Wednesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

379 Wednesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

CCC Cross Reference:
Am 5:21-5 2100; Am 5:24 1435

Back to Deacon’s Bench '08
Back to SOW II '10
Back to SOW II '12
Back to SOW II '14
Back to SOW II '18
Back to SOW II '20

Reading 1
Am 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
Ps 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
Mt 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.

Readings from the Jerusalem Bible

First reading Amos 5:14 – 24

Seek good and not evil
so that you may live,
and that the Lord, God of Hosts, may really be with you
as you claim he is.

Hate evil, love good,
maintain justice at the city gate,
and it may be that the Lord, God of Hosts, will take pity
on the remnant of Joseph.

I hate and despise your feasts,
I take no pleasure in your solemn festivals.
When you offer me holocausts,
I reject your oblations,
and refuse to look at your sacrifices of fattened cattle.

Let me have no more of the din of your chanting,
no more of your strumming on harps.
But let justice flow like water,
and integrity like an unfailing stream.

Responsorial Psalm:
Psalm 49(50):7-13,16-17

I will show God’s salvation to the upright.

‘Listen, my people, I will speak;
Israel, I will testify against you,
for I am God, your God.
I accuse you, lay the charge before you.

I will show God’s salvation to the upright.

‘I find no fault with your sacrifices,
your offerings are always before me.
I do not ask more bullocks from your farms,
nor goats from among your herds.

I will show God’s salvation to the upright.

‘I own all the beasts of the forest,
beasts in their thousands on my hills.
I know all the birds in the sky,
all that moves in the field belongs to me.

I will show God’s salvation to the upright.

‘Were I hungry, I would not tell you,
for I own the world and all it holds.
Do you think I eat the flesh of bulls,
or drink the blood of goats?

I will show God’s salvation to the upright.

‘How can you recite my commandments
and take my covenant on your lips,
you who despise my law
and throw my words to the winds?’

I will show God’s salvation to the upright.

Gospel Matthew 8:28 – 34

When he reached the country of the Gadarenes on the other side, two demoniacs came towards him out of the tombs – creatures so fierce that no one could pass that way. They stood there shouting, ‘What do you want with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torture us before the time?’ Now some distance away there was a large herd of pigs feeding, and the devils pleaded with Jesus, ‘If you cast us out, send us into the herd of pigs.’ And he said to them, ‘Go then’, and they came out and made for the pigs; and at that the whole herd charged down the cliff into the lake and perished in the water. The swineherds ran off and made for the town, where they told the whole story, including what had happened to the demoniacs. At this the whole town set out to meet Jesus; and as soon as they saw him they implored him to leave the neighborhood.

Readings and Commentary from the Navarre Bible

Wednesday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time

From: Amos 5:14-15, 21-24

Exhortation
-----------------
[14] Seek good, and not evil,
that you may live;
and so the Lord, the god of hosts, will be with you,
as you have said.
[15] Hate evil, and love good,
and establish justice in the gate;
it may be that the Lord, the god of hosts,
will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

Formalism in religion condemned
------------------------------------------------
[21] "I hate, I despise your feasts,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
[22] Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and cereal offerings,
I will not accept them,
and the peace offerings of your fatted beasts
I will not look upon.
[23] Take away from me the noise of your songs:
to the melody of your harps I will not listen.
[24] But let justice roll down like waters.
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

5:10-17. Here again the prophet inveighs against Israel -- particularly those who sin against justice ("the gates" of the city were where courts sat: vv. 10, 12, 15), those who exploit the poor and the righteous (vv. 11, 12: in Amos the two words are often synonymous) and seek a life of ease for themselves (v. 11).

Hence the prophet's call to conversion (vv. 14-15). He speaks very movingly. A little earlier he urged his listeners to "seek God and live" (cf. 5:4, 6); now he tells them that that search means seeking what is good (v. 14). But the way to do that involves doing one very specific thing -- establishing "justice in the gate" (v. 15). If they in fact do that, the awesome, almighty Lord ("the God of hosts": vv. 14-15) will be their merciful God: "Conversion is accomplished in daily life by gestures of reconciliation, concern for the poor, the exercise and defence of justice and right (Amos 5:24; Is 1:17), by the admission of faults to one's brethren, fraternal correction, revision of life, examination of conscience, spiritual direction, acceptance of suffering, endurance of persecution for the sake of righteousness. Taking up one's cross each day and following Jesus is the surest way of penance (cf. Lk 9:23)" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1435).

The verses at the end (vv. 16-17) act as an introduction to the theme of "the day of the Lord" which follows.

5:21-25. This passage contains more criticism (cf. 4:4-5) of formalism in religion. The prophet contrasts the contemporary position with the way things were during the forty years in the wilderness -- a time when there were no sacrifices (v. 25) but justice reigned (v. 24). Amos' words are very clear, and what he says here will be echoed elsewhere in the Old and New Testaments. This passage and Hosea 6:6; 8:13 are classic texts on the need for religious rites to be backed by upright living. As St Thomas teaches, "everything that he sacrifices should partake in some way of himself […], because external sacrifice is a sign of the internal disposition by which the person offers himself to God. By making sacrifice, man also offers up himself" (Summa theologiae, 3, 82, 4). From this it follows that "the only perfect sacrifice is the one that Christ offered on the cross as a total offering to the Father's love and for our salvation (cf. Heb 9:13-14). By uniting ourselves with his sacrifice we can make our lives a sacrifice to God" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2100).

*********************************************************************************************
From: Matthew 8:28-34

The Demoniacs of Gadara
--------------------------------------
[28] And when He (Jesus) came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demoniacs met Him coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. [29] And behold, they cried out, "What have You to do with us, O Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?" [30] Now a herd of many swine was feeding at some distance from them. [31] And the demons begged Him, "If You cast us out, send us away into the herd of swine." [32] And He said to them, "Go." So they came out and went into the swine; and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and perished in the waters. [33] The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, and what had happened to the demoniacs. [34] And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they begged Him to leave their neighborhood.

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

28. Most Gospel codices and the New Vulgate say "Gadarenes"; but the Vulgate and parallel texts in Mark and Luke have "Gerasenes". Both names are possible; the two main towns in the area were Gerasa and Gadara. The event reported here could have happened close to both towns (limits were not very well defined), though the swine running down into the lake or sea of Galilee makes Gadara somewhat more likely. "Gergesenes" was a suggestion put forward by Origen.

28-34. In this episode Jesus once more shows His power over the devil. That it occurred in Gentile territory (Gerasa and Gadara were in the Decapolis, east of Jordan) is borne out by the fact that Jews were forbidden to raise swine, which the Law of Moses declared to be unclean. This and other instances of expulsion of demons narrated in the Gospel are referred to in the Acts of the Apostles, when St. Peter addressed Cornelius and his household: "He went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil" (Acts 10:38). It was a sign that the Kingdom of God had begun (cf. Matthew 12:28).

The attitude of local people towards this miracle reminds us that meeting God and living a Christian life require us to subordinate personal plans to God's designs. If we have a selfish or materialistic outlook we fail to appreciate the value of divine things and push God out of our lives, begging Him to go away, as these people did.

*********************************************************************************************
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.