Gospel: Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

¹ Now when the Pharisees gathered together to him, with some of the scribes, who had come from Jerusalem,
² they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands defiled, that is, unwashed.
³ (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they wash their hands, observing the tradition of the elders;
⁴ and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they purify themselves; and there are many other traditions which they observe, the washing of cups and pots and vessels of bronze.)
⁵ And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with hands defiled?”
⁶ And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, `This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;
⁷ in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’
⁸ You leave the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men.”
¹⁴ And he called the people to him again, and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand:
¹⁵ there is nothing outside a man which by going into him can defile him; but the things which come out of a man are what defile him.”
²¹ For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery,
²² coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.
²³ All these evil things come from within, and they defile a man.”