The Cautionary Tale of

CORBAN

I have to do the reading tonight so I looked up the verse earlier, and already heard it once at Mass at the CIC. It's deep. Worth a second read. You can look it up on the Bishop's reading site to the right and it is also here with a bit of commentary:
http://www.christiancourier.com/articles/1086-what-is-the-meaning-of-corban

The pharisees are accusing the disciples of eating without the obligatory hand washing. This must be, I thought, where the legal defense of "unclean hands" comes from-someone must have sued for food poisoning and the contributory negligence defense must have been you forgot to wash your hands. Hence the "unclean hands" affirmative defense which means you don't get to claim someone negligently hit you if you were standing in the middle of a tomato fight and lobbing a few at your perpetrator yourself. I digress.
The retort to this accusation of unclean hands was essentially- You guys are one to talk!
You maintain traditions of men over God's law. You know, for example that Moses said to honor your father and mother and yet, you have this man made tradition that you declare in practice trumps that obligation/commandment to give "Corban" to the Temple. In other words, you make people pay you and into the Temple treasury even while you know that these people are using money they are compelled to dedicate to the Temple that should be used to assist their aged parents in violation of Moses' law.
Here is what hit me: There is nothing wrong with Corban on its face and in fact quite laudable- a tithe or a tenth of the first fruits of everything go to the Temple. It was arguably a highly good virtue to dedicate for sacred use to the Temple Corban. Surely everyone agrees.
But Jesus is telling us something different here- he is saying- don't make up man-made traditions that you let supercede or trump what GOD wills and ordains. Don't elevate your own judgment over what God has said as if he didn't really mean it or it expired over time- even if you can think up really good pious reasons why it makes sense to you. I am sure that at the time Jesus was aware of this Corban dedication practice people felt they were doing the right and holier thing by giving the money to the Temple rather than their parents-even if their parents were struggling and needed it. One could be talked into the notion that it is for a higher more laudable noble purpose. But God says, bunk. No, take care of your parents first. Honor your Father and Mother so that it will be well with you and you will have a long life.

So this is about priorities and self-delusions. It is about letting yourself trump God's will, plan and commandment (which are designed for YOUR maximal benefit because he is in no need of your help) and substituting something man-made that sounds pretty good and pious. Jesus calls the pharisees on the carpet about it. Lipservice- you guys are paying Lipservice to God while your heart is far from Him- because if you really loved God you would do what he says, which is Honor your Father and Mother.

Substituting your own judgment any time or that butressed by popular custom, tradition or opinion for the commandments and will of God never serves you in the long run. You may get some traction on it in the short term but it catches up with you because you live then outside God's will and best path for you.

Nothing wrong with Corban- but when your widowed mother is losing her home to foreclosure, cut back on your huge showey church pledge and pay off your mother's house first.