20220609 GETTING TO THE HEART OF THE MATTER
09 June, 2022, Thursday, 10th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
1 Kings 18:41-46 © |
'A cloud no bigger than a man's hand'
Elijah said to Ahab, ‘Go back, eat and drink; for I hear the sound of rain.’ While Ahab went back to eat and drink, Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel and bowed down to the earth, putting his face between his knees. ‘Now go up,’ he told his servant ‘and look out to the sea.’ He went up and looked. ‘There is nothing at all’ he said. ‘Go back seven times’ Elijah said. The seventh time, the servant said, ‘Now there is a cloud, small as a man’s hand, rising from the sea.’ Elijah said, ‘Go and say to Ahab, “Harness the chariot and go down before the rain stops you.”’ And with that the sky grew dark with cloud and storm, and rain fell in torrents. Ahab mounted his chariot and made for Jezreel. The hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and tucking up his cloak he ran in front of Ahab as far as the outskirts of Jezreel.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 64(65):10-13 © |
To you our praise is due in Zion, O God.
You care for the earth, give it water,
you fill it with riches.
Your river in heaven brims over
to provide its grain.
To you our praise is due in Zion, O God.
And thus you provide for the earth;
you drench its furrows;
you level it, soften it with showers;
you bless its growth.
To you our praise is due in Zion, O God.
You crown the year with your goodness.
Abundance flows in your steps,
in the pastures of the wilderness it flows.
The hills are girded with joy.
To you our praise is due in Zion, O God.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.1Th2:13 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Accept God’s message for what it really is:
God’s message, and not some human thinking.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jn13:34 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
I give you a new commandment:
love one another just as I have loved you,
says the Lord.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Matthew 5:20-26 © |
Anyone who is angry with his brother will answer for it
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘If your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.
‘You have learnt how it was said to our ancestors: You must not kill; and if anyone does kill he must answer for it before the court. But I say this to you: anyone who is angry with his brother will answer for it before the court; if a man calls his brother “Fool” he will answer for it before the Sanhedrin; and if a man calls him “Renegade” he will answer for it in hell fire. So then, if you are bringing your offering to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, go and be reconciled with your brother first, and then come back and present your offering. Come to terms with your opponent in good time while you are still on the way to the court with him, or he may hand you over to the judge and the judge to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison. I tell you solemnly, you will not get out till you have paid the last penny.’
GETTING TO THE HEART OF THE MATTER
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 Kings 18:41-46; Ps 65:10-13; Matthew 5:20-26]
What was the mission of Elijah? Simply to restore the pristine faith of Israel in the Lord. The faith of the Northern Kingdom, Israel, was compromised and diluted after the separation between Israel and Judah after the death of King Solomon. Jeroboam I was the king of Israel. The political separation also resulted in a religious separation. To prevent the people from going down to Jerusalem to worship, King Jeroboam established two sanctuaries, Dan, at the northern border, and Bethel, at the southern border not far from Jerusalem. Two golden calves were installed, one at each shrine to rival the Ark at the Temple. He also established a new priesthood and fixed a pilgrimage festival to rival the feasts celebrated in Jerusalem.
When it came to the time of King Ahab, the most evil king in Israel, his pagan wife, Jezebel brought in the worship of the Canaanite god, Baal, the god of fertility to bestow blessings and protection for the crops in Israel. Many Israelites turned to Baal, thinking that the God they worshipped was only a trek-God that moved with them in the desert, whereas now they needed a God of fertility to protect their agricultural needs. To show that the God of Israel was the only God, the God of heaven and earth who had absolute control over the weather and fertility of the land, and not Baal, Elijah prayed, and there was a drought in Israel for three and a half years. (Jms 5:17) He said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.” (1 Kg 17:1f)
In the third year, the word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land.” (1 Kg 18:1) This was followed by a contest to prove which God was the real God, the God of Israel or the god of the Canaanites, Baal. As we read yesterday, Elijah showed decisively that Yahweh was the Lord, for the sacrifice was set on fire by the Lord Himself even though the holocaust was fully drenched with water. The rain that came after the fervent prayer of Elijah underscores that Yahweh has power over nature. Only He could stop the rain and send the rain; not Baal, as the people believed. This was the heart of the matter.
But what brought about the intervention of God was the faith and prayer of Elijah. He had absolute faith in Yahweh. It was his faith in God that the drought took place by a command from Elijah. It was his prayer that the holocaust was set on fire. And he prayed seven times without giving up hope that God would send the rain as he prophesied. He never gave up even when there was still no sight of the rain. He prayed harder. “He bowed himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees.” He was so confident that he instructed Ahab to stop fasting as the rain was on the way. Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of the rushing of rain.”
