Homily for Ordinary Time 22
September 1, 2024
Traditions
If you’ve
ever seen Fiddler on the Roof, you remember that the first musical
number is a rousing song called “Traditions”. In it, the main character Tevye sings
about the many traditions that govern their good Jewish life: what to wear,
what to eat, societal roles. He declares, “You may ask, how did this tradition
get started? I’ll tell you…I don’t know. But it’s a tradition.” And of course
the rest of the play is all about the five daughters trying to break from tradition
and marry the man they love, and not get married according to the customary
matchmaker.
That’s
been a theme in many movies and stories – how tradition stifles us, prevents us
from a fulfilling life. It’s almost a Disney trope: a kid finds themselves chafing
at their cultural or familial expectations, and either because of love or
adventure or destiny, tries to break from those traditions and set their own paths.
At the end of the movies, the parents realize that their tradition was wrong
and that their child’s newfound freedom and happiness means throwing out the past.
But is
this what Jesus is criticizing in today’s Gospel? Does He believe that all
traditions and rules are bad, and that we should just be completely free to
chart our own course? Let’s look at the historical context to understand.
In
addition to the Bible, the Jews have other written documents called the Talmud,
which were collections of oral traditions, laws, stories, proverbs, and other
writings from the ancient interpreters of the Law, dating back to the sixth
century BC. Although there are 613 Laws that God gave to Moses in the Bible,
there are thousands upon thousands of laws and commands in the Talmud.
These
laws were desirable to the Pharisees. Who were the Pharisees? Remember
that for most of Israel’s history, their biggest temptation was to “act like
the other nations” – they worshipped the gods of the surrounding peoples, and
their morals were no different than the wicked and profligate pagans they lived
beside. This is why God gave them 613 laws in the first place – because they
needed their own culture, lest the temptation of “blending in” (aka, idolatry
and immorality) was too strong.
But
because they fell again and again into these sins, God allowed them to have
their way – they wanted to act like the other nations, so God abandoned them
into exile in a foreign nation, when they were taken into captivity by the
Babylonians. This was “shock therapy” that woke up the Israelites – after 70 years
they returned to their homes, resolved never again to act like those immoral
and idolatrous pagans.
But the
Pharisees took it a step too far. Their name comes from the Hebrew Perushim,
meaning “The Separated Ones.” They wanted to be SO unlike the other nations
that they developed an entire culture of specific laws and rituals and
traditions that God had never commanded – so that they could live distinctly
and differently from the rest of the nations.
So what
is Jesus criticizing? The problem is that a) They had put their oral traditions
on par with the laws that God had given them in the Scriptures, and b)
They had forgotten the reasons behind their laws. This is what Jesus is
criticizing – following rules that had no reason, and forgetting the bigger
picture, which is the love of God and neighbor.
We are
blessed in our Catholic Faith to have lots of beautiful traditions. It’s a rich
faith, with two thousand years of history, and many different devotions and
sacramentals. Jesus does not intend for us to throw all that out! Rather, our
traditions are meant to lead us to Jesus, to the heart of our Faith, and
to holiness. We simply need to understand why we have them, and use them
in such a way as to lead us to Jesus. Although I could mention hundreds of rich
traditions, I want to use four as an example to see how they should be practiced
well.
First,
there is the tradition of Catholics not eating meat on Fridays. This tradition
is so well-associated with Catholicism that McDonalds even developed the
Filet-o-Fish sandwich to specifically market to Catholics! But why do we do
that?
In times
past, meat used to be the “rich man’s food” – very expensive and rare – so giving
up meat helped the rich to eat like a poor man for a day. It is truly an
ancient tradition, dating back to the first century. Many of you remember when
it was obligatory for a Catholic to abstain from all meat every Friday during
the year, but now it is only Fridays in Lent (and Ash Wednesday). In 1966, the
Vatican allowed Catholics to substitute other penances on Fridays outside of
Lent instead of abstaining from meat. We must sacrifice on Fridays in honor of
Our Lord’s suffering and death, uniting some small suffering of ours to His
love on the Cross.
