A sermon on Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

By Fr. Mike Paraniuk
St. Mary Catholic Church
St. Benignus Catholic Church 
St. Mary Queen of Heaven
and Holy Trinity Catholic Church

"This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me..." Jesus recalls this verse from Isaiah 29:13 to teach you how God wants you to live. 

It is called "Integrity." 

Integrity is a virtue that simply means "to do the right thing even when no one is looking." A wise person once said, "Do good things whether others notice or not. It’s the deeds that matter, not the size of your audience.”

There is only one person you need to please – God. God sees everything you do or not do. God will judge you on what He sees. He clearly says this in Ecclesiastes 12:14 “For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” 

This could make someone be afraid, but that is not a bad thing. God also says, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom..." (Proverbs 9:10.) 

My mother said it a little differently, "Michael, If you do what I tell you, my wooden spoon will stay in the drawer and not on your butt." (To this day, I have a wooden spoon phobia).

If you are obeying God, you have nothing to worry about.

God challenges us to have pure hearts. We must fight every day to keep our hearts "unstained" by the values of the world (James 1:27). The world values selfishness, greed and "it's all about me" attitude. God says a pure heart is "to care for orphans and widows in their affliction." (James 1:27). 

The motto of a pure heart is "don't be mean, be kind." Integrity puts into action the goodness in your heart, even when the only one watching is God.

I share with you an incident where I witnessed integrity at its finest.

I had just finished celebrating Noon Mass at Peebles which made me hungry. I told Linda Strine, "Let's go to Abby's Restaurant for lunch, my treat." 

At the end of our meal, I gave our young waitress a tip of $20. I could see the look of surprise on her face. She said something I have never heard a server ever say. "Oh, sir, you gave me too much tip money."  

She immediately went to the cash register, changed the $20 bill for four fives, kept a five and handed me back $15. I had to fight her to take back the $15 as part of her tip. She believed no one should tip her more than $5. 

I didn't let up and insisted she take the rest of the money. What a weird scene. A server fighting a patron because he gave too big a tip! She reluctantly agreed and accepted the rest of the money. Now that's what I call integrity. I would love to clone her and put her in every restaurant I visit. 

The opposite of integrity is hypocrisy, which means to act the opposite of what you claim to believe. On Monday nights, I sometimes visit the Gold Star Chili on S.R. 247 for takeout after saying the evening Mass in West Union. I like the young kids who work there. They are very friendly. I will joke with them at the window and make them laugh. 

One Monday we were so engrossed in conversation, we all forgot the payment. I drove off without paying. I soon realized my mistake and went back to pay. I asked them, "Do some people drive off without paying?" 

They answered, "It does happen occasionally." 

One server remarked, "Get this. A lady drove off without paying. She had a bumper sticker on her car that read, 'I Love Jesus.'" 

May your love for Jesus be more than just a sticker or T-shirt. "Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me." (Ps. 51:10).