Seeking God and Shunning Evil

Wednesday, 13th week in Ordinary time

July 4, 2018: Amos 5: 14-15, 21-24; Mt 8: 28-34

Seek Good and Shun Evil... it is such a simple and straight forward directive from Amos today! It is a universal dictum, but is it as simple as it sounds? Do we really and absolutely seek good and good alone? More importantly, do we shun evil, and shun it absolutely? 

The world today holds out a culture that seems to be a subtle mixture of both... some good are seen to be 'too impractical' and we are advised not to seek them. Some evil are so subtly deemed 'acceptable' and made so hard to be shunned right away. Sometimes it seems better to live with certain forms of evil and remain acceptable and comfortable in our living zones. 

When we seek good, when we seek the Lord, we have to by all means do away with certain things in our lives. But we conveniently keep the Lord away at those points, so that our comfort zones are not affected, like the people in the Gospel today who came and begged Jesus to leave their locality. They did not mind living with the evil spirits, but they were upset that they lost a herd of swine! They wondered how much more they will have to lose if Jesus stayed on with them!

If we really want Jesus to stay on with us, we will have to do away with a lot of things! Are we really prepared? Or would we choose to tell the Lord to leave us in peace? Seeking God and Shunning Evil... is it a natural quality to me?