What the best way to worship God? Today's readings answers this question. The first readings simply says, "Obey the commandments of God." The Pharisees of Jesus' time did follow the commandments. And this they did to the smallest detail, but they seemed to have confined themselves to the externals: the rituals and customs of religion. In the mind of Jesus, however, this is not enough. They have to take notice, too, of the internal requirements of purity. This means avoiding the acts enumerated in the Gospel: fornication, adultery, greed etc.
But for a more complete picture, we have to turn to the second reading and the psalm: it is not just a matter of performing rituals and customs scrupulously, not or not doing this or that act of impurity. Rather, it is acting on the Word, proactively doing something, especially, for the poor, such as the widows and orphans. The psalm response summarizes the message: "He who DOES JUSTICE will live in the presence of the Lord."
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