Word to the Wise
Wednesday, July 2, 2008 - Tuesday in the Thirteenth Week of Ordinary Time
[Amos 5:14-15, 21-24 and Matthew 8:28-34]I hate, I spurn your feasts, says the Lord, I take no pleasure in your solemnities; your cereal offerings I will not accept, nor consider your stall-fed peace offerings. Away with your noisy songs! I will not listen to the melodies of your harps. But if you would offer me burnt offerings, then let justice surge like water, and goodness like an unfailing stream.
Back when I was in grade school (eons ago!), we were taught the "six commandments of the Church." These were adopted by the American Bishops at the Council of Baltimore from teaching developed by the English bishops under Cardinal Vaughn (hence, the Baltimore Catechism!). Keeping these six commandments (which you can find by typing "six commandments of the church" in your search machine) was practically guaranteed to make you a "good Catholic." Other than the one that commanded Catholics to contribute to the support of their pastor, there's nary a one that commands actions of social justice! Mind you, this did not mean the bishops at the time were totally insensitive to that subject, but it is still interesting that salvation could hinge on a list of requirements that did not include the list in Matthew 25:31-46! I wonder what Amos the prophet would have made of it? Amos has no patience with worship separated from justice! If our idea of a good Christian (let alone a good Catholic in our ever-liturgical tradition) is one of a person who spends his or her time mostly in church, Amos is ready to tell us that our idea is at best incomplete and at worst an abomination! Jesus reinforces this in the passage in Matthew that appeared a short time ago when he said, "Not everyone who says, "Lord, Lord!" will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father!" The list in Matthew 25:31-46 is not very liturgically oriented! Lest it be said that I am anti-liturgical or opposed to the Eucharist, etc., etc., I simply want to call attention to a constant refrain in the Old Testament prophets as well as in the New Testament, that love of God (as formally expressed in liturgical devotion) and neighbor (as expressed in social justice - "feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, etc.) are two sides of one coin. "You can't have one without the other!" AMEN
config
view
logs
3840.0 KB
69 ms
4
