Let Justiceand Mercy Prevail
July 4, 2012
Wednesday of
the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
By Colleen O’Sullivan
Then let justice surge like
water, and goodness like an unfailing stream. (Amos 5:24)
When Jesus came to the
territory of the Gadarenes, two demoniacs who were coming from the tombs met
him. They were so savage that no one
could travel by that road. They cried out,
“What have you to do with us, Son of God?
Have you come here to torment us before the appointed time?” Some distance away a herd of many swine was
feeding. The demons pleaded with him,
“If you drive us out, send us into the herd of swine.” And he said to them, “Go then!” They came out and entered the swine, and the
whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea where they drowned. The swineherds ran away, and when they came
to the town they reported everything, including what had happened to the
demoniacs. Thereupon the whole town came
out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him they begged him to leave their
district. (Matthew 8:28-34)
Piety
The Lord is
close to the brokenhearted, saves those whose spirit is crushed.
(Psalm 34:19)
Study
Each of our Scripture readings today focus on people who are more self-centered
than God-centered. The prophet Amos
addresses the “remnant of Joseph,” those few descendants of Joseph left in the
Northern Kingdom. He counsels them to
seek good, not evil. Amos tells them
that the Lord is tired of their empty religious practices, their grain and
animal sacrifices, and their noisy singing.
God says, if they really want to make an offering, let it be one of
justice.
Many of us can readily identify with the people the prophet is
addressing. It’s relatively easy to show
up at Mass on Sundays and holy days. We
can say the words to the prayers along with everyone else. We can sing all the songs to the Lord. It’s not that difficult to write a check and
stick it in an offering envelope or sign up for on-line parish giving. Then we can sit back and say we’ve done
everything we need to do. We’ve
fulfilled our obligations; God must be pleased with us.
But God says, I want more than that from you. I’m not interested in warm bodies in the pews
and empty rituals. True, I want you to
do all those things, but do them with all your heart. Don’t just act as though you’re ticking off items
on a checklist. And more than anything,
I ask you to act with justice. The poor
and needy, the unemployed are all around you in northern Virginia. The sick, the dying, the imprisoned – they
need you. You don’t necessarily have to
look far or take on a huge project; maybe someone in your own family needs a
word of kindness or mercy. But it can’t
just be all about you. You have to reach
out beyond your self-interests.
In the Gospel reading, Jesus encounters two outcasts. They are possessed by demons and have such a
reputation for violent behavior that no one wants to travel the road near the
tombs where they reside. Jesus takes
pity on their plight and casts out their demons. The demons then enter a herd of pigs and
cause the entire herd to run over the edge of a cliff.
When the townsfolk are alerted by the swineherds, they come after
Jesus. They don’t have an ounce of
compassion in them for the disordered, sad, lonely lives these men were
living. They don’t rejoice that they
have been healed. They don’t even give
them a second glance. They are
completely centered on themselves. All
they can see is the money lost when the pigs went over the cliff and died. They tell Jesus to get away from the
area. Leave them alone.
God made a covenant with Israel. I will be your God and you will be my
people. In the first reading, God
reminds us that being God’s people isn’t just a “me and God” thing. It includes caring about the needy and poor
in God’s flock as well. Funny, I went
to CCD for 12 years and heard a great deal about all the sins I should avoid –
missing Mass on a Sunday or holy day of obligation, eating meat on a Friday,
lying, stealing, having sex outside of marriage, etc. – but, I don’t remember
once hearing that failing to care for others, especially the most vulnerable in
our world, could be a sin. Yet
throughout both the Old and New Testaments the need to care for the poor is a
constant refrain.
It seems ironic that the demons in today’s Gospel reading are more
impressed by Jesus than anyone else in the story. Not only are the townspeople not impressed by
the Lord or joyful that two horribly damaged people have been healed, they want
nothing to do with Jesus. He cost them
money and that’s all they can see. Life
is all about them.
Action
As I am writing this, we are experiencing the aftereffects of a
devastating storm system. Right in your neighborhood
or in your office, there is probably someone who has no power, and thus no air
conditioning or means of cooking. If you
have electricity, why not invite them to come over, cool off and share a meal.
Your parish bulletin or Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington, www.ccda.net/ are two other sources of ideas for ways in which you can help those in
need in this area.
If you want to go further afield, Catholic Charities of Central Colorado, http://ccharitiescc.org/, is
providing meals for evacuees from the wildfires in Colorado and could use
monetary donations to help defray expenses.
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