Wednesday June 13
Introduction
Elijah gathers the people of Israel together to make them opt for Yahweh as their God, rather than Baal. The author relates this in a dramatic, epic style.
Jesus says something similar in words that at first sight seem to say the opposite: he has come not to abolish the law but to fulfill it, that is, to give it deeper dimensions. What matters for us especially is that we must be aware that we live under the new law of love and that we are guided by the liberating Holy Spirit from servitude to the law.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
you have taken the initiative of loving us
and bringing us your freedom
through your Son Jesus Christ.
Enrich us with the Spirit of Jesus,
pour him out generously, without measure,
that we may no longer hide
behind traditions and the letter of the law,
to extinguish the Spirit of freedom.
Let him enlarge our hearts
and stimulate our fantasy
to discover love’s numerous ways
to fulfill the law to perfection.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
Reading 1 1 KGS18:20-39
Ahab sent to all the children of Israel
and had the prophets assemble on Mount Carmel.
Elijah appealed to all the people and said,
"How long will you straddle the issue?
If the LORD is God, follow him; if Baal, follow him."
The people, however, did not answer him.
So Elijah said to the people,
"I am the only surviving prophet of the LORD,
and there are four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal.
Give us two young bulls.
Let them choose one, cut it into pieces, and place it on the wood,
but start no fire.
I shall prepare the other and place it on the wood,
but shall start no fire.
You shall call on your gods, and I will call on the LORD.
The God who answers with fire is God."
All the people answered, "Agreed!"
Elijah then said to the prophets of Baal,
"Choose one young bull and prepare it first,
for there are more of you.
Call upon your gods, but do not start the fire."
Taking the young bull that was turned over to them, they prepared it
and called on Baal from morning to noon, saying,
"Answer us, Baal!"
But there was no sound, and no one answering.
And they hopped around the altar they had prepared.
When it was noon, Elijah taunted them:
"Call louder, for he is a god and may be meditating,
or may have retired, or may be on a journey.
Perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened."
They called out louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears,
as was their custom, until blood gushed over them.
Noon passed and they remained in a prophetic state
until the time for offering sacrifice.
But there was not a sound;
no one answered, and no one was listening.
Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come here to me."
When the people had done so, he repaired the altar of the LORD
that had been destroyed.
He took twelve stones, for the number of tribes of the sons of Jacob,
to whom the LORD had said, "Your name shall be Israel."
He built an altar in honor of the LORD with the stones,
and made a trench around the altar
large enough for two measures of grain.
When he had arranged the wood,
he cut up the young bull and laid it on the wood.
"Fill four jars with water," he said,
"and pour it over the burnt offering and over the wood."
"Do it again," he said, and they did it again.
"Do it a third time," he said,
and they did it a third time.
The water flowed around the altar,
and the trench was filled with the water.
At the time for offering sacrifice,
the prophet Elijah came forward and said,
"LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel,
let it be known this day that you are God in Israel
and that I am your servant
and have done all these things by your command.
Answer me, LORD!
Answer me, that this people may know that you, LORD, are God
and that you have brought them back to their senses."
The LORD's fire came down
and consumed the burnt offering, wood, stones, and dust,
and it lapped up the water in the trench.
Seeing this, all the people fell prostrate and said,
"The LORD is God! The LORD is God!"
Responsorial Psalm 16:1B-2AB, 4, 5AB AND 8, 11
R. (1b) Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge;
I say to the LORD, "My Lord are you."
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
They multiply their sorrows
who court other gods.
Blood libations to them I will not pour out,
nor will I take their names upon my lips.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
O LORD, my allotted portion and cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot.
I set the LORD ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
Alleluia PS 25:4B, 5A
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Teach me your paths, my God,
and guide me in your truth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel MT 5:17-19
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven."
Intercessions
– For all of us in the Church, that we may have enough love to obey the commandments to know and practice that they show our love of God and of neighbor, we pray:
– For priests, that in the sacrament of reconciliation they may let sinners feel the patience and the compassion of God, we pray:
– For all of us, that we may ask ourselves not what we are obliged to do but what we can do for God and one another, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
God our Father,
in this eucharist we celebrate the new covenant
brought us by your Son Jesus Christ.
All that we can offer you
is our openness to your initiative of love
freely given and shared.
Make us ministers
of your adventure with us
of intimate and lasting friendship.
We ask you this in the name of Jesus the Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
we have listened to the Word of your Son
and eaten his refreshing bread.
As he was not afraid
of committing himself to fickle people,
we ask you to liberate our faith
from banality and routine
and to help us to commit ourselves to others
without fear or conditions.
For you loved us first
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blessing
We live under the law of the new covenant, where the key to all laws and observances is love. May we understand and live by this love, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Commentary:
Jesus does not abolish the Law; he provides a deeper understanding of the mind and heart of the Lawgiver so that our observance of the Law flows spontaneously from our appreciation of the Lawgiver. Let us take the case of a teenager who is asked to follow the curfew of returning home by 10:00 P.M. Knowing only the text of the Law can be oppressive for the teenager. However, one day she wakes up to the reality of the deep love and care of her parents. From that moment, the Law is no more an oppressive external enforcement, but an expression of the genuine affection of the parents. The teenager then observes the Law not out of compulsion but out of an inner freedom and appreciation for the spirit behind the Law. Similarly, when we wake up to the love of God and contemplate His face in Christ, we will fulfill the Law with internal freedom, moved by His Spirit. God’s glory and holiness will then reflect in our being.
