The Genesis account of creation as in the First reading illustrates how God looked into every detail in His art of creation. The climax was the creation of man and woman in His own image (v.27). Everything God made was good. Yet in the Gospel reading, we see how the Scribes and Pharisees who adopted the practice of 'ritual purity' as a necessary condition for approaching God in worship.

Such 'tradition of the elders' were well guarded by the Scribes and Pharisees who considered that non-observance was tantamount to transgression of the Mosaic law. Yet Jesus took up the wider question of obedience to God's will and focussed on it in sharp contrast with such blind observance of man-made traditions. He called them hypocrites! He referred to ‘Corban' (semitic word which means "a gift made to God") which was a dubious way of nullifying God's commandments and submitted to the traditions of the elders. So Jesus denounces such obedience to the ‘tradition of men.'

We ask ourselves if we also submit to such kinds of blind obedience to man-made rules/laws and forget God's commandments. Or do we prefer to remain in silence to situations of injustice around us? As followers of Jesus we are to observe traditions provided they embody Gospel values like equality, love and justice.