Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

(I Kings 21:17-29; Matthew 5:43-48)

Living in democratic societies, people cannot appreciate the authority of an ancient king.  He had a standing army to pursue his interests.  His wealth procured anything or he desired.  His fame and influence made him the envy of the whole nation.  Can it be any wonder that kings are given to excess?  They wanted many wives, increasing amounts of territory, and the populace to treat them as if they were gods.   For these reasons prophets came to the fore during the time of monarchy in Israel.  Prophets are rightly seen as messengers sent by God to channel the king’s power to ways of justice.

Today’s first reading tells of the prophet Elijah’s confrontation with Ahab, king of Israel.  On God’s behalf Elijah denounces Ahab for profiting by the murder of an innocent man.  His punishment is severe.  The king and his treacherous wife will suffer the same brutal ending as the poor man she had killed. Interestingly, God with the mercy that Jesus suggests in today’s gospel commutes Ahab’s sentence.  When the king repents of his wrong-doing, God decides that his son and not he will suffer the ignominious end.

We need prophets today to temper the power of national leaders.  All should listen to the voices of men and women who give their lives to prayer and wisdom.  These people will not be the first to speak nor will they have a comment on everything that takes place.  But they will denounce what civil rulers do that is patently wrong and injurious to the nation.

Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

(I Kings 21:17-29; Matthew 5:43-48)

For practical purposes Ahab gets away with murder in today’s first reading.  He witnesses the treachery of his wife but does nothing to stop her.  He appropriates Naboth’s garden like a bandit.  He even repents of his crime and does not face retribution.  The story sounds incredible but there is a parallel happening today.

The wealthy in our society are creating safe havens for themselves while leaving the poor in misery.  They construct gated communities where they are shielded from the plight of the less fortunate.  They send their children to the best schools while education for the poor often lacks funding.  Their politicians and economic advisors make available ways to avoid paying taxes.  But they become outraged if a poor person uses food stamps to buy a sirloin steak.  Meanwhile the wealthy are more likely found in church thanking God for the good life they have.  Where is the justice of it all?

We find justice in Jesus Christ.  He insists that his followers take care of the poor.  More than that, we are called to be the source of reconciliation.  We are to work for the unity between rich and poor, women and men, black and white.  If we forsake this responsibility, our posterity will face the social turmoil that Ahab’s descendants experienced.  We pray now for the virtues of justice and prudence to bring about social peace.

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

(I Kings 21:17-29; Matthew 5:43-48)

A couple’s only son was brutally murdered.  When the assassins were apprehended, the couple felt hatred towards them.  Throughout the trial, they wanted to see the men executed.  Afterwards, the father of the victim experienced a change of heart.  Concern replaced the rage he had felt.  He began to pray for his son’s murderers.  His feelings about the state execution, to which one of the culprits was sentenced, varied.  On one hand he desired strict justice -- a “life for a life.”  On the other he wanted to love the murderer.  The first reading today indicates what people are to do in such a tragic situation.

King Ahab is about as despicable a character as any in literature.  He is unfaithful, covetous, murderous, petulant, hen pecked, etc.  He not only has conspired in the murder of the poor, innocent Naboth, but he has also led God’s whole people astray.  Yet God does not do him in.  Rather the Lord forgives Ahab when the king shows remorse for his crimes.  God will display the same compassion on the world by sending His Son to relieve it of the burden of sin.

We are wise not to underestimate the difficulty or the need of forgiveness.  It is one thing to forgive an offender who has caused us a night’s sleep and another to let go of the anger against one responsible for the death of a loved one.  But as Saint Pope John Paul II taught, only through such forgiveness can peoples come to live in peace.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

(I Kings 21:17-29; Matthew 5:43-48)

“It’s not fair,” we may protest, “King Ahab deserves to be exiled for killing Naboth, not exonerated for robing himself in sackcloth.” God’s mercy always seems to come after and trump His justice. But surely we see things backwards here. God always intends to bring about justice by showing mercy. As long as we show contrition for our sins, God will forgive us. But God’s mercy must not be taken for granted as if we may plot the resumption of a sinful act. Contrition presupposes the will not to sin again.

The child’s dilemma challenges this perspective. A child comes to Confession forever with the same sins – disobeying her parents or fighting with his brother, among other peccadilloes. Are these sins then forgiven? Or, perhaps, they are not sins in the first place? Of course, typically they do not comprise what we know as mortal sins, but nevertheless they should be fairly considered and dutifully given penance. Taken seriously, the girl here will grow in consciousness to realize the benefit of her parents’ judgment and the possibility of following it. Likewise, the boy will become aware of his brother's and, indeed, every human being’s dignity and not abuse it.