Frederick, Maryland, United States - Daily Mass Reading & Catholic Meditation “The Word Among Us” for Wednesday, 2 July 2014

Frederick, Maryland, United States - Daily Mass Reading & Catholic Meditation “The Word Among Us” for Wednesday, 2 July 2014

Meditations: Amos 5:14 Seek good, and not evil,

    that you may live;
    and so Yahweh, the God of Armies, will be with you,
    as you say.
15 Hate evil, love good,
    and establish justice in the courts.
    It may be that Yahweh, the God of Armies, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.”21 I hate, I despise your feasts,
    and I can’t stand your solemn assemblies.
22 Yes, though you offer me your burnt offerings and meal offerings,
    I will not accept them;
    neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat animals.
23 Take away from me the noise of your songs!
    I will not listen to the music of your harps.
24 But let justice roll on like rivers,
    and righteousness like a mighty stream.
13th Week in Ordinary Time
Let justice surge like water. (Amos 5:24)
Today’s readings portray powerful forces, both natural and supernatural. Amos urges his hearers to unleash a waterfall of righteousness instead of thinking that adherence to ritual is all they need to be righteous. And in the Gospel, the demons who challenge Jesus impel a large herd of pigs over a cliff rather than face their divine Judge. Terrified, the townspeople beg Jesus to leave so that they can return to their predictable lives. It seems that like the people in Amos’ time, these people also preferred the “pretense of religion” to its power (2 Timothy 3:5).
What is “surging” in your life right now? Perhaps it’s conflict within your family, at your workplace, or in your congregation. Perhaps you’re having an emotional response that surprises you: overwhelming grief, exuberant joy, raging fury. Perhaps a global issue like sex trafficking or child slavery has you frustrated because there seems to be very little that you can do about it.
In all of these situations, you have two choices. You can try to evade or tamp down those surges, or you can beg God to help you find a productive way to channel their energies. Avoidance may seem safer, but it risks distancing you from the Lord. After all, he may be urging you to do something to help.
Of course, it’s easier to pretend everyone in the family is getting along just fine, but it might be the right time to say, “Hey, I know you love each other way down deep. What’s causing the chill?” or “Have I done something to offend you? That certainly wasn’t my intention!”
Don’t settle for feeling overwhelmed or frustrated! Instead, settle down in a quiet place with the Lord and pour it out freely. Then wait for his words or intuitions to well up in your heart.
Begin right where you find yourself, then wait until you realize that God is with you. That will shed light on your next step. He will always show you the wise course of action if you can just place yourself in a more tranquil setting.
“Thank you, Father, for the reality of your love right here and now. Show me how to channel that love in a way that glorifies you and helps build your kingdom.” Amen.
Psalms 50:7 “Hear, my people, and I will speak;
    Israel, and I will testify against you.
I am God, your God.
8 I don’t rebuke you for your sacrifices.
    Your burnt offerings are continually before me.
9 I have no need for a bull from your stall,
    nor male goats from your pens.
10 For every animal of the forest is mine,
    and the livestock on a thousand hills.
11 I know all the birds of the mountains.
    The wild animals of the field are mine.
12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
    for the world is mine, and all that is in it.
13 Will I eat the flesh of bulls,
    or drink the blood of goats?
16 But to the wicked God says,
    “What right do you have to declare my statutes,
    that you have taken my covenant on your lips,
17     since you hate instruction,
    and throw my words behind you?
Matthew 8:28 When he came to the other side, into the country of the Gergesenes, [Matthew 8:28 NU reads “Gadarenes”] two people possessed by demons met him there, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that nobody could pass that way. 29 Behold, they cried out, saying, “What do we have to do with you, Jesus, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” 30 Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding far away from them. 31 The demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of pigs.”
32 He said to them, “Go!”
They came out, and went into the herd of pigs: and behold, the whole herd of pigs rushed down the cliff into the sea, and died in the water. 33 Those who fed them fled, and went away into the city, and told everything, including what happened to those who were possessed with demons. 34 Behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus. When they saw him, they begged that he would depart from their borders.
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