A Thought For The Week Of August 20

Jesus said, "you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition." (Matthew 15:6b) In its strict context, he was speaking of people who refused to honour their father and mother by sharing gifts with them, getting out of the obligation by simply dedicating the gifts to God. But the principle is far wider than that. Far too often we allow the traditions of our religion to supplant the Word of God, or we lift our rituals to a sort of divine status in themselves. That problem is a common theme in the Bible. In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, the religious people used their religious obligations to exempt themselves from helping a person in desperate need. The prophets Isaiah and Amos say that God hates the show of religious piety when it become an excuse to avoid doing justice. And James says that real religion is looking after the poor and widows in distress (the most vulnerable in society) and not being polluted by the world. We need to always be careful that we don't become so religious that we blind ourselves to the desires of God. Honouring traditions is fine, but doing the will of God is priceless! Have a great week!