You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.” Mark 7:8 

Protestants quote this passage to prove that Holy Scripture alone and not traditions, should be the standard by which our life is guided and lived. 

However, they are wrong for two reasons: firstly, the whole Bible was handed down orally by memorized word of mouth, both in the Old and New Testament before having parts of a larger oral tradition put into written form. I can think of only one exception: the gospel which was directly revealed by the Risen Lord to St. Paul (cf. Galatians 1:12). 

Listen to what St. Paul writes about Tradition:  Therefore, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours. 2 Thessalonians 2:15 […] We instruct you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to shun any brother who conducts himself in a disorderly way and not according to the tradition they received from us.           2 Thessalonians 3:6 

The first parts of the New Testament were precisely the letters that St. Paul wrote to different churches founded by him. 

It was only in the second century of Christianity that the Catholic Church completed the list of the New Testament’s writings called canon. 

The New Testament was, then, added to the Old Testament books which, in the third and second centuries BC, had been translated into Greek by the Septuagint, to form the Bible as we have it in our Catholic Church. 

Secondly, private interpretation of the Bible has been a recipe for chaos. This is evidenced by the countless denominations of Protestants in the world!  

Correct interpretation of any written passage is given not by individuals but by the Church, the pillar and foundation of Truth (cf. 1 Timothy 3:15) because she is the custodian of the original Tradition which was, and is, much larger than the part which was eventually written down.  

Here are three examples of this: it is nowhere to be found in the Bible that Matthew, Mark, Luke and John wrote the gospels attributed to them. So is the most fundamental mystery of our faith: the mystery of our TriOne God, the Holy Trinity! And the belief that we each have a guardian angel. 

Historically and theologically, we have human, changeable, alterable traditions like those of the scribes and Pharisees and “Tradition” which is Christ himself handed down to us by the Father and fed to us at the Table of the Word both in written form and in oral explanation by those who have been ordained to perform the priestly ministry of the Word (Rom. 15:16). 

The word tradition, traditio in Latin, indicates something of much value, which is handed down, as a family treasure, from one generation to the next. 

And the correct way of relating to Tradition as disciples of Christ is to do what St. James urges us to do in today’s 2nd reading: Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls. James 1:21 

If Jesus is the most precious “family treasure” the Father has handed down to us, a clearer way of heeding St. James’ suggestion would be: Humbly welcome Christ Jesus that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls. James 1:21 

Now, if we accept Jesus’ invitation, “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples.” John 8:31, the picture of the “family treasure” gets clearer and more personal.  

This handing down, this Tradition from the Father, has been kept intact and unchanged by the Church all the way to us. St. James would say: He (God) willed to give us birth by the word of truth (Christ) that we may be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. James 1:18 

Our task now is, first, to embrace God’s Word, i.e., Christ Jesus himself. 

Then, we should get to know him more and more with the help of the Holy Spirit and of the light with which the Catholic Church has been endowed. 

Finally, we ought to be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding ourselves. James 1:22 

But what is the implication of being “doers of the word,” “doers of Christ?” 

It is easy to explain; it is much harder to implement. 

It refers to shedding any human tradition that, although it suits us and is convenient to us, it is an obstacle to our becoming “Tradition,” our becoming Christ-like. 

It means to shift from giving God lip service to giving him our whole heart, day in and day out, just as Jesus did to the Father. 

The Eucharist is a constant reminder of this life-giving and life-sharing dynamic because Christ, as Word, is handed down to us from previous generations of believers at the Table of the Word. 

Christ, as Word, speaks to our hearts, to let us know how we can be “doers of the Word” in the concrete situations in which we happen to find ourselves. 

Then, he is handed down to us sacramentally as food and drink through the breaking of his Body and the pouring of his Blood in Holy Communion.  

But a daily examination of conscience will convince us that it is hard and challenging, even discouraging at times, to be “doers of the Word.”  

We are called to overcome our innate selfishness, deny our very self, i.e., the best-protected, most-cherished part of our being, carry our cross and follow Jesus, trustingly, to our “Calvary.”  Being “doers of the Word” implies being like a grain of wheat: ready to fall to the ground and die to bear much fruit.  

This is the reason why the Catholic Church invites us to assemble every Sunday, with eagerness, to embrace Jesus as the Father’s most precious Gift at the Table of the Word, and then, to be nourished by his Body and Blood to overcome our human frailty and be doers of that Word which is handed down to us in the first part of the Holy Mass.