In our
Friday penance, we shouldn’t be thinking “bare minimum” but rather, “What can I
do to unite my life to His Cross, in gratitude for so great a love?” For
example, for me, fish is far more delicious than meat, so outside of Lent I do
not do meatless Fridays but do other penances instead. A lobster dinner, while
technically abstaining from meat, doesn’t seem like much of a penance – so it
is far more important to live out the meaning behind the penance (actually making
a real, costly sacrifice) rather than trying to quibble about what constitutes
meat (according to the Vatican, beavers and alligators are allowed to be eaten
on Fridays in Lent). The point is – when we fast or sacrifice – which we must
do weekly on Fridays and ought to do daily - we do so with an understanding of why
– for love of God and charity toward neighbor.
A second
tradition, often misunderstood, is that of godparents. Originally, godparents
were meant to take the place of the parents in case the parents became ill or
passed away, ensuring that the child would be cared for and raised as a Catholic.
Nowadays, it has a more spiritual meaning: godparents are meant to give the
child a good model of how to live as an adult Catholic follower of Jesus
Christ.
This is
why godparents need to be practicing Catholics. All the time we get requests
for Jewish godparents, atheist godparents, five godparents, godparents who are
living scandalous lives…and we have to respectfully insist that godparents be
active, practicing Catholics who can stand as a good example for the children
on how to follow Jesus. It’s more than just honoring a friend during a child’s
baptism – it’s about providing for your child a good, holy example to imitate.
What a great gift – and obligation! Godparents have the duty to help their
godchildren get to Heaven and become saints, through word and example and
praying for them frequently. It’s not an honor to be taken lightly! So, it’s
not just an empty tradition – it is one that has great spiritual meaning and is
directed to the holiness of those who are newly-baptized.
A third oft-misunderstood
tradition is the requirement that Catholics must be married in a church, in
front of a priest or deacon for the marriage to be valid and sacramental. Why
can’t we get married on the beach or at the Waterview? Some call the Church
teaching outdated or a mere “rule”. But there are two reasons why Catholics
must be married before a priest or deacon in a church. First, because marriage
is not merely a human reality – it is a supernatural, divine reality
established by God with a supernatural end: the procreation and education of
children, and the mutual sanctification of spouses. Second, because marriage
desperately needs the grace of God to flourish – and a sacramental marriage
invites God at the center. For this reason, Catholics who go to the courthouse
or some romantic destination for their ceremony actually aren’t married at all,
in the eyes of God. Marriage in the church is not just a mere rule – it’s a
sacramental reality, imbued with grace.
Finally,
I’d like to mention one more tradition that is often misunderstood: the use of
Sacramentals. Things like crosses, Rosaries, Holy Water, and blessings are
awesome – but they are pointless if used apart from the life of faith and the
Sacraments. At one parish, a woman came to the church one weekday with a
five-gallon bucket, looking for holy water. I asked her what could she possibly
be doing with so much? She told me she was going to give her babies baths in
the holy water. But when I asked if she went to Mass, she looked at me with
confusion and shook her head! Blessing a house does no good if the occupants
won’t attend Mass; having a Rosary from a rearview mirror is meaningless unless
the person prays it. These items are meant to augment a living, daily, personal
relationship with Jesus Christ – not be our good luck charm. Sacramentals
without faith is just superstition – and a tradition that Jesus would critique!
In our
Catholic Faith, we are blessed with many rich traditions. And this is good! As
Tevye goes on to say in the Fiddler on the Roof, “Because of our
traditions, every one of us knows who we are, and what God expects us to do.”
We live out our Catholic Faith through many good traditions – we must always
remember, though, that they are not just mere rules and external observances
but pathways to a life full of love of God and neighbor.
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