DAILY READING
REFLECTION
Drive us to You, O God!
by Mary Kate Hipp
The law as we read in Scripture has two main purposes: 1) to promote good and restrict evil and 2) to drive us to Christ. In our reading for today, we see Jesus trying to teach this very point to the elders. These are the very elders who committed their entire lives to studying the letter of the law. These pious elders believed that if they followed and enforced the law, they would gain favor with the Lord. However, Jesus is teaching that it is not so much about following the letter of the law as it is about being driven to God.
Yes, it is important to respect and provide for one's father and mother, but the point of the law is not to dictate our lives and miss the freedom of the Gospel. The point is to drive us to our great need for Christ.
Surrounding our passage for today are a plethora of narratives. These narratives seem to be told in a pattern: a miracle of Jesus, great faith produced, a miracle of Jesus, great faith produced, a miracle of Jesus, and so on and so forth. It is also of note that these narratives primarily pertain to gentiles, or they occur in regions densely populated by gentiles--people who have little to no knowledge of the law. Notice how this passage is juxtaposed with these narratives. We are drawn to see the painful misunderstanding of the Jewish elders, who above all should understand faith.
May you not be caught up in tradition and law, but may the Lord transform your heart to have the childlike, uninterrupted faith of the Gentile woman (Mk 7:24-30) or those who witnessed the healing of the deaf and mute (Mk 7:37).
Don't get me wrong, the law matters However, if the law hinders you from the freedom and life of the Gospel, then what does it matter that you followed the law? Don't miss the Gospel in the busyness of the law. Friends, have faith! Rest in the Gospel! Hold not onto tradition or to law but onto the loving-kindness of the Lord. It matters more what comes out of our hearts than what laws we fill our minds and hearts with.
PRAYER
Lord, lead us today to relinquish our love of tradition and law. May we fall into the freedom of Your Gospel. Amen.
