Meaning-Making and Life-Giving Traditions!

Tuesday, February 10, 2026

1 Kgs 8:22-23, 27-30; Mk 7:1-13

In today’s Gospel, Jesus exposes the meaningless religious traditions.

The religious leaders of Jesus’ time – the Pharisees and the Scribes – controlled ordinary people in the name of God. Hence, Jesus challenges a faith that speaks in God’s name while keeping God at a distance. 

Jesus proves his claim through a concrete example in the practice of Corban. The Mosaic commandment instructed people, ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ But when it came to taking care of their aging parents, using the practice of Corban, people started declaring their personal assets as ‘set apart’ for temple use. This they did not do out of love for God but so they could evade the commandment and their responsibility to support their parents. 

Put differently, the religious practice of Corban was misused as a loophole to justify their cunningness. They were ‘clever’ to evade God’s commandment and to neglect their duty to care for their elderly parents. Thus, for Jesus, the real danger was that they manipulated religion to suit personal comfort. In fact, human tradition defied the Divine Law. 

We must note that while not all religious traditions are bad, the problem occurs when they are turned into tools of oppression when human-made ones are presented as having divine authority. For instance, observing the Lord’s supper and celebrating Christmas and Easter are good traditions. But a practice like Corban, only to alienate one’s duty to God and others, is bad. 

Thus, in Jesus’ confrontation with the religious leaders of his time, we learn three important lessons about religious traditions. 

1. Religious traditions do not determine one’s spirituality or spiritual maturity. Following religious rituals does not make a person spiritual, but only our personal relationship with God does. 

2. Religious traditions can lead to hypocrisy. Outward observance of rituals does not please God. True worship begins within. The effect of such worship is manifested in life. 

3. Religious traditions can lead to false worship. When humans elevate their personal ideas as directly coming from God, they mislead the flock. They may even replace God’s Word. 

Let us pray that we may honor God in the way we live and through life-giving traditions. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar