When traditions take us away from the divin law !

"You forsake the commandment of God, and observe the tradition of men." "You destroy very well the commandment of God, to keep your tradition." Mark 7: 8-9

Following this declaration, Jesus will cite two examples of everyday life, where tradition abolished the law of God. In particular, he mentions how religious tradition had abolished the rule that adult children should help their elderly parents. The Pharisees had come to establish by tradition that the offering made for the temple dispensed from the rule of helping elderly parents.

Remain attached to the fundamental principles of the Bible and not to the traditions.

Let us understand well: making an offering to God is a good thing, God asks us to be generous for His work. But this principle of the offering must not eliminate the commandment of God concerning the responsibility that one has towards his parents. Tradition becomes an opposition to the Word of God when it opposes an immutable divine commandment : honor your father and mother.

Even if a tradition has its origin in the Bible, it becomes a man's command when it abolishes the law of God. The law of God establishes a principle, the value of which is eternal. Tradition establishes a form, which often evacuates the initial principle.

For their functioning, churches have established rules, but it must never be forgotten that the rules are not normative. Churches must resist the tendency to exalt the rules established by religious tradition. Remain attached to the fundamental principles of the Bible and not to the traditions, even if they were millennia old.

Jesus takes a second example concerning food. The law of Moses clearly states that man must refrain from consuming certain foods considered impure. This law recalls the importance of taking care of one's body, of keeping oneself clean, of preserving one's health. The Pharisees have made this law of symbolic value, a capital rule. The shape becomes more important than the background. Jesus reminds us that what really sullies the human being is not what he eats, but it is sin that acts in him. The legalistic will attach great importance to not eating this or that food, but besides that he will be able to hate or even kill his brother. The food tradition supplants the fundamental law of respect for life.

Jesus confronted the religious of his time, who were often more attached to the traditional forms than to the spirit of the commandments.

A question for today

Are you more attached to traditions than to the spirit of the Word of God ?

Paul Calzada

Source (The Thought of the Day)