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.
