Reflection
Celebrating Kindness, Justice, and Peace
It’s July 4th! For us citizens of the U.S.A., it’s a special celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Together, we reflect on and celebrate the dynamics of our nation’s history. And the liturgical Scripture selections for “ordinary time”, the Saturday of the 13th week of the year, offer us reason to pause and reflect deeply on our faith as it impacts the practicalities of life today.
The reading from the prophet Amos flows from his reputation as a prophet of both doom and hope. Israel had been unfaithful to its covenant with God; they had been punished – thus Amos speaks of Israel’s restoration: rebuilding the ruins, the “basics” of life restored, a sense of being “home” … a new age, a fertile earth, basic needs met – flowing from an abundance of God’s love.
Matthew’s Gospel pictures the disciples of John the Baptist questioning Jesus about the demands of fasting as disciples. Jesus uses a variety of familiar images – a wedding celebration, patching a piece of old fabric, the care of new wine – to help them understand that, in Him, God is sharing a new experience of God.
God’s love is fresh, new, abundant; God is forgiving, generous, loving. Jesus challenges them to “think outside the box”.
Today we are invited to faithfully embrace the opportunities and challenges of life. Our world is full of war and violence, of social unrest and heartfelt needs of all types. This calls for a change of attitude for all we “citizens of our common home”. In spite of the contemporary “prophets” of doom and gloom who fan fear with selfishness and mistrust, we are heartily invited to have faith in Jesus, to “think outside the box” and see the bigger / global picture, to accept and share God’s generous life and love so powerfully revealed in Jesus’ suffering and death on the Cross.
In keeping with the spirit of July 4th, Psalm 85 speaks of God’s gifts of peace, kindness, truth, justice, salvation – the needed message of hope and encouragement for us all as fellow citizens of the world. Encouraged by the prophet Amos, the poetic words of the Psalmist, and words and deeds of Jesus Himself, may we all come to experience lasting kindness, justice, and peace.
