Learn the Meaning

July 4, 2008

Friday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Yes, days are coming, says the Lord GOD, when I will send famine upon the land: Not a famine of bread, or thirst for water, but for hearing the word of the LORD. Then shall they wander from sea to sea and rove from the north to the east In search of the word of the LORD, but they shall not find it. Amos 8:11-12

He heard this and said, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” Matthew 9:12-13

Piety

Loving God, give us the courage to stand against the ignorance and blindness of racism. Give us the grace to see through false stereotypes and fears that keep us apart. Open our hearts and minds to your vision of the beloved community. Take us to the mountaintop to see the Promised Land, so that, in the midst of the poverty and wealth, the despair and addiction, the fear and the hatred, we might be able to proclaim the good news of salvation. Amen.

(Pax Christi USA as quoted in The Fire of Peace, edited by Mary Lou Kownacki, OSB)


Study
http://www.usccb.org/nab/070408.shtml

What is the difference between listening and hearing?

The first important step is to listen when the Word is proclaimed. We have to receive the message before we can act upon it. We have to know it and study it. However, once we hear the Word, we must take it to heart. We must put it into action in our lives. As the psalmist reminds us today: Happy those whose way is blameless, who walk by the teaching of the LORD. Happy those who observe God's decrees, who seek the LORD with all their heart. They do no wrong; they walk in God's ways. Psalm 119:1-3

This is a very ACTIVE psalm. Christianity is a very active faith. We walk. We seek. We don’t just sit back, listen and engage in omphaloskepsis (meditating on your navel).

There is a proper and right place for meditation. However, it is not the only end that we seek, not the only end which Christ wants us to pursue. We know he wants us to slow down and listen…to choose the “better part.” But action must follow contemplation.

When we fail to act, the prophet Amos warns that God will take away that which enriches us…his very Word. His very Son. We will experience a famine for hearing the Word. How rich are we when we hear the Word of God and act upon it, rather than upon our own needs and desires. God threatens to send us a famine of the Word if we do not observe the decrees. It is not enough to just listen to the Word. We must use it or lose it.

Action
“I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”

What is mercy? Nothing less than good works performed based upon a foundation of faith. Anyone can be good and do good. Our piety and study should lead us to good works, to mercy.

Where will you show mercy this weekend? Today is a holiday…Independence Day…the high holy day of American civil religion. The tripod legs of American small “d” democracy are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Our freedom of worship can extend those principles to others through our holy hospitality and good works. So, as you celebrate your Independence Day, recognize that we are dependent upon each other and upon the Lord for the Word which provides everlasting life, the bread of life. Let us remember to pass it on.