June 5, 2016 –Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Lectionary: 90
Reading 1 – 1 Kings 17: 17-24
Elijah went to Zarephath of Sidon to the house of a widow.
The son of the mistress of the house fell sick,
and his sickness grew more severe until he stopped breathing.
So she said to Elijah,
“Why have you done this to me, O man of God?
Have you come to me to call attention to my guilt
and to kill my son?”
Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.”
Taking him from her lap, he carried the son to the upper room
where he was staying, and put him on his bed.
Elijah called out to the LORD:
“O LORD, my God,
will you afflict even the widow with whom I am staying
by killing her son?”
Then he stretched himself out upon the child three times
and called out to the LORD:
“O LORD, my God,
let the life breath return to the body of this child.”
The LORD heard the prayer of Elijah;
the life breath returned to the child’s body and he revived.
Taking the child, Elijah brought him down into the house
from the upper room and gave him to his mother.
Elijah said to her, “See! Your son is alive.”
The woman replied to Elijah,
“Now indeed I know that you are a man of God.
The word of the LORD comes truly from your mouth.”
Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 30: 2, 4, 5-6, 11, 12, 13
- I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
I will extol you, O LORD, for you drew me clear
and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
O LORD, you brought me up from the nether world;
you preserved me from among those going down into the pit. - I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
Sing praise to the LORD, you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger lasts but a moment;
a lifetime, his good will.
At nightfall, weeping enters in,
but with the dawn, rejoicing. - I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me;
O LORD, be my helper.
You changed my mourning into dancing;
O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks. - I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
Reading 2 – Galatians 1: 11-19
I want you to know, brothers and sisters,
that the gospel preached by me is not of human origin.
For I did not receive it from a human being, nor was I taught it,
but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ.
For you heard of my former way of life in Judaism,
how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure
and tried to destroy it, and progressed in Judaism
beyond many of my contemporaries among my race,
since I was even more a zealot for my ancestral traditions.
But when God, who from my mother’s womb had set me apart
and called me through his grace,
was pleased to reveal his Son to me,
so that I might proclaim him to the Gentiles,
I did not immediately consult flesh and blood,
nor did I go up to Jerusalem
to those who were apostles before me;
rather, I went into Arabia and then returned to Damascus.
Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem
to confer with Cephas and remained with him for fifteen days.
But I did not see any other of the apostles,
only James the brother of the Lord.
Gospel – Luke 7: 11-17
Jesus journeyed to a city called Nain,
and his disciples and a large crowd accompanied him.
As he drew near to the gate of the city,
a man who had died was being carried out,
the only son of his mother, and she was a widow.
A large crowd from the city was with her.
When the Lord saw her,
he was moved with pity for her and said to her,
“Do not weep.”
He stepped forward and touched the coffin;
at this the bearers halted,
and he said, “Young man, I tell you, arise!”
The dead man sat up and began to speak,
and Jesus gave him to his mother.
Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, exclaiming,
“A great prophet has arisen in our midst, ”
and “God has visited his people.”
This report about him spread through the whole of Judea
and in all the surrounding region.
Listen to the Scripture Readings: click on the link below:
REFLECTION
10th Sunday in Ordinary Time – C
THEME: God’s power. God’s power is made evident firstly in the resurrection of the son of the widow of Zarephath thanks to Elijah’s intervention, but even more so in the resurrection of the son of the widow of Nain through Christ’s work. Divine power is manifested in a special way in the “spiritual resurrection” of Paul, who from an enemy and persecutor of Christ in Christians, he becomes his Apostle and witness. We learn from all of this that God’s power, revealed above all in Jesus Christ, is made present in history for the good of mankind.
Point 1: Let the life breath return to the body of this child. The series of events in Elijah’s life in which this miracle is situated takes place in the controversy against the Canaanite religion and its principal god, Baal, lord of fertility and life. In this context, Elijah’s miracle highlights that the only lord of life, the source from which all life comes is the Lord, the only and true God, the God full of power and majesty. Elijah is fully aware, on the one hand, of the divine power, and on the other, of the need to protect the people of Israel from being contaminated by the Canaanite cults, preserving them in the Yahwist religion, the religion that God himself revealed to Israel through its fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For this reason, he raises his soul to God (moreover to show that the accusations the widow levels against him are false) and makes his supplication sincerely and intensely: “O LORD, my God, let the life breath return to the body of this child.” The Lord hears the cry of Elijah and the child revives. Elijah then gives him back alive to his mother. In this way, he demonstrates before the eyes of the Canaanites (the widow and her son belonged to this people) that the lord of life is not Baal, but the Lord.
