1 Kings 8:22-23, 27-30 / Mark 7:1-13
In our conversations with others, it can be anything from casual to formal.
When we are socializing with our friends, we talk casually.
At work, especially at meetings, we will certainly talk formally.
But whether casually or formally, we also need to ask ourselves if we are sincere and honest in our conversations.
Depending on who we are talking with, we will either be guarded with our words or we are quite careless.
But in the 1st reading, king Solomon was offering a prayer to the Lord God.
He was humble with his words, and he was also sincere and honest before the Lord God.
As he ended off his prayer, he implored the Lord God to hear his prayer and he also prayed for forgiveness.
In the gospel, the Pharisees questioned Jesus about His disciples not respecting the tradition of the elders by eating food with unclean hands.
Jesus replied with a quote from the prophet Isaiah about people offering only lip-service but their hearts were far from the Lord.
That makes us reflect on our words, especially our prayer, and also our actions.
When we are sincere and honest in our prayer to God, then our actions will be sincere and honest.
And let us also remember that when we come before the Lord God, we must acknowledge that we are sinners and we can only beg for mercy and forgiveness.