20180206
SPIRITUALITY AND RELIGION/ TRADITION AND
TRADITIONS
06 FEBRUARY, 2018, Tuesday, 5th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Red.
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First reading
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1 Kings 8:22-23,27-30 ©
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'Listen to the prayer your servant makes in this place'
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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.’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 83(84):3-5,10-11 ©
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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.
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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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You get round the commandment of God to preserve your own
tradition
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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.’
SPIRITUALITY AND RELIGION/ TRADITION AND TRADITIONS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 1KGS 8:22-23; 27-30; PS 84:3-5, 10-11; MK 7:1-13 ]
Catholics are
often accused of subscribing to man-made traditions. Indeed, Catholic
traditions such as Ash Wednesday, fasting, abstinence from meat on Fridays,
making the sign of the cross, pilgrimages, use of holy water, and other pious
practices are often seen as acting against scripture.
On the surface, this
accusation appears to be backed up by scripture. After all, Jesus
Himself appeared to have belittled the Jews’ strict adherence to the traditions
of their ancestors, such as the ritual purifications required before
meals. 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.”
In the context
of Jesus’ saying, it is true that the practice of religion alone cannot
bring us to God. Religion is certainly not faith, nor is it
spirituality, unless we imbibe the spirit of the traditions. If, like the
Jews, we simply perform the rituals without the correct motives or intentions,
then such practices cannot bring us closer to God. We would be making use
of religion to soothe our selfish motives. Indeed, some of us think that
just because we perform certain religious practices, we are holy. Rather,
such practices are meant to help us grow in holiness and purity.
Yet, spirituality
cannot be separated from religion. If we claim that we have the
Spirit of prayer and worship, then there is no other way to express that Spirit
other than to express it in words and gestures. Such embodiment of the Spirit
is what we call ‘traditions’. To pray in spirit, we need to express it in
traditions. We are embodied spirits. We must be careful of a
disembodied spirituality. Religion is the expression of
spirituality. The traditions of the Church are expressions of the One
Tradition. It is important that we make a distinction between traditions
and Tradition. Traditions are how we express the one Tradition we have
received. Tradition refers to the essentials of the Faith, the Spirit or
truth of the gospel. Traditions which are expressions of this faith and
thus man-made, can be changed. But one cannot avoid traditions, otherwise
faith will live in the abstract.
Thus, we must reject
the separation of spirituality from religion. It would be a serious dichotomy
for one to say: “I’m not interested in religion; I’m interested in
spirituality”. This is because spirituality is a way of seeing and a way
of living. The way we live out the Spirit is by expressing it in shared
traditions and expressions. Culture is therefore the expression of the
collective values or vision of a community. So long as there are human
beings, there is culture. Culture is the collective expression of the
values of a community. Christian tradition or Catholic tradition
therefore is the expression of our faith beliefs in worship and religious
symbols.
Even Christians
who claim to worship in spirit cannot do without tradition. The way
they pray and worship is part of tradition. Coming to church to worship
is tradition. Scripture is tradition. In many ways, the way they
pray are traditions inherited from the Jewish and Catholic Faith. If they
were without tradition, they could simply stay at home and pray without
scriptures, like the Zen Buddhists. But even Zen has tradition because
they meditate in a certain way. Thus, there is no such thing as a neat
and pure spirituality without traditions.
Indeed, King
Solomon recognized the inadequacy of the Temple to contain
God, since God is greater than the temple. He asked, “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!” We cannot put
God in a box since the whole earth is His footstool. Realizing this
however did not prevent the Israelites from constructing a temple for the Lord
because they knew that they needed the Temple more than God, for they needed to
be reminded of His presence. Hence, Solomon prayed thus, “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.” So traditions and rituals can be helpful. When
used properly they can lead people to experience God. They are means to
encounter God.
Hence, we must
say that there is a distinction between religion and spirituality, but
there is no separation. That Jesus confronted His Jewish peers for
allowing some of their religious traditions to distract them from the essential
spirituality of their Jewish faith, does not tantamount to attacking the
Israelite religion as a whole. He was trying to reform it. What is really
important in worship is that we have a clean heart and a clean mind and not
simply clean hands or body. We must go into the heart of the traditions
and its intentions. A hypocritical observance of such external practices
will give the false impression that we are fulfilling the laws of God.
Yes, Solomon,
and Jesus sought to us teach us that religion without spirituality has
no soul, and spirituality without religion has no body. Religion and
spirituality go together. Nevertheless, it must be said that true
spirituality is expressed in traditions. However, traditions need not
always express the true spirituality.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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