Bible Diary

Daily Reading

Wednesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

LECTIONARY
379

FIRST READING

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.

PSALM

PS 50:7, 8-9, 10-11, 12-13, 16BC-17

Response: 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."

"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."

"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."

"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?"

"Why do you recite my statutes,
and profess my covenant with your mouth,
Though you hate discipline
and cast my words behind you?"

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.

Daily Reflection

“I hate and despise your feasts... I refuse to look at your sacrifices... let me have no more of your din and chanting...” These strong words that the prophet Amos brings from the Lord, challenged his people to evaluate their spirituality of sensationalism. Their prayers and hymns, offerings and sacrifices were meant to be external expressions of their inner attitude, that is, an attitude of thanksgiving and gratitude to God, as also one of genuine penitence for their failings and sinfulness. However, their evil and sinful ways, their unjust and oppressive practices had rendered their worship nothing more than theatrical show.

In the Gospel, we see a similar warped spirituality revealed in behaviour of the people of Gerasa. They seemed to be more concerned about the safety of their pigs than the liberation of the two human beings from their demonic possession!

A constant reflection on the manner in which we relate to people and respond to situations is a good help to know if our spirituality is genuine or if our worship and prayers merely give us a ‘feel-good’ experience and satisfy our conscience.