Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem then came to Jesus and said, "Why do your disciples break away from the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands when they eat food."
He called the people to him and said, "Listen, and understand. What goes into the mouth does not make a man unclean; it is what comes out of them mouth that makes him unclean."
Then the disciples came to him and said, "Do you know that the Pharisees were shocked when they heard what you said?" He replied, "Any plant my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up the roots. Leave them alone. They are blind men leading blind men; and if one blind man leads another both will fall into a pit."
The Word in other words
When we were kids, our parents used to tell us that we should wash our hands before eating. I think it was a very practical advice that we should all follow or even make a habit of. So what is Jesus talking about when his disciples do not wash their hands?
First, we have to understand this washing of hands that the Pharisees and scribes are concerned about. In the Jewish custom, there is a ritual of the washing of the hands before meal which, in Jerusalem, takes a longer form because water is readily available in the city. Meanwhile, the disciples of Jesus, who come from the countryside where water is scarce, naturally prefer the shorter ritual. So the Pharisees and scribes are complaining not really about the disciples' abandoning the ritual but about the latter's preference for the shorter form. With this in mind, Jesus spoke out against the legalism of the Pharisees and scribes emphasizing that it is not what enters our body but rather what comes out of our mouth that makes us unclean.
Nowadays, we are being taught that we should make healthier choices of what we eat. We are asked to buy "free range eggs" rather than "caged eggs". We are also asked to eat "organic rice" rather than rice that grow with chemical fertilizers and pesticides. We are also asked to drink "fair-trade" coffee, meaning coffee certified to have been picked by workers who have received proper wages. In the same way, we should also be taught to make healthier choices of the words we say to our brothers and sisters. Maybe we should cut down on our use of foul language. Instead, we should utter nice words that offer praises to God. If we do that, we may become healthier not only in our body but also in our mind and heart.
- Fr. Elmer I. Ibarra, SVD (Sydney, Australia)
