20240613 A NEW BEGINNING OF GRACE
13 June 2024, 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.’
A NEW BEGINNING OF GRACE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 Kings 18:41-46; Ps 65:10-13; Matthew 5:20-26 ]
In the first reading, we read how Elijah purified the faith of Israel by killing 450 prophets of Baal after winning the spiritual battle with them. Elijah then worked on King Ahab to help him return to the pristine faith of Israel. To usher in a new beginning, Elijah sent a sign to the King by calling a drought on Israel to symbolize the spiritual aridity of the People of God. He said to him, “As the Lord the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” (1 Kg 17:1) After the purification, when the time was ready, he again called forth God to send rain to Israel. “Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of the rushing of rain.” So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees.”
Elijah’s prayers were powerful. God heard them, whether it was to call for the drought in Israel, or when he prayed for God to send fire to burn up the holocaust, or when he asked for the rains to come. After asking his servant to look toward the sea, at the seventh time, “Behold, a little cloud like a man’s hand is rising out of the sea.” Soon, the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. Indeed, with the outpouring of the rain, Elijah had hoped for a new beginning for the faith of Israel, and also that of Ahab.
Elijah was conscious that he was but a servant of the king, God’s anointed one. And so, he prophesied for the sake of the king and his kingdom. He was just fulfilling his responsibility. Like a faithful servant, “he girded up his loins and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.” Alas, instead of being greeted with a penitent heart, the evil Jezebel sought his life. The new beginning did not happen as expected. Elijah felt betrayed and abandoned, as we read in the Book of Kings.
In today’s gospel, Jesus also implied the importance of allowing the new grace of God to enter into our hearts. Jesus said to His disciples: “If your virtue goes not deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.” This is a call for renewal. The scribes and Pharisees meant well even if their motives were not always pure, and sometimes even hypocritical. But we can presume that they wanted to be true like Elijah to the pristine faith of Israel. They were meticulous in upholding the law of Moses and sought every way to be as faithful to them as possible. For that reason, the Pharisees were also known as the “separated ones”, different from the common people. But such legalistic approach to spirituality did not bring them very far either. In fact, it only brought them further away from God and from their fellowmen.
A case in point is the question of dealing with anger. Jesus said, “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.” The oral tradition tried to make distinctions between the different levels of anger. Jesus wanted was to get to the heart of the matter. Even before anger gets out of hand, from name-calling to condemnation and even killing, one must nip it in the bud so that it will not degenerate to killing. So, even though some of us think that harsh words or name-calling are not that serious offences against our fellowmen, for Jesus, such thoughts and words cannot but aggravate the situation and lead to violence, and even killing. Such uncharitable thoughts and words must thus not be allowed to gather strength. We must deal with them at its very root.
Hence the Lord proposed a higher form of spirituality – a new beginning of grace in our relationship with our alienated brothers and sisters. We will never be able to resolve conflicts by retaliating against our enemies, or causing more woundedness by reliving the past. This is what often happens with warring parties. Instead of dialoguing, they choose to kill. As Mahatma Ghandi quipped, “An eye for an eye makes the whole world go blind.” To start a new beginning, we must seek reconciliation whilst we can. “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.”
This was why Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount underscored the need for non- retaliation. This is the way of graciousness. He taught us to give in to our enemies’ demands so that reconciliation can begin. We need to show goodwill to gain the trust of our foes. This by no means suggest that we be resigned to evil or injustice. On the contrary, it is but a step towards reconciliation. Hence, He taught, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, ‘Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.'” (Mt 5:38-42)
To win over our enemies, we must learn to love them and pray for them, simply because they are also God’s children. He said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.'” (Mt 5:43-48) If we want to grow in holiness and have a new beginning, we need to be magnanimous in loving them and forgiving them as our heavenly Father forgives us and all those who have not been faithful to Him. God desires us all to repent and be reunited with Him and with ourselves. To love those who love us does not need much grace because it is self-serving. But to love those who hate us, this is truly grace from God working in us.
And there is a warning if we fail to take the opportunity of the grace offered to us to be reconciled whilst the enmity has just begun – further damages and violence will result. Hence, 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.” We must use whatever time and opportunities we have to start again when we have a failed relationship. We must maximize whatever opportunities we have to reconcile before the matter gets worse, and more harsh words and hurtful actions are exchanged. By then, reconciliation would be extremely difficult and forgiveness rendered impossible.
So let us be like Elijah and our Lord, be messengers of grace. Let us bring a new order to the world, to society and to our family. We must be messengers of hope. We must not allow our past to cripple us, our misunderstandings and hurts to close us to our fellowmen. This is particularly so in marriage, family and in the office. It is inevitable that we will step on each other’s toes when we work and live in such close proximity. We can lose our temper in our stress and anxiety, and hurtful things are said. We must pray for humility and a bigger perspective to frictions in relationships. We must accept that we are human beings and we do make mistakes. We are sinners and we deserve forgiveness, understanding and compassion from each other. We must always say to each other, “Let us begin again!” In this way, we will always give hope and encouragement to each other. Joy is reconciliation.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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