This week’s gospel could not be any more appropriate. There are two stories and they work together beautifully. In the first story, the Pharisees are remarking that Jesus and his disciples have some bad habits. They eat with people they shouldn’t, and don’t always wash their hands before they dine. In the second story, a Cannanite woman asks Jesus to heal her daughter who suffers from seizures.
In the first story, Jesus tells his disciples that what comes out of the mouth of a person is what defiles them, and then lets them know that the evil spewed from the mouth comes from the heart. Then Jesus grants the Canaanite woman her wish because He is impressed with her words, which also came from her heart.
What comes out of the heart and exits the mouth defiles or heals. In our world today, we seem to have a ton of the first that defiles, and we could use some more of that which heals.
Something to think about.