There is a story told in the Lakota tribe of the Man who Spoke Softly.  (Taken from The Lakota Way by Joseph M. Marshall III.) 

In a certain village there was a leader, a headman, who was respected for his quiet ways and good decisions.  He never sought to become a leader but as a young man he proved that he could think clearly and act calmly on the battlefield.  He was a good provider for his family and he took care of the helpless ones.  For these reasons the people asked him to be their leader and he reluctantly agreed.  As leader, he made good decisions and always spoke the truth in council meetings and under his leadership the village prospered and grew strong.

Two generations grew up under his leadership and the man was getting on in years.  There were a few young men in the village who yearned for a new leader.  They wanted someone with more daring and flair – more fitting to their prosperous village, they thought.  They had forgotten it was the headman’s leadership that grew their village. 

The young men formed a plan.  They would catch a small bird and one of them – in front of the whole village – would question the headman.  “Grandfather, I have a bird in my hand.  You are wise.  Is the bird dead or alive?”  If the headman answered “alive” then the young man would crush the bird and kill it before opening his hand.  If the headman said “dead” then the young man would open his hand and the bird would fly free.  Either way, they thought, the headman would be shown to be weak and uncertain. 

So, on the morning of an important tribal gathering when all the people were gathered, one of the young men called out in a loud voice to the headman. “Grandfather, I have an important question.  I have a bird in my hand.  Since you are wise, is the bird dead or alive?’

A hush fell over the people.  They knew that some of the young men were wanting new leadership and some wondered if the young men were right.  They waited for the headman’s answer. 

The old headman approached the young man with the question.  He stood quietly, seeming to study the ground as the people whispered.  Finally, the headman turned to the young man and smiled patiently and spoke firmly and gently as he always did when something important was to be said.

“Grandson,” he said, “the answer is in your hands.” 

The story invites us to look into what is in our hearts.  It is the same invitation that Jesus gives in today’s gospel; the invitation to move beyond the blind ritualism of the Pharisees that focused solely on external actions – This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me… – in order to see where ones heart is. 

Are our hearts in living relationship with God?  The answer is, and will always be, in our hands. 

St. James, in his letter, gives good advice on how to keep our hearts in living relationship with the Father. 

Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls. 

Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves. 

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.  (James 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27)