Point 2: Young man, I tell you, arise! God’s power, which was manifested in Israel’s history from its beginnings, and which we have seen in the resurrection of the son of the widow of Zarephath through Elijah’s intercession, comes to its supreme revelation and its tangible manifestation in Jesus Christ. Christ does not ask the Lord to intervene to do a miracle. Jesus directly commands the dead man to rise so as to continue living and helping his mother. In the very person of Jesus, God’s power is revealed in a marvelous and impressive way. In the case of Elijah, divine power was put into action to show that the Lord is the only lord of life. For Jesus, this is not what matters, but rather his compassion for the widow who was left alone, without her son’s help: “He was moved with pity for her and said to her, ‘Do not weep.’” Elijah withdraws to a room and performs a sort of rite to make him come back to life. Jesus raises the son of the widow of Nain before the whole entourage that accompanied the dead man, with no other gesture than his powerful and imperative word: “Young man, arise!” Truly, Jesus is the “incarnation”, the visible and tangible presence of God’s power among men.
Point 3: Power that changes life. Saul of Tarsus believed in God’s power; perhaps he felt invested with a certain quasi-divine power to defend monotheism and the Hebrew religion in the face of the Christian conception of God and the new religion that was starting to spread throughout Israel and the neighboring countries after the death and resurrection (at least this is what the Christians believed) of Jesus of Nazareth. It never crossed his mind that this power of God would one day, on the way to Damascus, throw him to the ground and make him hear a voice from on high saying to him: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? … I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” The power of God that knocked him to the ground and that revealed to him whom he was really persecuting when he persecuted the Christians, and that left him blind for three days, forever divided Saul’s life into two halves: before the encounter of Damascus, and after the encounter. From a fierce persecutor, he came to be, from this moment but also through a long process of maturation from this unique experience on the way to Damascus, the most hardened witness of the risen Christ and the most decided Apostle of the gentiles, that is, of all non-Jewish peoples.
Conclusion: A powerful God, present among us. God’s power continues to show itself in the world and the history of our time. Still, it’s necessary to have the clear gaze of faith to easily and clearly discover it. His power continues to be active in the physical miracles performed through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, not only in Lourdes but also in so many other sanctuaries spread throughout the world. As well, it is shown in the physical miracles performed through the intercession of the saints (the fact that the Church requires two miracles to canonize someone makes this clear). Moreover, and above all, there are the “spiritual miracles” that God’s power does in so many persons: conversion, the radical change of life, the continued action in souls to purify, elevate and transform them, uniting them more to Him. Only in heaven will we be able to know in all its amplitude the daily marvels God’s power works in souls!
God wants to show you his power. God is superabundant and most generous in his love, wisdom and greatness; so too is he in his power. God, in his goodness, has looked upon you to show you his power. How does he show you his power? For example, through the sacraments, particularly those two sacraments that we can receive most frequently: Eucharist and Reconciliation or Penance. As well, through the actual graces he grants you daily: You recognize some of them easily, others you hardly notice, but God’s power is made present through them. God manifests his power in you, but so that the step is made from manifestation to fulfillment, your free acceptance and generous response to the divine power is needed. For every person, but especially for a Christian, it is thus important to be top of yourself to discover God’s power acting daily in your own life.
People of today before God’s power. God’s power changed the life of Paul on the way to Damascus. Together with Paul, however, there were many other Jews, hostile to Christianity, who equally persecuted Christ, and who were not “touched” by this power. Isn’t it the case that people can react in different ways before God’s power? Some focus on the invasive character of divine power that collides with our freedom, and so they reject and oppose it. Others think that God’s power is a nice creation of man, that the only powers that really exist are those of man and nature; therefore, God’s power doesn’t count in their life because it doesn’t exist. There are also those who see in God’s power a rival to man’s power, thinking that slowly man’s power, thanks to the progress in science and technology, will gradually occupy the spaces in which people of yesteryear felt God’s power most acutely. The authentic position of a Christian is to accept God’s power and presence among us, cooperate with it in bettering one’s life and contributing time and energy such that God’s power be accepted by others, changing more and more the mentality of people and human society.
