Balancing the positive and the negative

 Photo: Canva.com

In today's gospel from Mark 7:14-23, Jesus is teaching his disciples that nothing external such as food makes a person unclean but rather what comes from the heart. Then he gives a frightening list of the evil intentions and sins that can come from the heart. But we must balance this negative statement with the many positive statements and actions of Jesus. ''Blessed are the pure in heart,'' he tells us and in the very next story in Mark's gospel, a mother pours out her heart to Jesus. He sees her love and faith and cures her sick daughter.The spiritual writer Henri Nouwen writes that no one can give himself in love when he is not aware of himself. ''Nobody can come to intimacy without having found his identity.'' It is in the depths of our heart that we find our identity as we discover our most intimate feelings. We all want to be loved because God has loved us first and planted his love in our hearts. When we experience his love for us we will be able to respond by loving God with all our hearts. Then seeing the goodness in the hearts of our sisters and brothers we will be able to overcome our irritations and annoyances and reach out in love for them. If Mark's list of evil deeds depresses us it is because he is talking about those who are not living in the Spirit. Paul in Galatians 5:22 gives us the list of the fruits of the Spirit which will cheer us up: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness and gentleness. Give us the joy of the Spirit, Lord, as our hearts are troubled by the evil that we see in the world that you gave us to be a home of love and peace for all.

Don Hornsey