Missouri Jesuit says Jesus reveals the ‘big picture’ when it comes to following God’s law
“Observe them carefully, for this is your wisdom and discernment in the sight of the peoples, who will hear of all these statutes and say, ‘This great nation is truly a wise and discerning people'” (Deuteronomy 4:6).
“So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, ‘Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?’ He responded, ‘Well, did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written: “This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts.” You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition'” (Mark 7:5-8).
These two verses, read this Sunday at Catholic churches across the world on the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, concern the application of God’s law.
On the surface, they “seem to have a contradiction,” Fr. David Paternostro, SJ, told Fox News Digital.
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Paternostro, a Catholic priest, is a member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and is currently studying for a PhD in philosophy at Saint Louis University.
In the first verse, from the Old Testament’s Book of Deuteronomy, Moses “gives the laws to the Israelites and tells the people to ‘observe them carefully, for this is your wisdom,'” Paternostro said.
Fr. David Paternostro, SJ, a Jesuit priest, told Fox News Digital that an apparent “contradiction” present in the Old and New Testament is not what it seems. (Fr. Chris Schroeder; iStock)
Yet, in Mark’s Gospel, “when the Pharisees ask Jesus why His followers do not obey the laws on handwashing, Jesus rebukes them and says their hearts are far from God,” he said.
This, Paternostro said, seems on the surface to be “two seemingly opposite approaches” to observing God’s law – appearing to contradict each other.
Yet, Paternostro said, the answer to this “contradiction” can be found when one considers “the real problem” that’s discussed in Mark.
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“Jesus does not have a problem with the Pharisees observing God’s laws too much, but too little,” he noted.
Jesus “does not tell the Pharisees, ‘Do not follow these rules’ but ‘Why did you stop with only those rules?'”
Jesus, said Fr. Paternostro, criticized the Pharisees not for how they followed the law, but for what parts of the law they followed. (iStock)
“The real problem is not that the Pharisees care about too many rules, but too few,” Paternostro said. “Jesus rebukes them by pointing out how they need to not only be concerned about the cleanliness of their hands and their cookware, but the cleanliness of their hearts.”
In the context of Moses’ message to the Israelites in Deuteronomy, “Jesus’ rebuke of the Pharisees makes perfect sense,” he said.
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Moses promised that those who “follow God’s law well” would be “evidence to the world of their wisdom,” Paternostro said.
“God’s law will make the Israelites wise.”
While it may seem strange that following God’s law could make someone wise, “a wise person is someone who can see the big picture and how everything fits into that picture,” Paternostro said.
Moses, Paternostro noted, told the Israelites that following God’s law would be “evidence to the world of their wisdom.” (iStock)
“If the Israelites care about everything in the law, they will care about everything they need to care about – they will have a sense of the big picture,” he said.
On the contrary, as the Pharisees did not care about the whole picture, “they cannot be truly wise,” he said.
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Christians today, Paternostro said, must “care about the whole” to avoid repeating the “error of the Pharisees.”
“As Jesus reminds us, we cannot just be concerned with external realities, but worry about interior realities as well.”
“As Jesus reminds us, we cannot just be concerned with external realities, but worry about interior realities as well. We must care about our hearts as much as anything else,” he said.
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This can be hard, he said, as “sometimes, we can find parts of ourselves more lovable and care more about ourselves when we see how others love and care about us.”
“We must care about our hearts as much as anything else,” said a Catholic priest. (iStock)
As people strive to care about their whole selves, they should look over their lives and see how God has cared for that whole self, he said.
Ask, “How have God’s sacraments touched your heart as well as your senses? How has God provided for you both physically and spiritually?”
God, Paternostro said, “cares about every last part of you and finds every last part of you lovable.”
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“Let the breadth of God’s care for the whole of you inspire you to care for the whole of yourself,” he said.
“The more your love and care is as expansive as God’s, the more you can observe the whole of God’s commandments and be truly wise.”
