Friday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
Friday, June 17, 2022
Thursday, June 16, 2022
Thursday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
(Sirach 48:1-14;
Matthew 6:7-15)
Every year forest fires
in the American Southwest destroy millions of trees. Fire also devastates buildings and too
frequently kills people. Yet pyro-technology
has been a tremendous human achievement.
Most transportation over long distances is facilitated by fire. In today’s first reading the prophet Elijah is
celebrated as the Bible’s great pyro-technician.
Elijah called down
fire to consume the animal sacrifice that showed the Lord as the one, true
God. He also was sent to heaven in a
whirlwind of fire. Elijah’s fire symbolizes
God’s fierce love for His people. As
fire flares up, so God demands that His people care for one another. He is especially concerned that the rich do
not forget the needy.
Pierre Teilhard
de Chardin, a twentieth century mystical theologian, used fire to describe the
power of love. He wrote, “Someday, after mastering the winds, the
waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love,
and then, for a second time in the history of the world, man will have
discovered fire.”
Wednesday, June 15, 2022
Wednesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
(II Kings
2:1.6-14; Matthew 6:1-6.16-18)
Critics of
Christianity fault the faith for promoting egotism. They see Christian kindness as no more than a
ploy to achieve personal salvation. They
might notice Jesus in today’s gospel making a similar criticism.
Jesus calls
those who perform charitable deeds so that others may notice “hypocrites.” He
means that their public actions are not representative of their inner motivation. They exhibit concern for others not out of
love but out of pride. They want to be
known as good but really do not care about the people they help.
When we
help others in order to achieve eternal life, are we being hypercritical? It is not likely the case. First, such actions presume faith in Christ
and his teaching about who will inherit eternal life. We do what we do not for a tangible reward
but out of love for Jesus. Secondly, we know
that God cannot be deceived because He knows our hearts. We would only be deceiving ourselves if we
think that we can deceive God.
Tuesday, June 14, 2022
Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
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 these kings were 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 himself 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 may not be the first to speak out. Nor will they necessarily 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.
Monday, June 13, 2022
Memorial
of Saint Anthony, priest
(I Kings
21:1-16; Matthew 5:38-42)
It is said
that St. Anthony was portrayed in early images as holding the Scriptures in one
arm. This makes sense since Anthony was
one of the greatest preachers in Europe.
In time the Scriptures were replaced by an image of the child
Jesus. This also has its logic since
Jesus is the Word of God. Today’s gospel
passage requires the assistance of a great interpreter of Scripture, which is
the role of a preacher.
On a
preliminary reading the passage seems to forbid all forms of defense. Jesus tells his disciples to “offer no resistance
to one who does evil.” Does he mean that
a nation cannot defend itself against an aggressor like Ukraine against Russia
today? Jesus has in mind personal aggression. He is saying not to allow a loss of face move
you to humiliate the aggressor in return.
He probably does not have in mind letting another kill you. Nor, it seems, does he mean that an army
should not protect its nation from unjust intrusion.
We Christians
are to live a different morality than the world’s. That morality will move us to act in ways
that seem heroic and perhaps at times foolish to others. Yet, it seems, that Jesus is not asking us to
allow others to hurt us at will.