Word to the Wise
Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - Wednesday in the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
[Amos 5:14-15 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. [Amos]
It is bad enough that there is social injustice, says Amos, but it is even worse when those who are unjust claim to have God's approval and celebrate with elaborate festivals and liturgical observances. Amos proclaims God's displeasure with worship that is not accompanied by social justice and integrity. It was not unusual for me, when I was working in campus ministry, to meet a student who would tell me that they stopped going to church because they felt too many people were hypocrites who came to church but then cheated and committed so many other wrongful acts as if their worship had no relationship to the rest of their lives! The problem with this view is that we all struggle to live according to what we profess on Sunday! Often as not, the student's complaint was based on a particular instance. Nevertheless, a disconnection between the celebration of the Eucharist and the social context of Christianity is a serious failure of witness. Amos calls us to a serious reflection on the relationship between our daily life and the faith we profess on Sunday! His quotes of God's words are graphic and eloquent. It's hard not to listen! AMEN
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