by Fr. Rich Andre, C.S.P.
September 18, 2021

Paulist Fr. Rich Andre preached this homily on the 22^nd Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year B) on August 29, 2021, at St. Austin Catholic Parish in Austin, TX. The homily is based on the day’s readings: Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8; Psalm 15; James 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27; and Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23.

In our gospel passage today, Jesus has a serious disagreement with the Pharisees and scribes about what Mark calls “the tradition of the elders.” For the most part, Jesus is not talking about the 613 precepts in the Pentateuch that all Jews were expected to keep. Instead, he’s addressing other traditions that Jewish leaders had added over the centuries.

So, when the Pharisees complain that Jesus’ disciples are not washing their hands, it’s about ritual cleansing. It’s not that their hands were dirty. It’s not even that the disciples were considered “unclean” by the rules of the Torah. It’s that they were neglecting to follow some of the extra traditions added by their ancestors.  

Jesus’ response is a challenge to us: it’s easier to get all the details of the ritual correct than to constantly live in right relationship with God. Let us ask God for mercy as we try to become more Christ-like!

Lord Jesus, you have shown us the way to the Father. Lord have mercy.

Christ Jesus, you are our spiritual daily bread. Christ, have mercy.

Lord Jesus, you will continue to nourish and guide us at every moment of our lives.

Lord, have mercy.

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When we talk about the practice of any religion, we often discuss two concepts: right belief and right action. To belong to almost any religious tradition, there are certain things that one must believe, and there are certain actions that one must do. Depending on the particular religion, those actions may include both rituals of worship and how one interacts with people in everyday life, outside of worship.

I’m not as familiar with Eastern religions, but when it comes to the three great monotheistic Western religions – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – both right belief and right practice are essential to the faith. As we’ll hear James declare in two weeks: “Faith without works is dead.” Jesus condemns the Pharisees for emphasizing the importance of right action while not holding to right belief. But he’s not saying that right belief is more important than right action. Both are absolutely necessary. 

But Jesus simultaneously condemns another sin of the Pharisees: they insisted that many of their human-made traditions were essential right actions of Judaism.

Determining what’s essential to a religion can be confusing. I remember when I first went to Mass in college. It was so different from what I had experienced in my suburban home parish. Not only were there no pews or kneelers; but also the chairs were arranged with half of the assembly facing the other half. I didn’t know any of the music. I was surprised how casually everyone was dressed. And although it was 1992, I had never seen women serve at Mass. But I soon appreciated how accessible and relevant the liturgies at the University of Rochester Newman Community felt to me. Would I have felt the call to priesthood if I had not encountered a liturgy that spoke so deeply to my spirituality?

I’ve worked with a lot of foreign exchange students who are shocked to see Catholics in the United States lining up to receive communion, rather than coming up in the free-for-all common in other parts of the world. Others initially bristle that dancing – which is such a big part of the Mass in Africa – makes a lot of Americans uncomfortable. Or that the copious use of incense – which happens in parts of Asia – is considered insensitive both to the environment and to those with allergies. But eventually, these students come to understand that these features are not essential to the right actions of Roman Catholicism.

Understanding what’s essential to a religion can even evolve over time. In the 1960s, the Catholic Church acknowledged the differences that had evolved among various Christian denominations. The Church addressed the gifts of diversity within Christianity while also seeking unity among all Christians.¹ Those on the frontlines of the ecumenical movement have found a great way to summarize the Vatican II teaching on ecumenism in ten words: “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.” One way to understand Jesus’ criticism of the Pharisees is this: the actions that had evolved in the Pharisaical tradition were non-essentials that didn’t need to be followed by everyone. 

In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity. We don’t need to look to our interactions with Episcopalians, Methodists, Presbyterians, and Baptists to practice this. Any local parish community needs to adopt this motto within itself. Small Christian communities and weekend retreats can be life-changing, but we should never consider parishioners who don’t belong to such a group or haven’t gone on such a retreat to be lesser members of the parish.

And that brings us to some recent news regarding the Catholic liturgy. As many of you know, the Church reformed the rituals of the Mass in the 1960s to reflect our best scholarship on how Mass was celebrated by the earliest Christians. The main goal was to promote the full, active, conscious participation of everyone attending Mass. 14 years ago, Pope Benedict XVI allowed for the wider use of the previous form of the Mass, called the Tridentine Mass, which was implemented in the 16^th century. This form features the priest facing away from the people, all the prayers said in Latin, and a one-year cycle of scripture readings.² Benedict made it clear that the Tridentine Mass – which he called “the extraordinary form” – was not a better form of Mass, but a different form with its own beauty. He felt that the form of the Mass was not a right action that was essential for the unity of the Church, but was a non-essential action in which we could allow some freedom and diversity.³ Last month, after consulting widely with bishops around the world, Pope Francis reversed Benedict’s decision. While Benedict had good intentions, Francis and other bishops concluded that the results had not led to greater unity within the Church’s diversity, but had led to division. While many people attending the extraordinary form of Mass were just expressing a matter of preference, too many of them began vocally opposing the new form of the Mass, as well as vocally opposing the other reforms of Vatican II. Whether or not the form of the Mass was an essential or a non-essential, the discussion about the forms was becoming less and less charitable!

I doubt many people at St. Austin are personally affected by Pope Francis’ decision. In fact, some people here might think of the decision as a victory. But let me be clear: such thinking is divisive and sinful. As Bishop Vasquez discerns how to implement Pope Francis order, let us pray for our neighbors impacted by this decision, including the extraordinary form community at St. Mary Cathedral.

In the essentials of our faith, Jesus calls us to seek unity. In the non-essentials, we need to respect one another’s freedom. But most of all, in all things, let us treat one another with charity.

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Notes: