💖 HOMILY - OCTOBER 11 💖

First Reading - Galatians 5:1-6

Gospel - Luke 11:37-41

The pandemic has taught us many lessons and one of them is regular washing of our hands. Certainly, cleansing is required for hygienic purpose. However, the readings of today invite us to cleanse our hearts as well because our hearts can become devious if not taken care and will be manifested in our actions. 

The gospel passage presents a customary practice of washing of hands. This practice is usually common in every place even today. We do wash our hands before meal to ascertain that we take food with clean hands. In the gospel passage of today, Jesus was invited for a meal by a Pharisee. The host noticed that Jesus did not wash his hands as per the customary practice. Perceiving the hardness of the observance of custom, Jesus teaches a lesson about interior cleansing. Apparantly, it looks as if Jesus was trying to rule out the need of external cleansing but is not so. The emphasis of the passage is to focus on the preliminary needs of our lives rather than getting tied up with petty observance of the law. Jesus teaches us to keep our hearts clean from all the vices just as we observe external cleansing for our body.

The first reading concentrates on the themes of slavery and freedom. Paul accentuates that the observance of the law of Sinai as the basis for salvation or justification is not possible because it demands faithful observance of each and every law with failure , hence it makes the person slave to the law. Whereas, faith in Jesus liberates and makes us free in Christ. Therefore, faith in Christ righteous living, hence a basis for salvation. It's important to underline that Paul doesn't discard the Mosaic law but affirms that the Mosaic law demands obedience to God without failure which is certainly impossible to observe as humans. However, our faith in Christ reminds that we are weak as humans but our hope is in Christ who died for our sins and failures. That's why, Paul calls it freedom in Christ. However, it poses a challenge to us; Are we still slaves or free? Freedom also requires spiritual cleansing of ourselves.

Dear friends, the Book of Proverbs 4:23 says: "...Guard your heart..." It's indeed needed as Matthew 15:19 says: "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander." The teaching of Jesus on cleansing of heart takes us far from mere ritual cleansing or physical cleansing to interior cleansing or cleansing of heart. The ritual cleansing or ablution can cleanse us from physical dirt but it cannot cleanse us through and through including our inner self or dirt that is settled in our hearts. 

Paul reminds us in the first reading: "don't submit to the yoke of slavery." In fact, let's liberate ourselves from the slavery of sin by instilling in our hearts the teachings of Jesus. This will lead us to the freedom in Christ. In addition to them, let's make every effort to cleanse our hearts by daily examination of conscience and frequent visit to the sacrament of reconciliation etc. They will help us keep watch over our hearts.