Religion that is pure and undefiled is to visit the weak in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

Josh 24: 1-2:15-17.18, Eph. 5:21-32, Jn 6:60-69. On this Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B, the Church invites us to have a sincere quest for God. Today’s first reading reports the content of God’s dialogue with the Israelites. God told them not to add or remove anything from His commandments. It is by keeping this commandments that we show our wisdom and people will know that our God is near to us. Today’s second reading enjoins us to accept and submit to the word which has been planted in us. The word of the Lord is not just outside of ourselves in a book; it has been planted in us, through baptism. For James, religion that is pure and undefiled before God is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world: “Pure unspoilt religion in the eyes of God our Father is this: coming to the help orphans and widows when they need it and keeping oneself uncontaminated by the world.”

Today’s Gospel presents us with a long list of vices – sins that make man impure, more than washing or not washing hands before eating: “Evil purposes, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, greed, injustices, frauds, debauchery, envy, slander, pride and frivolity.” All these give us food for thought for a good examination of conscience. So, when Jesus referred to the Pharisees as whited sepulchres, many of those listening would have agreed with Him. His warning holds a message for us, to look inwards into the depths of our souls. Deep within us God has written His Law and it is to our honour and duty to obey it. We will be judged according to the way we behave, based on what in our hearts we believe to be right, true and proper. “It is from within,” Jesus tells us today, “that evil arises.” He wants us to look beyond current opinion, the confrontations and problems of our time and strive for greater purity of heart. That is why we must be careful with what we think or desire because it can be the origin of disordered behaviour. The commandments of God are the true principles of life and never human traditions and constructs that are devoid of this unique foundation. Obedience to the commandments of God renders us wise and binds us together as one holy nation with the same goal, purpose and destination.

May the Lord give us the grace to be true to the truth we profess in our words and in our actions! Amen!! Good morning and happy Sunday!!!