Thursday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
(Malachi 3:13-20b; Luke 11:5-13)
In a city known for its corrupt government a building
inspector insisted that a poor widow give him a bribe before he would approve the
sale of her house. The woman made all
the improvements the inspector called for, but the official would not sign off
without being paid. The widow knew that
it was useless to seek recourse with the city’s managers. Paying bribes to inspectors was the way the
city functioned.
The first reading today paints a similar picture of global corruption. The prophet Malachi writes in the last part
of the fifth century before Christ. The idealism that accompanied the
rebuilding of the Temple a century before has given way to defiance of the
Law. Malachi notes that the people question
the value of following the Law’s commands.
They would rather extoll depravity and evil doing.
Only a small number of the citizenry care to live
righteously. Their names are etched in
the Lord’s book of life. God promises that
the sun of justice will arise and heal them of the wounds they suffer. Like in the Canticle of Zechariah of Luke’s
Gospel, the “sun of justice” refers to Jesus Christ. He brings about the defeat of evil with his resurrection
from the dead.
