"To choose God and choose the good."

 

People have gravitated toward religious rituals as a way to draw close to God.

Jesus is telling the people that following God is not about any external ritual.

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Genesis 2:4b-9, 15-17

On the day that the Lord God

Made the earth and the heavens, there was not yet on the earth any shrub of the fields,

nor had any plant yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not made it rain on the earth,

and there was no man to till the earth, but a mist went up from the earth and watered the surface of the earth.

 

Then the Lord God formed man, dust drawn from the clay,

and breathed into his nostrils a breath of life and man became alive with breath.

God planted a garden in Eden in the east and there he placed man whom he had created.

The Lord God caused to grow from the ground every kind of tree that is pleasing to see and good to eat,

also the tree of Life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

 

The Lord God took man and placed him in the garden of Eden to till it and take care of it.

Then the Lord God gave an order to man saying, "You may eat of every tree in the garden,

but of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, you will not eat, for on the day you eat of it, you will die."

 

Ps 104:1-2a, 27-28, 29bc-30 O bless the Lord, my soul.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊      

Mark 7:14-23

Jesus then called the people to him again and said to them,, "Listen to me,

all of you, and try to understand. Nothing that enters a person from the outside can make that person unclean.

It is what comes from within that makes a person unclean. Let everyone who has ears listen."

 

When Jesus got home and was away from the crowd, his disciples asked him about this saying, and he replied,

"So even you are dull? Do you not see that whatever comes from outside cannot make a person unclean,

since it enters not the heart but the stomach, and is finally passed out?" Thus Jesus declared that all foods are clean.

 

And he went on, "What comes out of a person is what defiles him, for evil designs come out of the heart:

theft, murder, adultery, jealousy, greed, maliciousness, deceit, indecency, slander, pride and folly.

All these evil things come from within and make a person unclean."

 

Gospel Reflection ：

"To choose God and choose the good."

Are the readings going in opposite directions? In Genesis, God places a restriction on eating,

while in the Gospel, the Son of God lifts the restrictions followed by the Jews by declaring all foods ritually clean.

And yet, in the end, both have the same message about making good choices. In the garden,

God's loving kindness provides for his creation, and so the man has all he needs. In fact,

 

he has more than he needs, since he may "eat of every tree in the garden." However, God has set a limit,

showing that man is not God, and that he relies on God.

To eat of the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil symbolizes the desire to have no limits, the desire to take God's place.

Yet, to do that, one has to separate oneself from God, which is to separate oneself from life itself.

 

God's commands are given to us to choose God and choose the good. They allow us to flourish rather than wither in chaotic selfishness.

This is Christ's message, too. If we want to flourish, we should avoid entertaining the evil desires and selfish intentions of our hearts.