“This people honours me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.” Strong tensions may be perceived in the discussion between Jesus and the Pharisees. The debate is “pure religion” (James 1:27). Jesus places the heart of man and his liberation from evil at the centre of it, while the Pharisees defend the external ritual of the religion that came from God.
“Their heart is far from me.” The truth is that we do not control our heart. How many people would like to stop drinking too much but struggle to do so? Let us take the example of the great saint of the early Church, whose heart was so divided, for many years, that it pushed him to pray: “Lord, make me chaste, but not just yet!” (St. Augustine).
How many would like to get rid of envy and pride and they find themselves doing the opposite? “I do not what I want, but what I hate” (Rom 7:15). We often realise this when we begin to take our faith more seriously and follow a Christian way of life more closely. We are amazed at our tendency to repeat the same mistakes and fall into the same sin. We begin to understand the cry of St. Paul: “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Rom. 7:24).
“His heart is far from me.” The goal of the Christian life is union with God and unity with our neighbour. To achieve this, we must first be free from the bondage of evil intentions. We must earn our freedom! This is entirely the work of the grace of the Redeemer. Thus Jesus promises: “If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed” (Jn. 8:36). The Church’s mission is a simple and divine duty