In vain do you worship me when you disregard God's commandment and instead cling to human traditions. In the course of his ministry, Jesus found himself in conflict with the various religious groups that were part of the religious leadership of his community. Whereas the majority of these conflicts were occasioned by what Jesus said or did that appeared not to be in conformity with the laid tradition and custom, he was also accused of being complicit in the breaking of the law whenever he “failed to stop” those who were under his charge or in his company from breaking the law. As a rabbi, Jesus was expected to be at the forefront of upholding the law. Not only was he supposed to lead by example, but he was also expected to ensure that the law was not transgressed against in his presence.
In this Sunday’s Gospel passage, we see Jesus being confronted by a section of the religious leadership (some Pharisees and scribes) who proceed to accuse Jesus’ disciples for not observing the tradition of the elders. Apparently, some of the disciples of Jesus had failed to observe the washing ritual that was to be observed before eating. It was an accusation that did not amuse Jesus, a fact that he was not shy to make known to his accusers. Whereas it is safe to assume that Jesus was not necessarily defending or condoning the failure of the disciples to observe the washing rituals required before eating, it holds true that he did not think it warranted the kind of emphasis that was accorded it by the religious leaders. Jesus would have supported the religious leaders if their concern had been the failure of the disciples to observe proper hygiene and by so doing endangering their wellbeing. However, as can be seen from the complaint of his accusers, their concern was the observance of tradition, something that Jesus found quite troubling. From the various confrontations that pitied Jesus against the religious leaders, Jesus had observed how tradition had become exalted so much so that it not only assumed the position of the human person whose good it was supposed to serve but also dethroned him. The emphasis that was put on the observance of tradition had ended up enslaving the human person and putting him at the mercy of tradition and custom. The observance of tradition had been turned into its own end. In other words, tradition was being observed just for the sake of it. The good/wellbeing of the human person which was supposed to be the goal of the observance of tradition had been kicked to the curb. Jesus did not agree with such a manipulation of what was otherwise a good thing and sought to have it corrected.
Jesus was alarmed that the commands of God were being replaced by human precepts. While the washing of hands before a meal is important and should be observed at all times, failure to do it should not be considered a sinful act (as the Pharisees and scribes wanted to). Failure to observe the washing ritual could in no way render an individual unclean and therefore unfit to be in the presence of God. An individual is rendered unfit to be in God’s presence when he/she fails to observe God’s command to love God and his/her neighbor. An individual becomes unworthy of God’s presence when he/she fails to act charitably towards his brothers and sisters. While the Pharisees and scribes were calling out the disciples for not washing their hands before eating, they had failed to point out the several instances when the first and greatest commandment was not being observed. It was not as though there was a scarcity of laws that emphasized the love of the neighbor. As the First Reading has rightly pointed out, there wasn’t any nation on earth whose laws could rival those of Israel. Rather, those who were charged with reminding the people the laws that emphasized the love of neighbor had chosen to ignore them.
The attitude of the Pharisees and scribes who confronted Jesus and his disciples said a lot about what had become of religion and worship. Religion and worship had been stripped of one of its goals. No longer was the betterment of the human person regarded as a religious duty. The human person was not regarded as sacred anymore and was consequently replaced by tradition. This is what was of concern to Jesus and whenever he got the opportunity to address it, he utilized it. As a response to the scribes and Pharisees who were accusing him, he reminded them that God's concern is the welfare of the human person since it is the human person who was created in God's image. God's commandment is that the human person is loved, not that tradition is observed (if observing tradition does not have the good of the human person as an end). Worshipping God is a tradition, but it loses meaning and purpose if the good of the human person is not seen as part of that worship.