Today’s gospel from Mark stretches us to consider the ways in which we might “defile” the Lord—the things we do, or fail to do, (sins of commission and omission) that separate our lives from the life of discipleship. In chapter 7 the Pharisees and Scribes seem to be worried about why some of Jesus’ followers do not honor the traditions of the elders—specifically the washing of hands prior to the eating of meals. This concern seems to have the Pharisees and Scribes upset and so they confront Jesus and ask Him why He tolerates this.

But rather than getting mad at them Jesus tries to coax the Pharisees and the Scribes to His Truth about what really brings about salvation. You see, there is nothing that we can do, or that the Pharisees or Scribes could have done, that would stop Jesus from loving us. Jesus cannot not love us!

Rather, Jesus responds to His questioners by turning the situation around on the Pharisees and the Scribes, noting that Isaiah well-prophesied about their hypocrisy, saying “This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts. You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.” And then tells them the saving truth: “From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they defile.”

What Jesus is discussing with His apostles in this Gospel—and with us today as we listen to His message—is that perfect attention to the “law” does not save us, rather “fulfilling the law because of the “law’s value” is the saving piece. We must open our hearts to the reasons of the law, not just our outward perfect practice of the law.

Scripture scholars remind us the great lay theologian and essayist, G. K. Chesterton, likened “laws” to a fence on the children’s playground on a hill. If there is a fence, the children are able to play carefree to their fullest extent. No fears of falling off the hill. Without the fence, the children would be anxious and will need to constantly watch out as to not topple down the hill. With laws, civil or religious, we are able to relax and live out our lives but it is not the law the makes us a Christian. This is to go against what many today call “Phariseeism,” being a perfect law-pleaser. Jesus wants us to understand that it is not the perfection of the law that saves us. Rather what does lead us to salvation is the living out of the “value of a law”: caring for the poor does not mean passing a law that raises the awareness of their needs but rather being involved in providing for their needs—food, shelter, housing and more—and doing it because it is the righteous (what God wants) thing to do, not because it is trendy or one might win accolades.

The hope of God our Father is that we, in this life, build upright relationships with others so that we may have a right relationship with God. Listen carefully to the words of Consecration at the Mass (Eucharistic Prayer II): Therefore, as we celebrate the memorial of his Death and Resurrection, we offer you, Lord, the Bread of life and the Chalice of salvation, giving thanks that you have held us worthy to be in your presence and minister to you. In this part of the Eucharistic Prayer we acknowledge that in ministering to others (the hungry, the homeless, the forgotten or the sorrowful) we minister to God Himself. “…What you did for the least of them, you did for me.” This is how we build right relationships with others around us and at the same time with God. It is not in just “doing something”—fulfilling the law—but rather in doing something for the right reason …having our hearts open to the prime motivator behind the letter of the law. That brings about salvation