We’ve all learned about the importance of washing our hands over these past few years, haven’t we? But, it’s not a matter of religious belief but one of several important measures we all practice to combat the common flu, the coronavirus, RSV and whatever new illness is popping up. I’m sure Jesus would encourage us to wash our hands regularly, but it won’t necessarily get us closer to God; religion does that.
So, what is religion? As I’m sure you all know, the word “religion” simply speaks of our relationship with God. And, we know how to develop a good relationship with God: by keeping his commandments. But, it’s important to recognize that God is not pointing us to the commandments; rather, his commandments point us to him. And, Jesus, the Son of God, summarized God’s commandments so well when he declared that we should love the Lord, our God with all our heart, with all our mind and with all our strength, and our neighbor as ourselves. In our second reading, we hear St. James teach us that “religion that is pure and undefiled before God is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction.” In a world without social agencies that took care of them, orphans and widows were among the most vulnerable – and forgotten – in society. In today’s Gospel, we hear Jesus condemn some of the Jewish leaders – some Pharisees and scribes who had come from Jerusalem to see what he was all about – because they disregarded God’s commandments and, instead, clung to human traditions like washing one’s hands and, in the process, exploited their fellow Jews with exorbitant taxes and fees for their temple sacrifices. The Ten Commandments – the statutes and decrees that we hear Moses talk about in today’s first reading – clearly and succinctly direct us to true love of God and neighbor. That’s how we find ourselves in a good relationship with God. And, that’s what true religion leads us to do.
We gather here to show our love for God as we worship the one, true God who has made us for himself and who, through his Son, has given us the means to enter the eternal Promised Land – heaven. And, at the end of Mass, we will be sent out “to go in peace,” and “to love and serve the Lord in one another.”
We are called to live our daily lives according to what we heard today in the second reading: “Be doers of the word and not hearers only.” We recognize that this is a challenge for each of us but, as we hear in this same reading, we are given “help from above…from the Father of lights” and “every perfect gift besides.” God has given us his law to help us in our love of him and of our neighbor. And, he has given us his Son, Jesus, who has shown us how to live in true love of him and of everyone we encounter every day.
We are here because we admit the importance of religion in our lives – to help us grow in our relationship with God and our neighbor. So, let us embrace the full gospel message, striving to live according to God’s law – and especially God’s law of love; that’s how – as we hear declared so clearly in today’s second reading – we save our souls!