The Word today, W11B

June 17 - June 22, 2024

Monday 17 June

1 Kings 21:1-16 Our reading today tells the first half of a very nasty abuse of power by a king and his wife. The rest of the story will be heard tomorrow, when the culprits get their comeuppance.

Matthew 5:38-42 We are always tempted to meet violence with violence. Jesus’ alternative is radical.

Tuesday 18 June

1 Kings 21:17-29 This reading is the second part of the yesterday’s nasty story. The powerful monarch is reproved by the proclamation of the prophet, who does not mince his words. The king does respond and even repents…nevertheless, the wheels of justice are set in motion.

Matthew 5:43-48 Jesus quotes the usual attitude—love your neighbor, hate your enemy—and then gives a series of penetrating arguments to offer his alternative vision.

Wednesday 19 June

St Romuald, abbot

2 Kings 2:1, 6-14 This reading tells the very famous story of Elijah and his (underused!) chariot. Behind the drama stands a very ordinary question: when a great spiritual leader departs or dies, will anything of his leadership remain? Yes…but it all depends!

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 These two paragraphs surround the Lord’s Prayer and represent a Jewish devotional triad: alms, prayer and fasting. Any attraction to showiness in religion is resolutely set aside.

Thursday 20 June

The Irish Martyrs

Ecclesiasticus 48:1-15 The book of Ecclesiasticus was written long after the life and ministry of Elijah – perhaps some six centuries later. The ancient prophet was still admired and treasured. Today we have a poetic, even glowing account of his career.

Matthew 6:7-15 The introduction to the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew is central and helps us understand the prayer and its brevity. In reality, the Lord’s Prayer is not so much a prayer as a form of words but a method or series of steps in prayer.

Friday 21 June

St Aloysius Gonzaga, religious

2 Kings 11:1-4, 9-18, 20 Our story today is complex: a king’s mother tries to do away with all the surviving members of the royal family. It is not uplifting but also not uncommon in imperial families. Nevertheless, you will notice that there is one survivor, a baby, who ensures that David’s line continues. In this way, the writer tries to show that God’s own faithfulness to the house of David cannot be set aside even by unspeakable horror. The Psalm which follows captures the true meaning of this difficult reading.

Matthew 6:19-23 Our gospel is a challenge and at the centre of that challenge we hear the words of Jesus: For where you treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Saturday 22 June

Sts. John Fisher, bishop, and Thomas More, martyrs or St Paulinus of Nola, bishop

2 Chronicles 24:17-25 Today we have once more a difficult story: a king who turns away from God to idols and even has God’s prophet put to death. The clue about the reading is in the Psalm which follows: even though the kings of Judah were sometimes very unfaithful to God, yet, God remained true to his promise to the house of David. There is some good news— Gospel—in God’s continued fidelity.

Matthew 6:24-34 This is a favorite passage from the Sermon on the Mount, prized by people well beyond frontiers of Christianity. The vision is Jesus is not “airy-fairy” detachment, but a costly choice of values and attitudes, grounded in faith in God. We might feel there’s risk of sheer impracticality but this is overcome by the general statement: “You heavenly father knows you need all these things.”

References

-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2024az, June 16). Eleventh Sunday in ordinary time. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/061624.cfm

-Sunday readings. (n.d.-s). Hearers of the Word. https://www.tarsus.ie/SundayReadings/