From Mark 6:53-7:13 / As we know from 1 Cor. 11:2, 2 Thess. 2:15 & 3:6, there are traditions within the Church which are to be upheld and preserved. But how do we know what is binding and what is not? Jesus provides us with the simple answer – whatever tradition may be under consideration, it must accord with written revelation – the Scripture – to be binding. We dare not “reject the commandment of God in order to establish [our] tradition”. So Paul can refer to traditions taught by the Apostles: “either by our spoken word or by our letter.” But surely there can be no discord between these two, nor nothing necessary omitted from one and not protected in the other. We must always make our appeal back to the Scriptures. Jesus makes those the rule, and not the traditions handed down – by however pious ancestors may be in the mix. The problem really emerges when we make “void the Word of God by” our tradition. No can do.