This Sunday’s scripture reminds us that the best way we can show that we are faithful to the commandments of God is with a change of heart. A friend of mine told me a long time ago that sometimes we can only see God through our tears. Having holy thoughts and beautiful words without acting on them does not lead to the transformation to which Jesus is calling us. 

The heart of the commandments is to serve God through each other. Our tears and the transformation of our hearts motivate us to seek goodness and to love each other. God’s commandments move us to repent and to forgive others as we try to “act justly, love mercifully and walk humbly with our God.”
 
The point of the readings today seems to tell us that the commandments and rules help us be the good people that God wants us to be. Many people of Jesus’ time misunderstood the meaning of the commandments. They saw the ritual washing of vessels as more important than the way they treated the widows and orphans. The love of God sets our hearts on fire and motivates us to serve one another with that same love. 

The readings tell us that as we experience the conversion of our hearts, we understand more fully the commandments that we are all called to live. The Letter of James says it another way- “We must be doers of the Word and not only hearers.”

“Listen to me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that goes into us from outside can make us unclean; it is the things that come out of us that make us unclean. For it is from our hearts that evil intentions emerge.” (Mark 7:14-23)

The scripture readings remind us that “It is only with an open heart that we can see what is invisible to the eye.” The reading from the letter of James reminds us that the word that’s been planted within us is the word that will save us. This reading goes on to say that we cannot separate our hearts and our actions. We must put our faith in action. We must open our hearts to what is important in life.