Clearly, this miracle of faith shows that the God of Israel was the God of heaven and earth, and has power over nature. It was not Baal or any of the fertility gods in Canaan that protected their crops, sent rain, and gave them good weather. The responsorial psalm acclaims the goodness of God. “You care for the earth, give it water, you fill it with riches. Your river in heaven brims over to provide its grain. And thus you provide for the earth; you drench its furrows; you level it, soften it with showers; you bless its growth. You crown the year with your goodness. Abundance flows in your steps, in the pastures of the wilderness it flows. The hills are girded with joy.” Indeed, there is no other God than the God of Israel that could protect them. One only needs to have faith in Him and walk in His ways.
In the gospel, Jesus also went to the heart of the matter when it came to the observance of the Law. Jesus came to fulfil the Law perfectly. Contrary to His critics’ claim that He was breaking the Law, He was in fact more than merely observing the laws externally, as many of the religious leaders and fellow Jews were doing. Jesus sought to fulfil the Spirit of the Law. Indeed, Jesus taught His disciples, “If your virtue goes not deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.” The virtues displayed by the religious leaders were external observances. They might have fulfilled the Law externally, but they did not observe them in the right spirit with the right intention.
A case in point that Jesus used was the question of anger leading to harsh words, violence and even killing. He cited the law against killing. “You have learnt how it was said to our ancestors: You must not kill; and if anyone does kill he must answer for it before the court. But I say this to you: anyone who is angry with his brother will answer for it before the court; if a man calls his brother, ‘Fool’ he will answer for it before the Sanhedrin; and if a man calls him ‘Renegade’ he will answer for it in hell fire.” In Jesus’ view, even getting angry and using harsh words is wrong. One does not have to kill but if we do not deal with the seed of killing that arises from anger, resentment and bitterness, it will brew and lead to violence and killing. So it is even more important to go to the root of killing, the source which lies in our hearts and minds, when a person is hurt, wounded and revengeful.
Indeed, what we fail to realize is that even if we do not kill a person physically, by being angry with the person, we are already in hell. An angry person has no peace, no joy, no freedom. He is always thinking about his hurts and pains, and licking his wounds, waiting for a fight and planning and conniving with others to take it out on their enemies. Instead of using his time and energy positively to strengthen good works, fostering peace and understanding, bringing unity and happiness to all, he is scheming and always finding ways to take revenge. An angry person is continuing to hurt himself as much as he has been hurt. It is just like one who has been stabbed from behind with the knife still attached to his body, but the wounded man will drive the knife deeper into his body.
The only way to prevent killing and freeing ourselves from misery is to forgive our enemies. Jesus shows us the way on the cross when He prayed for the forgiveness of His enemies. He held no grudge against those who put Him to death. He prayed for them and asked God to forgive them. He was simply living out His teaching when He said, “So then, if you are bringing your offering to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, go and be reconciled with your brother first, and then come back and present your offering.” We must forgive, regardless whether the brother or sister who has hurt us asks for forgiveness. The act of forgiving must begin unilaterally. If the person who has hurt us asks for forgiveness, the healing for that person would be complete. Otherwise, he lives in guilt and regret. On our part, those who forgive have nothing to cause them to live in the past but to use their pain and suffering to help others.
And we must forgive now by praying and acting. How do we forgive if not to take the words of Jesus’ teaching seriously at every Eucharist when we pray the Lord’s Prayer? How can we pray that our sins be forgiven when we are not ready to forgive others? When we pray that our sins be forgiven, the truth is that God has already forgiven us, but so long as we are not ready to forgive others, we remain a prisoner of our past and our hurts. The heart of the matter is to forgive and let go so that God’s love will fill our heart with joy, peace and freedom which cannot be experienced by those who refuse to forgive.
The Lord warns us to act immediately, otherwise we might never have the opportunity. He said, “Come to terms with our opponent in good time while you are still on the way to the court with him, or he may hand you over to the judge and the judge to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison. I tell you solemnly, you will not get out till you have paid the last penny.” There are many who wish to be reconciled with their loved ones before they die. But they tarry, delay and hope for an opportune time. Unfortunately, often they miss that opportunity to reconcile. By the time they decide to do so, the person has returned to the Lord. They live in regret because there was no closure. If we cannot let go of our enemies now, we will have to do so in the next life. Let us enjoy the peace that forgiveness brings here and now.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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