On this Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent, the Church places before us two passages of Sacred Scripture that illuminate the spirit of true worship: Exodus 20:12-24, wherein God commands reverence toward parents and outlines the prescriptions of sacrifice, and Matthew 15:1-20, where Christ rebukes the Pharisees for their hypocrisy, teaching that true defilement comes from the heart rather than external observances. Together, these readings call us to an authentic interior conversion—a fundamental theme of Lent—rooted in obedience to divine law and purification of the soul.
Honor and Obedience: Foundations of Divine Worship
In the Decalogue, the Lord commands:
“Honor thy father and thy mother, that thou mayest be long-lived upon the land which the Lord thy God will give thee.” (Ex. 20:12)
The Church Fathers unanimously recognize this commandment as not merely a moral duty toward earthly parents but also a deeper call to obedience to divine authority. St. John Chrysostom remarks that honoring one’s parents is a stepping stone to honoring God Himself:
“He that honors his father will also love his Creator; he that respects the authority of parents will not despise that of the Church.” (Homilies on Ephesians, XX)
The passage further elaborates on the proper mode of worship, condemning the making of graven images and calling for sacrifice to be offered only to God. This prefigures the purity of worship required in the New Covenant, where true sacrifice is not of beasts and burnt offerings but of a contrite heart, as Psalm 50 (51) declares:
“A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit: a contrite and humbled heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” (Ps. 50:19)
The Lenten journey, then, is a return to this purity of worship—a stripping away of idolatrous attachments, whether external or within the heart.
Hypocrisy and the True Source of Defilement
In the Gospel, Christ confronts the Pharisees, who had accused His disciples of transgressing the “tradition of the elders” by eating with unwashed hands. In response, Our Lord exposes their distortion of God’s law:
“Why do you also transgress the commandment of God for your tradition? For God said: Honor thy father and mother: And he that shall curse father or mother, let him die the death. But you say: Whosoever shall say to father or mother, The gift whatsoever proceedeth from me, shall profit thee. And he shall not honor his father or his mother: and you have made void the commandment of God for your tradition.” (Matt. 15:3-6)
Here, Christ rebukes the legalistic traditions that had supplanted true obedience to God’s law. The Pharisees had devised a system—such as the “Corban” practice—whereby one could declare their wealth as “dedicated to God” and thus be exempt from supporting their parents. St. Augustine observes:
“They forsook the commandment of God to hold fast to the traditions of men. They placed human tradition before divine law, offering external observances while their hearts remained impure.” (Sermon on the Mount, II, 5)
This is a perennial warning against the temptation to externalize religion while neglecting its interior demands. Lent is a time to examine whether our religious practices are mere formalities or true acts of devotion springing from a heart turned toward God.
What Truly Defiles the Soul?
Jesus continues by shifting the focus from external purity to the interior disposition of man:
“Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man: but what cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.” (Matt. 15:11)
St. Cyril of Alexandria explains that Christ is not abolishing all external observances but rather restoring the proper order:
“He does not tell them to neglect the law, but He teaches them that purity is not in hands washed or unwashed, but in a soul purified from iniquity.” (Commentary on Matthew, 15)
True impurity comes from the heart: evil thoughts, murder, adultery, theft, false witness, and blasphemy. These sins render a man unclean before God. As St. Gregory the Great warns:
“What is the point of keeping outward purity, if within, the soul is filled with wicked thoughts? He who fasts from food, yet allows himself to be consumed by envy, gluttony, or pride, does not purify himself in the sight of God.” (Homilies on the Gospels, XI)
Thus, Lent calls us not merely to external observances—fasting, almsgiving, and prayer—but to an inward purification of the heart. Without this, our sacrifices remain empty, our fasting in vain.
The Call to True Worship
As we continue our Lenten pilgrimage, these readings remind us that true worship is founded on obedience to God’s commandments, not on human traditions that distort them. It is the purification of the soul, not merely the cleansing of the body, that makes one holy before God. St. Basil the Great summarizes this well:
“Do not consider fasting alone to be sufficient, for fasting is but the beginning of true purification. Let us cleanse our hearts from deceit, pride, and envy, that our Lenten sacrifice may be pleasing to God.” (Homily on Fasting, I)
May this day be an opportunity for us to examine our hearts, remove every impurity, and return to the Lord with sincerity. In this lies the essence of our Lenten preparation: to render to God the worship of a heart made pure by love and obedience.
Conclusion: A Prayer for Purity of Heart
O Lord, You who desire not the mere sacrifice of lips but the contrition of the heart, cleanse us from all that defiles us within. May our fasting be accompanied by true repentance, our almsgiving by genuine charity, and our prayers by a spirit of humility. Teach us, as You taught Your disciples, that true worship is not in external rites alone, but in a heart set wholly on You. Amen.