Wednesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Outcasts Are People
Liturgical Cycle: A | Lectionary Cycle: II
Introduction
Year II. In strong terms, Amos scolds the people, saying that their rituals and liturgies are worthless unless they honour God by practising justice.
Gospel. Jesus takes pity on people considered possessed by the devil, outcasts of little value to their pagan fellow citizens, who are more concerned about the loss of their pigs than about the cure of these outcasts. This text is difficult to understand unless we pay attention to the underlying theme of impurity. The outcasts from whom Jesus will exorcise demons live in an impure place, a cemetery; the demons are driven out into pigs, unclean animals for the Jews. The pagans of the region do not yet recognise Jesus, and this seems to indicate that the story is symbolic of times still to come: evil is still rampant. But in any case, the power of Jesus is already working.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
Your Son Jesus Christ took pity
on people rejected by their society
and restored them as human beings.
Never allow us to judge anyone
and to reject people from our communities.
Make us leave the judgment to you
for you alone know what is going on
in the hearts of people.
Make us mild and compassionate
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
First Reading
Seek good and avoid evil, so that you may live. Then the Lord, the God of hosts, as you have claimed, will be with you.
Hate wickedness and love virtue, and let justice prevail in the courts; perhaps the Lord, the God of hosts,will take pity on the remnant of Joseph.
“I hate, I reject your feasts, I take no pleasure when you assemble
to offer me your burnt offerings. Your cereal offerings, I will not accept! Your offerings of fattened beasts, I will not look upon!
Remove the noise of your chanting and your harp strumming.
But let justice flow like water, and righteousness be like an endless river.
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.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Father willed to give us birth by the word of truth
that we may be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Exorcism in Gadara
When Jesus arrived at Gadara on the other side, he was met by two men possessed by demons, who came out of the tombs. They were so aggressive that no one dared to pass that way.
They shouted:
“Son of God, leave us alone! Have you come here to torment us before the time?”
Nearby, a large herd of pigs was feeding.
So the demons begged him:
“If you drive us out, send us into that herd of pigs.”
Jesus commanded them:
“Go then!”
The demons left the men and entered the pigs. The entire herd then rushed off the cliff into the lake and drowned.
The men responsible for the pigs ran to town, where they told the whole story and also what had happened to the men possessed by the demons.
The entire town came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their area.
Prayers of the Faithful
Intercessions
– For the Church, that like our God, it may care for those who are least favoured and least loved, so that the gospel may be good news to them, we pray:
– For governments and public officials, that they may not tolerate favouritism or discrimination of any kind and that they may defend the oppressed and restore their rights, we pray:
– For those considered outcasts by “respectable” society, that we may not judge them, but that our goodness, respect and understanding may help them to integrate themselves in our communities, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord, loving God,
Your Son Jesus died on the cross
as an outcast deserted by his people,
But that was the way in which he saved us.
Let this offering of bread and wine express
that we are one with Jesus
And that with him, we accept people
the way you accept them and want to save them.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
God, our Father,
You have let us share the table of your Son
and let us join him in giving praise and thanks to you.
By his power, we want to continue
giving you honour and thanks
with the whole of our everyday lives
through deeds of justice, love
and endless compassion for people
who lose their struggle with the difficulties of life.
We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blessing
“Let justice flow like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” If we can be just and good, the Lord will listen to us and accept our offering, for then it will be part of the sacrifice of Jesus. May God bless you, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTIONS
Matthew 8:28-34
Healing comes from giving up your comforts
One way or another, the Gospel readings these days discuss the risks of entering unfamiliar places and situations. There is something comforting about sticking to what we know, to what feels safe and familiar. Together with the disciples, Jesus travels to the pagan territory of Gadara. A Gentile territory was the scene of the incident; the presence of pigs and tombs, both sources of uncleanliness, confirmed that the Jews would not have preferred that location. But why did Jesus go to this unclean territory? There was no Jewish community; Jesus and his disciples had no acquaintance in the region. Moreover, the first entry of Jesus and his disciples is into the tombs, where the people possessed by demons dwell.
Clearly, the Gentile territories identified the Roman Empire as under the control of demons. Unquestionably, they were fierce. In an attempt to gain control over Jesus, they called him a man of God.
The people of Gadara lived very quietly. They had the problem of the demoniacs, but they had them chained in the cemetery. The people of Gadara may have desired freedom from demon possession, but not at the expense of their wealth, comfort, and security. Matthew suggests that Jesus could not do anything else besides healing those two demoniacs in this region. After this, he was forced to leave the region.
The pigs’ abrupt rush to the lake and their drowning in it were reminiscent of Israel’s defeat of its former oppressor, Egypt, and the certainty of God’s liberating action. But what Jesus does is not appreciated by the Gentiles. Matthew makes it clear that the town's Gentile citizens did not want liberation. As happens so often with oppressive regimes, those who were oppressed colluded in their own oppression. The price of freedom seemed too much. They were still worried about losing their wealth. That’s why they wanted him to leave the country.
Despite being somewhat demonised, we still prefer the advantages of security and wealth, which bring us comfort, status, and pleasure, and we do not want Jesus to enter those areas. Can we identify them? The Lord wants to heal us, provided we are willing to give up the demonised areas of our pleasures and comfort zones.
Coffee With God 5 July 2023 - Healing comes from giving up your comforts