8 June 2022

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Wednesday, 8 June 2022 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scripture, we are reminded of the faith that we have in the Lord, and how we have to commit to this faith and stand up for it in the face of the opposition and challenges that we may have to endure in the path of our lives as Christians. There are plenty of obstacles and trials that we may have to face just as our predecessors had experienced, as we heard it from our Scripture readings today, in the story of the prophet Elijah and how he went alone against the four hundred and fifty priests of Baal at Mount Carmel.

At that time, king Ahab of Israel had been persecuting those who were faithful to the Lord and the prophets of God, including Elijah and many other prophets. They had been persecuted, harassed and even killed, such that only Elijah remained among the prophets of God still actively working and ministering to the people of the land of the northern kingdom of Israel. Ahab also promoted the worship of the pagan god Baal, with the support from his wife, the queen Jezebel, who was a pagan worshipper. As such, that was why we saw how there were so many Baal priests assembled against Elijah before the people of Israel at Mount Carmel.

Elijah made his stand before king Ahab and the people of Israel, risking his own safety and life, to end the dispute once and for all, and to show the people who the real true God is, between the God of Israel, the God of their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, or Baal, the god of the pagans. Elijah went up alone against his enemies, but God was with him and guided him through those challenging moments. And Elijah showed that the Lord, the God of Israel is truly the one and only true God, when the false god Baal failed to intercede for all of his worshippers despite there being four hundred and fifty priests and many others including the king who sided with him against God.

Elijah remained firm and resolute, and prayed to God, asking Him to remember His people and the love He had for them, and for Him to show forth His might before all so that the people might come to know who the one and only true God is. God sent fire from Heaven that completely consumed the sacrificial offering and Altar that Elijah built on Mount Carmel even when he had poured a lot of water on the Altar, purposefully handicapping himself against the priests of Baal. With that, God showed the people of Israel that He was indeed the one true God, deserving of worship, and not Baal, the false idol and god.

But that was not the end of Elijah’s struggle, as due to the defeat of Baal’s priests, queen Jezebel held a strong hatred and grudge against Elijah, who had to endure the persecutions, and wandered off even into exile at times to continue to minister to the people of the northern kingdom of Israel that he had been sent to. Nevertheless, Elijah kept on going and did what he could to serve the Lord and to glorify His Name, to the best of his ability. He kept proclaiming the Lord and His truth to the people, even if many among them were stubborn and refused to budge and believe in God. And whatever he had revealed and spoken, was echoed by the Lord Jesus, our Lord and Saviour as well.

In our Gospel passage today, the Lord was going against His critics, who accused Him of trying to abolish the Law and to destroy the laws of Moses by His teachings and works. Contextually, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law opposed the Lord Jesus because He refused to follow and has always critiqued their misrepresentation and flawed application of the Law of God as revealed through Moses and the prophets. Much like Elijah who had to go against the multitudes of the priests of Baal, the Lord Jesus also had to go against the many Pharisees, teachers of the Law and even the chief priests who were against Him.

But the Lord revealed that what He was doing was the real truth, and everything He did was to return the Law to its original intention and purpose, long misunderstood and misused by mankind, by the people of God, especially those who opposed Him because they preferred and were attached to their version of the Law which satisfied their own intentions and purposes, rather than obeying the will and desires of God. Just like Elijah revealing who the one and only true God is to the people, the Lord Jesus through His actions revealed that He is the Way, the Truth and Life, the One true God, incarnate in the flesh.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the lessons from today’s Scripture readings remind us that as Christians we are likely to encounter some or even many challenges, trials and oppositions to our beliefs and way of life. Some of us have already suffered this, just as multitudes of our predecessors had, right from the beginning of the Church. Those who were faithful to God had faced a lot of trials and sufferings, and yet, they remained firm in their faith and were adamant in their desire to continue following and proclaiming the truth of the one and only true God, the same God we worship and believe in.

Are we willing to stand up for our faith, brothers and sisters in Christ, despite the challenges and trials we may have to face amidst those persecutions, difficulties and obstacles we encounter? We are all called to be genuine Christians in life and be the beacons of God’s light and truth in our world today, so that through us more and more people may come to know the Lord and believe in Him. And we should not worry as the Lord will always be with us and by our side. Let us all therefore dedicate ourselves anew to Him from now on, and commit ourselves to a life truly righteous and just, at all times. May God be with us always and may He bless us in our every good works and endeavours. Amen.

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Wednesday, 8 June 2022 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 5 : 17-19

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Do not think that I have come to annul the Law and the Prophets. I have not come to annul them but to fulfil them. I tell you this : as long as heaven and earth last, not the smallest letter or dot in the Law will change until all is fulfilled.”

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Wednesday, 8 June 2022 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 15 : 1-2a, 4, 5 and 8, 11

Keep me safe, o God, for in You I take refuge. I say to YHVH, “You are my Lord.”

Those who run after foreign gods only have their sorrows multiplied.

Let me not shed blood for them, nor their names be heard on my lips.

O YHVH, my inheritance and my cup, my chosen portion – hold secure my lot. I keep YHVH always before me; for with Him at my right hand, I will never be shaken.

You will show me the path of life, in Your presence, the fullness of joy, at Your right hand, happiness forever.

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Wednesday, 8 June 2022 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Kings 18 : 20-39

So Ahab sent for all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets at Mount Carmel. Then Elijah addressed the people and asked, “How long will you follow two ways at the same time? If YHVH is God, follow Him; but if Baal is God then follow him.” The people remained silent.

So Elijah continued, “I am the only prophet of YHVH left here to face Baal’s four hundred and fifty prophets. Get us two bulls. Let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it into pieces and lay it on the wood; and I will do the same with the other bull. But we will not set it on fire. Then you shall call on the name of your gods while I shall call on the Name of YHVH. The God Who answers with fire is the true one.” Then the people answered, “That is right.”

Then Elijah told the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many. Then call on the name of your god lest you are left without fire!” So they took the bull and prepared it, and they called on the name of Baal, “Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice; and no one answered them while they went on, dancing on one foot around the altar they had built.

By noontime, Elijah began to mock them, “Shout out louder. Baal is a busy god; or he may have gone out, or perhaps he has gone on a trip, or he is sleeping and must be wakened.” So they shouted louder gashing their skin with knives, as they are used to doing, until they bled. It was already past noon and they were still raving on, until the time of the evening offering. But still there was no voice. No one answered or gave a sign of life.

Then Elijah said to the people, “Draw closer to me,” and the people drew closer to him. He then repaired the altar of YHVH which had been thrown down. He took twelve stones corresponding to the number of tribes of the sons of Jacob whom YHVH had addressed saying, “Israel shall be your name.” With these stones, he built an altar to the Name of YHVH; and dug a trench around it that would contain about thirty litres.

He then arranged the firewood, cut the bull in pieces and laid them on the wood. Then, he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the firewood.” He said, “Do it again;” and they did it again; “one more time,” and they did it a third time. The water ran around the altar and filled the trench.

When the time of the evening offering came, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O YHVH, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that You are God in Israel; and that I am Your servant, doing all these things at Your command. Answer me, o YHVH, answer me so that this people may know that You, o YHVH, are God; and that You are turning back their hearts to You.”

Then the fire of YHVH fell and consumed the burnt offering, together with the wood, the stones also, and the dust; the water also dried up in the trench. All the people witnessed this. Then they fell on their faces and said, “YHVH is God! YHVH is God!”