1ST READING
The
punishment Ahab and Jezebel receive for their sins is very harsh. But
then, not only did they murder an innocent man, they also stole his
property from his heirs. The story reminds us of the responsibility of
exercising power. The more power, talent or wealth we have, the greater
our duty to share what we have with others.
1 Kings 21:17-29
17 After the death of Naboth the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite: 18 “Start down to meet Ahab, king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He will be in the vineyard of Naboth, of which he has come to take possession. 19 This
is what you shall tell him, ‘The Lord says: After murdering, do you
also take possession? For this, the Lord says: In the place where the
dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, the dogs shall lick up your blood,
too.’” 20 Ahab
said to Elijah: “Have you found me out, my enemy?” “Yes,” he answered.
“Because you have given yourself up to doing evil in the Lord’S sight, 21 I
am bringing evil upon you: I will destroy you and will cut off every
male in Ahab’s line, whether slave or freeman, in Israel. 22 I
will make your house like that of Jeroboam, son of Nebat, and like that
of Baasha, son of Ahijah, because of how you have provoked me by
leading Israel into sin.” 23
Against Jezebel, too, the Lord declared, “The dogs shall devour Jezebel in the district of Jezreel.” 24 “When
one of Ahab’s line dies in the city, dogs will devour him; when one of
them dies in the field, the birds of the sky will devour him.” 25 Indeed, no one gave himself up to the doing of evil in the sight of the Lord as did Ahab, urged on by his wife Jezebel. 26 He
became completely abominable by following idols, just as the Amorites
had done, whom the Lord drove out before the Israelites.
27 When
Ahab heard these words, he tore his garments and put on sackcloth over
his bare flesh. He fasted, slept in the sackcloth, and went about
subdued. 28 Then the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, 29 “Have
you seen that Ahab has humbled himself before me? Since he has humbled
himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his time. I will bring
the evil upon his house during the reign of his son.”
P S A L M
Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6, 11, 16
R: Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
1 [3] Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense. 2 [4] Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me. (R) 3 [5] For I acknowledge my offense, and my sin is before me always: 4 [6] “Against you only have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight.” (R)9 [11] Turn away your face from my sins, and blot out all my guilt. 14 [16] Free me from blood guilt, O God, my saving God; then my tongue shall revel in your justice. (R)
GOSPEL
Perfection
is our calling. We may not reach perfection before gaining eternal life
in heaven, but we can and should strive for it. Jesus explicitly calls
us to this goal in the Gospel today, and is also a source of immense
inspiration in the hope it holds for people living under the grace of
the Holy Spirit. Let us never sell ourselves short of who we can be in
God’s eyes and under His grace.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
I give you a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you.
Matthew 5:43-48
43 Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that
you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise
on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the
unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you
have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? 48 So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
think: Let us never sell ourselves short of who we can be in God’s eyes and under His grace.
T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST
Thank You Lord for: __________________
____________________________________
God’s special verse/thought for me today_
_____________________________________
READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR 2 Kings 7-9
No comments:
Post a Comment