Twenty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time - B Cycle
It's a Matter of the Heart
Recently, I read a report on a study that was done on the effect of peer pressure on teens. In this study, several groups of ten teens were told they were participants in a study on visual perception. What they were not told was that the study was focused on how one of the teens would react to peer pressue. When the ten teens entered the room as a group they were shown three lines drawn on a board in the front of the room. Each of the lines were different lengths and they were told to raise their hands when the administrator of the visual perception test pointed to the longest line. Now before they entered the room, nine of the teens were individually told to raise their hands when the second longest line was pointed to by the administrator. So as the administrator pointed to the second longest line, nine teens raised their hands. The tenth later talked about her response to other nine hands being raised. She said, "perhaps she misunderstood the question"; "surely those nine knew that B was not the longest line so they must be responding correctly, so slowly she raised her hand with the others." Now the administrator repeated the question, raise your hands when the longest line is pointed to. Once again nine hands went up when the second longest line was called out. Now the tenth teen knew the question was to identify the longest line. So why was the group raising their hands for the second longest line? But once again she talked about the thought process, should she point out to the group that they were wrong and she was right. What would they think about her if she did that - would they think she was trying to show them up? Slowly once aging she raised her hand. This scene was repeated time and time again. In fact, the study showed that over 75% of the time the the tenth teen joined the crowd.
We are always pressured to go along with the crowd in many areas. Remember IBM from not that long ago, they were referred to a "Big Blue.' And employees of Big Blue wore blue suits with a blue or white oxford shirt. But employees of IBM were not alone; many of us conform to styles of dress because of "peer pressure." We conform to ways of speech, of raising our children, and of moral choices because of peer pressure.
Last week in our first reading we were challenged by the words of Joshua to decide who we would follow - God or some other gods. If we were part of that crowd listening to Joshua it would be easy to get caught up with the crowd and say we will follow the Lord. So here we are one week after we joined in the emotion and we are now told Jesus to examine what we are following. Today we are challenged to observe carefully the commands - the commands - the Lord has given us. We are told to not add or subtract from them for a reason - that we may live. Today we are given a picture of how religious people can begin to move from the commands and begin to define their faith by external actions, which can be observed by others. Jesus is reminding us that our faith should be based on responding to things of divine origin not on human origin. Jesus reminds us our faith is a matter of the heart not a matter of following some ritual or formula.
Yet we do get caught up in the rituals and the formulas. Our Church is full of them and we need to examine if we as a people today are doing exactly what the Pharisees in this gospel did. We wonder why some of our faith do not do exactly as we do.
The very thing that should unite us - the Liturgy - the celebration of God present to us in word and in sacrament - is the thing that divides us. The one thing that should have us becoming a worshiping people united as a community causes division because we think that some are not doing it right.
- Why do we allow that music at mass? Is it more reverent to have organ music or guitar music?
- Why do some Catholic Churches allow their people to stand during the Consecration instead of kneeling? Is it more right to stand in adoration or kneel in reverence?
- Why aren't people reverent when they pass the tabernacle? Do we know people's heart when they pass in front of the tabernacle?
- Is it more reverent to receive the Eucharist in the hand or on the tongue?
- Why are some so disrespectful of Christ by the way they dress to come to mass?
- Why is that one allowed to be an Eucharistic Minister?
- Why can't some people get to mass on time? Do we know what happened to delay them?
- Why do I have to sing - I pray in my own way?
- Why do I have to shake hands at the sign of peace?
- Why this and why that.
Jesus reminds us that it is what comes from inside us that makes us impure. We need to stop and reflect and ask what is in our hearts. What is it that we really desire in our lives? To what or whom have we dedicated our energies? How alive to God does your heart feel at this moment?
The 3rd Century Church took a pagan world and made it a Christian reality by the way they lived out their faith. It is not in adhering to the letter of the law that is important to us today in confronting our own pagan world. Our measure is "Have we loved Jesus above everything else." Our measure is "Have we loved our brothers and sisters above everything else."