In the gospel reading today, we heard of accusations directed against Jesus by Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem because some of his disciples ate with ritually unclean hands (Mark 7:1-5).
Usually, when we read this story, we seldom ponder on who Jesus' disciples were. We take for granted that they might be the Twelve or some followers. This morning, Fr. Milanese gave a new interpretation in his homily. He related this story with the miracle of 5 loaves and 2 fish. Wow! This is a new insight! It makes sense when we consider the context of the story. It happened after the miracle. Of course, Fr. Milanese extended the definition of disciples to include the crowd of 5000. They listened to Jesus' teaching before they ate. According to the gospel of John, many of them sought Jesus because they had eaten. To a certain extent, they were qualified to be disciples. If we confine the disciples to the Twelve, it means the Pharisees and scribes had to spy on Jesus in order to obtain the evidence against him. So, Fr. Milanese's interpretation is reasonable.
Near the end of the story, we heard of Jesus listing 13 vices that came from the heart and they defile. Here is the list:
evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly (Mark 7:21b-22).
From what we learned in the Biblical Institute, this list is catechitical, i.e. it is a list of vice taught to the community from which Mark worked. The Christian community was told not to do these vices. By the way, if we read the list in Greek, it rhymes.
οἱ διαλογισμοὶ οἱ κακοὶ ἐκπορεύονται, πορνεῖαι, κλοπαί, φόνοι,
μοιχεῖαι, πλεονεξίαι, πονηρίαι, δόλος, ἀσέλγεια, ὀφθαλμὸς πονηρός, βλασφημία, ὑπερηφανία, ἀφροσύνη.
No list is ever complete. For example, drunkenness, domestic violence, gambling and homosexuality were not mentioned. Perhaps such vices were not problems in the Marken community. Anyway, let us meditate on how these vices defile.
Evil thoughts is a broad term. They affect our relations with other people. They make us ugly.
Unchastity is more specific. Engaging in unrestrained sexual activities defile our bodies.
Theft is specific. But how does taking away others' things makes us unclean? Possessing things that are not earned degrades our capability. It makes us cheap.
Murder takes away the life of innocent people. Our hand is defiled by the blood shed.
Adultery destroys our marriage and those of other couples. It harms a lot of adults as well as their children. Once more, it degrades our sex and makes it cheap.
Greed is not just internal. When we take advantage of others and obtain more than we deserve, we look cheap.
Malice is a wish to harm others. It poisons our mind. The rest is dirty.
Deceit makes us look good but in fact we are not so good. We are not true to ourselves and to others. We are scam.
Licentiousness is sexually dirty.
Envy makes us green, not our true colour.
Blashpemy makes our mouth foul.
Arrogance drives away people because it sends out dirty signals.
Folly makes us stupid.
I have to admit that my repression is deep and I dare not dig too deep into it lest I may collapse. So I cannot offer any better meditation on these vices. Perhaps my readers can throw better lights on them.
Dear Lord, in the days ahead, expose me to my vices and grant me enough grace to overcome and uproot them. Amen.
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