The readings for The Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time may be found at:
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/082921.cfm
We all heard it growing up, I’m sure.
“Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.” “It’s what’s on the inside that counts.”
I heard both of those quite a few times growing up.
And as a parent, I might have even said them a few times.
We are all often caught up in appearances.
So we go through the motions. We develop a routine. We follow social norms.
We put on a facade and pretend about this or that because we want other people to think well of us.
We are here at Mass, we could be anywhere else, but we are here, we must be good people.
We have clean clothes, our hair is brushed - well, mine isn’t because I really don’t have any - but that’s besides the point.
We have clean hands. But do we have clean hearts?
That is the point that Jesus is making to us all today.
The Pharisees get called out in holy scripture yet again for being caught up more in man-made rules, in appearances - than what God wants.
So they freak out when the disciples eat without clean hands.
But Jesus makes it clear, it's what’s on the inside that matters most.
Jesus says that “ Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile.”
Now, thankfully, Jesus is not saying that our personal cleanliness doesn’t matter.
But, He is emphasizing that the condition of our heart is a much bigger deal.
Our heart is directed toward what we love the most.
Our heart is the place that evil comes from when we rebel against God and devote ourselves to things He has forbidden.
And in the process, our hearts get stained and dirty from compounding sin.
So we should take care to wash our hearts and not just our hands.
And how do we do that? How do we wash our hearts?
Jesus, as usual, gives us the answer.
He freely offers His mercy and power to cleanse our heart through the Sacrament of Penance, when we confess our sins to a priest and receive absolution for our sins.
But we complicate things. We don’t just put on airs and pretend for other people do we?
We sometimes actually pretend for ourselves.
“The things we have done are not so bad.”
“Jesus is merciful and good, He’ll look the other way.”
“I talked to Jesus already, I don’t need to confess my sins to a priest.”
So many times, we pretend we are already clean. Even when we know we are not.
Of course, Jesus wants our hearts. But, He also wants us to avoid the double life that the Pharisees are living - full of selfishness on the inside, while appearing to be role models on the outside.
Jesus doesn’t care what we look like; He cares only about who we really are.
If we want to be truly clean and grow in holiness, we need to allow God’s Spirit to transform us.
We need to be more concerned about what is inside of us than what is on the outside.
If it’s been a while, we really should pray to our Lord to help give us what we need to get us to confession, so that we can get clean, really clean.
So this week, as we pray, Let us ask Jesus, that our outward behavior and appearance reflect the joy, the purpose, and the goodness He has put in our hearts.
Let us ask Him to help us care more about what He thinks than what others think.
Let us ask Him to take care of our hearts and give us the strength to return to the sacrament of confession so that we can be closer to Him and better love as he loves.
Because, after all - it’s what’s on the inside that counts.
