Superprayer

"So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, 'Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?' He responded, 'Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:

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.' " - Mark 7:5-8

Whew - not so "little" on the Lectio Divina today! However, I thought including a little more of the context would help frame up the situation Jesus is dealing with here. As was noted in the last post, Jesus is talking with the Pharisees - the folks that pride themselves on following the law to the letter. The Pharisees continue to press Jesus on why his disciples aren't following the law as closely as they are. After all, if Jesus is the Messiah, certainly he and his disciples would be the model citizens for following God's law.

But here's where Jesus makes the point - that the minute details of the law that the Pharisees are "catching" him on are human doctrines - and that Isaiah prophesied about the Pharisees eight hundred years before then. His point isn't that following the Law is bad - but that focusing on following it to the letter - and ignoring its' intended purpose - has the opposite effect on their relationship with God.

And while this scene played out 2000 years ago, we as modern Christians can - and do - get caught up in focusing on the details rather than the purpose. We may focus on making sure we give a certain percent of our income, that our Church outfits are pristine, that we wear our Crucifix so all can see. Again - none of these things are bad, but if we focus too much on the act itself, rather than the reason behind the act - we too will get caught up in the details.

I know I do this quite a bit when reciting prayers I've known since I was little. I say the words, but forget to think about what those words really mean - whether it's at dinner time, bed time or during mass. They come so naturally now that it actually takes work to slow down, think about what I'm saying and - more importantly - why I'm saying it. But I find that, when I do slow down, I hear those words in the context of my life now, and find they still relate to who I am.

Taking it slow is the essence of Lectio Divina. To think about the words, what they mean to us, and how they reflect in our everyday lives. And Jesus is reminding us that there's so much more to God than rituals (though they have their place), and that we must try to grow in our relationship with God by slowing down, seeing the bigger picture, and thinking about why we're doing what we're doing.