Meditation: How do you respond to the misfortunes of others? In a number of places the gospel records that Jesus was “moved to the depths of his heart” when he met with individuals and with groups of people. Our modern use of the word “compassion” doesn’t fully convey the deeper meaning of the original Hebrew word which expresses heart-felt “sympathy” and personal identification with the suffering person’s grief and physical condition. Why was Jesus so moved on this occasion when he met a widow and a crowded funeral procession on their way to the cemetery? Jesus not only grieved the untimely death of a young man, but he showed the depth of his concern for the woman who lost not only her husband, but her only child as well. The only secure means of welfare in biblical times was one’s family. This woman had lost not only her loved ones, but her future security and livelihood as well.
The scriptures make clear that God takes no pleasure in the death of anyone (see Ezekiel 33:11) – he desires life, not death. Jesus not only had heart-felt compassion for the widow who lost her only son, he also had extraordinary supernatural power – the ability to restore life and to make a person whole again. Jesus, however, did something which must have shocked the sensibilities of the widow and her friends. Jesus approached the bier to make physical contact with the dead man. The Jews understood that contact with a dead body made oneself ritually unclean or impure. Jesus’ physical touch and personal identification with the widow’s loss of her only son not only showed the depths of his love and concern for her, but pointed to his desire to free everyone from the power of sin and moral corruption, and even death itself. Jesus’ simple word of command – “Young man, arise” – not only restored him to physical life, but brought freedom and wholeness to his soul as well as his body.
This miracle took place near the spot where the prophet Elisha raised another mother’s son back to life again (see 2 Kings 4:18-37). Jesus claimed as his own one whom death had seized as its prey. By his word of power he restored life for a lad marked for death. Jesus is Lord not only of the living but of the dead as well. When Jesus died on the cross for our sins he also triumphed over the grave when he rose again on the third day, just as he had promised his disciples. Jesus promises everyone who believes in him, that because he lives (and will never die again), we also shall have abundant life with and in him both now and forever (John 14:19). Do you trust in the Lord Jesus to give you abundant life and everlasting hope in the face of life’s trials, misfortunes, and moments of despair?
“Lord Jesus, your healing presence brings life and restores us to wholeness of mind, body, and spirit. Speak your word to us and give us renewed hope, strength, and courage to follow you in the midst of life’s sorrows and joys.”
PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL
10th Sunday in Ordinary Time – 5th June 2016
For the Church: that we, like Jesus, may be moved with pity for all who are grieving, suffering or powerless in society, let us pray to the Lord.
For a spirit of hospitality: that we may warmly receive the strangers who come to our communities and welcome the gifts that they can share with us, let us pray to the Lord.
For greater openness: that we may recognize the ways in which Jesus desires to assist us and accept those gifts and blessings without reservation, let us pray to the Lord.
For all who are grieving the loss of a loved one: that they may know the care and compassion of fellow believers and experience the abiding presence of God with them, let us pray to the Lord.
For all who minister to the grieving: that God will renew them and guide them in being instruments of compassion and support for all who are experiencing loss, let us pray to the Lord.
For all who have suffered losses through storms, tornadoes or floods: that God will renew their spirits, give them strength, and help them find the assistance which they need to rebuild their lives, let us pray to the Lord.
For all who are suffering from famine or drought: that God will relieve their suffering, bring rain and bountiful crops, and open the pathway for supplies which they need, let us pray to the Lord.
For the sick: that God’s healing love may touch them, strengthen them, and restore them to wholeness, let us pray to the Lord.
For all who have died: that they may hear the voice of Jesus awakening them to the fullness of life, let us pray to the Lord.
For all the vulnerable and powerless people in society: that we may show the compassion and concern of God through our words and deeds, let us pray to the Lord.
For the members of Parliament and District Assemblies: that the Spirit will guide their deliberations as they develop policies that have impact of the suffering and powerless of society, let us pray to the Lord.
For Peace: that God will heal the anger and hatred within the hearts of all who are prone to violence and open new opportunities for reconciliation and cooperation amongst nations, races, and faith communities, let us pray to the Lord.