Posted by The WORD in other words (2006) by Father Raul Caga SVD – Divine Word Seminary of Tagaytay
Wednesday 13th Week in Ordinary Time – Year II
Two brothers worked together on the family farm. One was married and had a large family. The other was single. At the day’s end, the brothers shared everything equally, produce and profit. Then one day the single brother said to himself, “It’s not right that we should share equally the produce and the profit. I’m alone and my needs are simple.” So each night he took a sack of grain from his bin and crept across the filed between their house, dumping it into his brother’s bin.
Meanwhile, the married brother said to himself, “It’s not right that we should share the produce and the profit equally. After all, I’m married and I have my wife and children to look after me I years to come. My brother has no one, and no one to take care of his future.” So each night he took a sack of grain and dumped it into his single brother’s bin.
Bother men were puzzled for years because their supply of grain never dwindled. Then one dark night the two brothers bumped into each other. Slowly it dawned on them what was happening. They dropped their sacks and embraced one another.
Today’s first reading (Year II) is very relevant to the way we conduct our lives. Through the prophet Amos, the Lord vented his anger and displeasure at the Israelites: “I spurn your feasts, I take no pleasure in your solemnities…away with your noisy songs…if you would offer me holocausts, then let justice surge like water, and goodness like an unfailing stream” (Amos 5:21–24).
Justice is one of the prominent biblical themes in the Old Testament. In fact, its various contexts invariably point to its meaning of goodness and righteousness. Thus, a genuine Christian life, which is characterized by goodness and righteousness, cannot be thought of and expressed by mere church attendance.
St. John, in his first letter, provides an appropriate interpretation to this fundamental requirement in Christian living. “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates his brother, is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 John 4:20).
The basic notion of justice is giving the other his/her due. It is not even loving the other but giving what rightly belongs to him/her. Now we understand why Jesus desires mercy and not sacrificial offerings. When mercy dwells in the heart, the person readily recognizes the worth and dignity of others especially the less fortunate and exploited in this unjust world. And when justice is accorded with mercy, Christian love is born.
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