Wednesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/070412.cfm

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.

On this Independence Day we hear this reading from the Prophet Amos. Could it be a prophetic word for us?

During this election year we see variations of the Christian religion once again stepping into the political arena. It is not difficult to detect the underlying messages of contempt for minorities, the poor and the despised in public discourse.

This evening, many American neighborhoods will be overwhelmed with the crackling noises, sulfurous smells and smoky clouds of warfare. Melodies of the American Civil Religion will invite idealistic, unemployed youth to study the arts of war. Where else can they turn for steady income, especially as their poverty sabotages the pursuit of useful knowledge in our universities? Some of them have already grown inured to violence in the war zones of their homes and neighborhoods. Do we truly expect the Lord to take pleasure in these festivities?

On this Fourth of July, we hear God speak to us of true peace and devout religion:

…let justice surge like water,and goodness like an unfailing stream.

 We can do this if we want to. With man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.