Readings can be obtained from: http://usccb.org/bible/readings/083015.cfmJeanne Jugan: http://www.americancatholic.org/features/saints/saint.aspx?id=1935Readings: Deuteronomy 4: 1-2, 6-8; Psalm 15: 2-3, 3-4, 4-5; James 1: 17-18, 21b-22, 27; Mark 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23 The readings challenge us to hear the Word of God. Hearing is much more than allowing sounds to hit our ears. Hearing, as all the readings imply, means to take the Word to heart and act accordingly. According to the first reading, Moses challenges the Israelites to hear the Word of the LORD concerning obeying the Law and precepts which God has given. The psalm describes the individual who blamelessly walks in the presence of the LORD because he/she has heard the Word and put it into action in his/her life. In the Letter of James, the author stresses the importance of not just being hearers of the Word but do-ers of the Word. In the Gospel, Jesus responds to the criticism of His disciples poor practice of the minute details of the human precepts of external cleanliness. Jesus emphasizes that what is important is what is going on inside of a person. The Book of Deuteronomy (meaning Second Law) includes laws and precepts handed down and practiced through the centuries by the Jewish people. The original understanding of the Chosen People were that these laws were not meant to be restrictive but to be a source of liberation. The precepts set them apart from their neighbors and allowed them to be guided in their pursuit of a closer relationship with their God. In todays passage, Moses is seen as challenging the People of Israel to hear (shema) what God is saying in these rules. Hearing implies a lot more than having background noise while we do what we want to do. The Chosen People are to take to heart these words and make them part of their lives. It is interesting that Moses is described as saying to them that they should not add to or delete any of the commandments and rules as presented in the Torah (the Law, the Pentateuch, the first five books). Yet, the descendants of Israel added books and books of prescriptions (for example, the Mishnah and the Talmud) to the Torah, making them have almost as much authority as the Torah. In the Mishnah and Talmud would be found exact ways for the Jewish people to practice ritual purification rites spoken of in the Gospel. The responsorial psalm today responds to the questions asked in first verse of the psalm (Psalm 15): O LORD, who may abide in Your tent? Who may settle on Your holy mountain? The answer is the person who walks blamelessly before the LORD. Very practical signs of a persons blamelessness are presented, all dealing with how one relates to others. Obviously the blameless one has heard the Word of the LORD and has put it into practice in their daily living. The Letter of James is, and will be, our second reading for today and the next four Sundays. James, as seen today, and as will be further revealed in the other excerpts over the next few weeks, stresses that faith must be made manifest in how one lives ones life. It is not enough for one to merely hear Gods Word and give intellectual assent to the gift of faith. One must be a do-er of the Word, that is, one must put into practice what one hears and believes. In the Gospel, Jesus is questioned about the failure of His disciples to practice all the ritual purification of hands and food. These elaborate rites were not part of the Torah, but prescriptions of other non-Canonical writings of rabbis (the tradition of the elders). Jesus responds by criticizing the hypocrisy of the religious leaders who pay more attention to the minute details of human prescriptions and fail to focus on the purpose of Gods inspired Word, which was meant to bring people closer to God. Jesus remarks that failing to do external acts of purification do not make a person blameful. Rather what is in a person (ones attitudes, thoughts, and intentions) are what defiles a person. What is most important is hearing Gods Word (not human words) and putting those into practice so that one is able to abide in the presence of God. As I reflect on the readings, I am reminded of the origins of the word obedience. It comes from the Latin word to listen or to hear. What we are required to do in being obedient to the LORD Our God is to listen to and hear what God is saying to us. Yes, God has spoken and given the Jewish people (and their Christian descendants in faith) the Ten Commandments. Yes, God has spoken other precepts. What is most important is to realize all those rules and regulations were given by God to draw us closer to our God. We must hear Gods Word of Love as spoken in the divine giving of the Law. Matthew 24: 34-40 and its parallel passage (Luke 10: 25-28) speak about the summation of the all the Jewish Law in the double commandment of loving God with all we have and loving our neighbor as ourselves. The religious leaders of Jesus day agreed with Jesus that these two summative commandments are the greatest and most important of all commandments. Yet, just being able to hear and recite these two great commandments is not enough. It must be put into practice in our daily living. In John 13: 35, Jesus describes the essential quality of one of His faithful disciple as the person who loves others. The disciple of Jesus is to hear and put into action Jesus great commandment, Love one another as I have loved you (John 13: 34). We are called to come to the Lord Jesus, spend time with Him through reading of scripture, prayer, and meditation. That should lead us to see how Jesus (and His Abba) have loved us. And upon hearing of how much the Lord Jesus has loved us, we should be empowered to go out and love one another as He has loved us. That is what will make us blameless and able to dwell on Gods holy mountain and abide in the divine presence not just now, but forever. All the other prescriptions and guidelines are just that guidelines to helps us see how we can love one another as we have been loved by the Lord Jesus, or as the Letter from James says today, Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.The personal question/action for today: How do I listen to the Word of God? Do I merely nod my head as it is proclaimed while I think about what I want to do? Do I reflect on how I can be a do-er of the Word and draw closer to the Lord Jesus as I practice acts of loving others? How can I share the Word of God with others in an inviting way so that they will desire to be obedient hearers (and do-ers) of the Word also? Blessed are You, O LORD God of all love. Through Your GOoDness You have spoken Your Word to us to help us to hear how much You love us. Yet, we have often either not listened to Your Word or have heard it and tried to interpret it to our own liking and tried to impose our understanding of it on others. For our failure to truly hear Your Word and act on it, we seek Your pardon and forgiveness. In the fullness of time You spoke Your Word into flesh. Jesus, Your Son, the Word Incarnate, came among us to once again speak Your Word to us in a very tangible way, not only with sounds but in the action which He performed. He asks us to once again hear Your Word of Love in His preaching, ministry, death, and resurrection, and then to love one another as He has loved us. We seek a further outpouring of Your Holy Spirit so that we can have the wisdom, strength, and patience to hear and act upon our hearing, in total obedience to You, Your Son, and the Holy Spirit. We lift up this prayer of praise and thanks to You in the name of Jesus, Your Son, the Word made flesh, Love Incarnate, our Master-Teacher, Who is living and reigning with You and the Holy Spirit, our one and only God, for ever and ever. Amen