Lectionary: 379
Reading 1
Amos 5:14-15, 21-24
Seek good and not evil,
that you may live;
Then truly will the LORD, the God of hosts,
be with you as you claim!
Hate evil and love good,
and let justice prevail at the gate;
Then it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts,
will have pity on the remnant of Joseph.
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.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 50:7, 8-9, 10-11, 12-13, 16bc-17
R. (23b) To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“Hear, my people, and I will speak;
Israel, I will testify against you;
God, your God, am I.”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,
for your burnt offerings are before me always.
I take from your house no bullock,
no goats out of your fold.”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“For mine are all the animals of the forests,
beasts by the thousand on my mountains.
I know all the birds of the air,
and whatever stirs in the plains, belongs to me.”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“If I were hungry, I should not tell you,
for mine are the world and its fullness.
Do I eat the flesh of strong bulls,
or is the blood of goats my drink?”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“Why do you recite my statutes,
and profess my covenant with your mouth,
Though you hate discipline
and cast my words behind you?”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
Gospel
Matthew 8:28-34
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.
REFLECTION
SOURCE: One Bread One Body
THEME: "BAD TO THE BONE"
"Hate evil and love good, and let justice prevail." –Amos 5:15
"Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil" (Is 5:20). The Lord wants us to "hate evil," not rename it by a more acceptable name (Am 5:15). Our culture of death specializes in "spin" control, using smooth words to rename actions blatantly and objectively evil in the sight of God. Just because our society regards acts as acceptable and commonplace does not mean God no longer regards them as evil and wrong. Some examples of this are:
We have a legal right to abort a "fetus." God considers this evil the murder of a living child (see Ex 20:13).Those who support the evil of abortion are called by the supposedly "good" name of pro-choice. Homosexual acts are consistently presented in the Bible as abhorrent to the Lord (see Lv 18:22; Rm 1:24-32). Yet if anyone speaks this truth in public, he or she is instantly vilified as evil and intolerant. In truth, it is evil to disregard and shout down God's good standards. Corporations exploit the poor and uneducated, conscripting them to work for low wages in subhuman conditions. This injustice is called by the "good" names of maximizing profits and increasing shareholder value.
These are but a few examples of how our society warps God's good and holy commands and twists them to appear restrictive, intolerant, and even evil. There can be only one future for "those who call evil good, and good evil," and that is eternal woe (Is 5:20). Repent! "Make no mistake about it, no one makes a fool of God!" (Gal 6:7) "Seek good and not evil, that you may live" (Am 5:14).
PRAYER: Jesus, give me Your mind (1 Cor 2:16) and standards.
PROMISE: "Let justice surge like water, and goodness like an unfailing stream." –Am 5:24
PRAISE: Lydia, a young woman, so hungered for God's Word that she prayed with others for a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
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