thus, a
person can appear to go for Mass and pray before the Blessed Sacrament in order
to win over the confidence of people; he wears a Roman Collar at certain times
so as to gain special privileges; or he becomes a priest so that he can avoid
commitments to his family; or he fasts not because he wants to be healthy for
the ministry or to do penance for the salvation of souls but for vanity reasons
or even to save money for other purposes. When our motives or intentions are
not sincere, then such observance will be contrary to our growth and the good
of our fellow human beings.
Having
made such a critique on traditions, it does not mean that Jesus is teaching us
to discard all traditions. At any rate, it is impossible. But what
it does mean is that we must continuously purify our traditions. What
are the fundamental principles for purifying our traditions? The
first reading from Genesis gives us two principles that in whatever traditions
we formulate for ourselves we must be guided by the one and overarching, which
is in fidelity to the Tradition that is to Christ Himself, all that He lived
for and stood for. The Tradition that we are called to subordinate is the
life of Christ. Hence, all traditions, be they religious or human,
must be for the service of the ultimate Tradition, which is our union with God
and our fellowmen. It must serve the Word of God. It must promote
gospel values and sanctity and recover the likeness of God. So what
are these two guiding principles to attain the One Tradition?
Firstly,
all traditions must help us to grow in holiness and sanctity, both on the
horizontal and vertical levels. Indeed, the Jewish custom of
ablutions, such as the washing of hands was necessary for hygienic reasons,
which have also been given spiritual meaning as well. The cleansing of
the hands and dishes etc are meant to help them to promote welfare, dignity and
most of all, a clean heart and mind.
Indeed,
Genesis affirms that we have been created in the image and likeness of
God. “God said, ‘Let us make man in our own image, in the likeness of
ourselves.” The tragedy of life is that we have lost the likeness because
of sin. Nevertheless, we retain that image which is the sharing of the
mind and heart of God. Created in His image, we are called to grow in
knowledge and love. As we grow in knowledge of God, so too we grow in
knowledge of ourselves and others. Through knowledge and understanding,
it is meant to lead us to love and relationship. So, the purpose of human
traditions and religious traditions is to enable us to know and love God and
our fellow human beings more and more.
Secondly,
Genesis also states “God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on
that day he had rested after all his work of creating.” The intention
of the Sabbath is not simply to remind man of the importance of physical
rest. Rather, it is meant to direct man from his mundane affairs to
God who is the source of life and everything he has. On the Sabbath,
it is not simply a day we rest from physical work nor is it a day for social
activity, which is of course not excluded since promoting fraternal love is in
line with the Tradition of the bible, but most of all to cultivate a
relationship with the Lord. To keep the day holy therefore means that it
must be a day of prayer, a day when we are conscious of His love and presence
as we go about our activities, be they social or religious. It is to
dedicate our whole life and day to Him.
In the
final analysis, the day of rest is meant to direct us to our destiny and
ultimate calling which is to be with God. We are called to direct all our
efforts and focus on the Eternal Rest, that day of rest when we return to God
and be with Him for ever. When God rested, it is but the author’s way of
saying not that God was tired and needed to rest but that we who worked and
laboured might learn to rest on the Lord and share in His life and love.
This is the rest and the hope that we all should seek in all that we do.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV
WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP
OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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