Genesis 1:20 - 2:4 / Mark 7:1-13
The mirror is a wonderful thing. It never fails to catch our attention.
Besides spending some vain moments beautifying ourselves before the mirror, we can't deny that any good mirror will give us an objective reflection of ourselves.
But when we move from "admiring" ourselves in front of the mirror to reflecting on ourselves in front of the mirror, then we may realize that we are wonderfully made.
From the shape of our face to the style of our hair, we will realize that we are unique in our own although we are similar to each other.
"For it was you who created my being, knit me together in my mother's womb. I thank you for the wonder of my being, for the wonders of all your creation." (Ps 139)
When the 1st reading says that when God created man, He created him in His image, and male and female He created them.
God not only created us in His image, He also created our very being, and hence from our very being, our actions flow, and needless to say, our actions must also be godly actions.
But when our actions are not god-like, then we really have to do some serious reflection, not just in front of the mirror, but also in prayer before the God who created us.
In the gospel, Jesus highlighted some of the practices that are not god-like. He even said that "In this way, you make God's word null and void for the sake of your tradition which you have handed down. And you do many other things like this.
Let us examine our actions and the things that we do and let us honestly ask ourselves if these actions reflect the image of God within us.
Let us remember that we are called to be holy, just as God who created us is holy.