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
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
****
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-barrelled 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.
****
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.
