DAILY DEVOTIONAL

Wednesday, February 13, 2019

And Jesus called the people to Him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” And when He had entered the house and left the people, His disciples asked him about the parable.  And He said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus He declared all foods clean.) And He said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.  All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” – Mark 7:14-23

Christ provides a list of examples of evil things, not distinguishing one as worse as another … “evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness“.  Yet I have observed that we are only concerned and focused on a few and that few tends to be not applying to ourselves.

Committing adultery is an evil thing and it rises out of the heart.

Deceit is an evil thing and it too  rises out of the heart.

Mere evil thoughts are an evil thing and they rise from the heart too.

Envy and slander, these are evil things as well, so taught Christ.

And pride and foolishness, evil things that choose to rather disregard.

Oh, and yes … needless to mention for they are so obvious … theft and murder, coveting, and wickedness these evil things also begin in the heart.

People seem so selective as what concerns them as evil.  Certain evils must not be and yet others, we easily explain away.  The Pharisees were concerned with Christ and His disciples breaking some rules, but were blind to the evils within themselves.

Evil has many faces, but only one source … a heart uncleansed and needing to be refilled with Love.

Always in Christ’s Service,

Fr. Charitas de la Cruz