Amos
5:14-15, 21-24 / Matthew 8:28-34
Jesus fleshed out the God of Amos in New Testament
times. Speaking to those who ignore the poor, he said: “Away from me. I was hungry but you would not feed me, thirsty but
you would not give me a drink.” Matthew 25:41-42
Take your sacrifices away: “It is justice that I want
from you.”
The God of Amos was a God of concern for the poor. He
scorned those Israelites who came to offer sacrifice on religious feasts but
trampled on the poor the rest of the year. God said of these people: “I hate
your religious festivals; I cannot stand them! . . .Instead, let justice flow like a stream, and righteousness
like a river that never goes dry.” Amos
5:21,24
****
What is our attitude toward the poor? “If a free
society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are
rich.” John F. Kennedy
****
In the gospel, we
heard of demoniacs. Not just one but two. And the gospel passage described them
as creatures so fierce that no one could pass that way. Probably not just
fierce but more frightening and since there were two of them, that makes them
look like a double-barrel shotgun. Why or how they became demoniacs, the gospel
did not say. Yet they were still described as creatures.
In other words, they were created by God and created to be good, but something went terribly wrong along the way, and evil took hold of them. Yet Jesus came to cast off the evil from them and restored them to their original created state. That is the power that God has over evil, and evil can never overcome God.
But the more sinister and cunning evil is the widespread injustice and corruption which is so often overlooked and even taken for granted. Injustice and corruption are like camouflaged evil and can even seep and infiltrate into our faith and make us ignore our moral obligations of justice and integrity.
Yes, the words of the Lord in the 1st reading must shock us. The Lord says this: I hate and despise your feasts, I take no pleasure in your solemn festivals, I reject your oblations, and refuse to look at your sacrifices of fattened cattle.
May these words of the Lord cast out the evil from our hearts and instil in us justice and integrity, so that we will offer to the Lord a worthy sacrifice of ourselves.
****In other words, they were created by God and created to be good, but something went terribly wrong along the way, and evil took hold of them. Yet Jesus came to cast off the evil from them and restored them to their original created state. That is the power that God has over evil, and evil can never overcome God.
But the more sinister and cunning evil is the widespread injustice and corruption which is so often overlooked and even taken for granted. Injustice and corruption are like camouflaged evil and can even seep and infiltrate into our faith and make us ignore our moral obligations of justice and integrity.
Yes, the words of the Lord in the 1st reading must shock us. The Lord says this: I hate and despise your feasts, I take no pleasure in your solemn festivals, I reject your oblations, and refuse to look at your sacrifices of fattened cattle.
May these words of the Lord cast out the evil from our hearts and instil in us justice and integrity, so that we will offer to the Lord a worthy sacrifice of ourselves.
Wednesday
July 1
Wednesday of
13th Week of Ordinary Time
OUTCASTS ARE
PEOPLE
Introduction
In strong terms, Amos scolds the people that
their rituals, their liturgies, are worthless if they do not honor God by
practicing justice. Jesus takes pity on people considered possessed by the
devil, outcasts of little value to their pagan fellow citizens, who are more
concerned about the loss of their pigs than over the cure of these outcasts.
This text is difficult to understand unless we pay attention to the underlying
theme of impurity. The outcasts from whom Jesus will exorcise demons live in an
impure place, a cemetery; the demons are driven out into pigs, unclean animals
for the Jews. The pagans of the region do not yet recognize Jesus and this
seems to indicate that the story is symbolic of times still to come: evil is
still rampant. But in any case the power of Jesus is already working.
Opening
Prayer
Lord our God, Your
Son Jesus Christ took pity on people rejected by their society and restored
them as human beings. Never allow us to judge anyone and to reject people from
our communities. Make us leave the judgment to you for you alone know what is
going on in the hearts of people. Make us mild and compassionate through Jesus
Christ our Lord.
Commentary
Jesus’ expulsion
of the demons from the possessed Gadarenes takes an unusual twist. The unclean
pigs become the recipients of the demons and then charge into the sea. Evil
deserves no better treatment. Amos exhorts his people to seek good and avoid
evil in order to assure a blessed future. Only when justice is at the gate will
God look favorably and have pity on them. It is useless to spend time on
observances. Feasts and offerings have no value if life is not correct before
God. Music and song will not succeed in tempering God’s wrath. These are things
that will have value when justice pours forth like water and goodness like a
constant stream. Liturgical planning is an important part in parish life today,
and with good reason. We do not want the sacred to be treated irreverently. But
liturgy must always be one part of a lived and conscious expression of our
Christian faith. To emphasize only the beauty of our rituals and hymns, while
neglecting to witness God in our everyday behavior, is to lose sight of the
forest for the trees.
Points to
Ponder
Desisting from
evil
Liturgy and
faith
Music: something
beautiful for God
Intercessions
– For the
Church, that like our God, it may care for those who are least favored and
least loved, so that the gospel may be good news to them, we pray:
– For
governments and public officials, that they may not tolerate favoritism or
discrimination of any kind and that they may defend the oppressed and restore
their rights, we pray:
– For those
considered outcasts by “respectable” society, that we may not judge them, but
that our goodness, respect and understanding may help them to integrate
themselves in our communities, we pray:
Prayer over
the Gifts
Lord, loving
God, your Son Jesus died on the cross as an outcast deserted by his people, but
that was the way in which he saved us. Let this offering of bread and wine
express that we are one with Jesus and that with him we accept people the way
you accept them and want to save them. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Prayer after
Communion
God, our Father,
you have let us share the table of your Son and let us join him in giving
praise and thanks to you. By his power we want to continue giving you honor and
thanks with the whole of our everyday lives through deeds of justice, love and
endless compassion for people who lose their struggle with the difficulties of
life. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blessing
“Let justice
flow like waters, and righteousness like an ever flowing stream.” If we can be
just and good, the Lord will listen to us and accept our offering, for then it
will be part of the sacrifice of Jesus. May God bless you, the Father, and the
Son, and the Holy Spirit.
