The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today exhort us to place our commitment to love and service as the primary sign of our decision to follow Christ.
In the reading from the First Book of Kings, Elisha becomes Elijah’s disciple.
* [19:19–21] Elijah’s act of throwing his mantle over the shoulders of Elisha associates him with Elijah as a servant (v. 21). Elisha will later succeed to Elijah’s position and prophetic power (2 Kgs 2:1–15). Elisha’s prompt response, destroying his plow and oxen, signifies a radical change from his former manner of living. (1 Kings, CHAPTER 19, n.d.)
Psalm 16 Song of Trust and Security in God
* [Psalm 16] In the first section, the psalmist rejects the futile worship of false gods (Ps 16:2–5), preferring Israel’s God (Ps 16:1), the giver of the land (Ps 16:6). The second section reflects on the wise and life-giving presence of God (Ps 16:7–11). (Psalms, PSALM 16, n.d.)
The reading from the Letter of Paul to the Galatians declares the Importance of Faith and Freedom for Service while identifying the works of the Flesh.
* [5:13–26] In light of another reminder of the freedom of the gospel (Gal 5:13; cf. Gal 5:1), Paul elaborates on what believers are called to do and be: they fulfill the law by love of neighbor (Gal 5:14–15), walking in the Spirit (Gal 5:16–26), as is illustrated by concrete fruit of the Spirit in their lives. (Galatians, CHAPTER 5, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Luke, a Samaritan village refuses to receive Jesus and we hear of the challenge to would-be followers of Jesus.
* [9:57–62] In these sayings Jesus speaks of the severity and the unconditional nature of Christian discipleship. Even family ties and filial obligations, such as burying one’s parents, cannot distract one no matter how briefly from proclaiming the kingdom of God. The first two sayings are paralleled in Mt 8:19–22; see also notes there. * [9:60] Let the dead bury their dead: i.e., let the spiritually dead (those who do not follow) bury their physically dead. See also note on Mt 8:22. (Luke, CHAPTER 9, n.d.)
Eileen Wirth comments that the passage is frightening in demanding that we let the dead bury the dead and simply walk away from our families to follow Jesus.
As I puzzled over what to make of this passage, I recalled a recent homily by the wise and wonderful Larry Gillick S.J. In it, he graded himself an F as a Christian or failing to live up to one of Jesus’s tougher commands (sorry, I forget which one). Fortunately, he reminded us that Jesus still loves us. Thank you, Fr. Gillick! Maybe there’s hope even though I can’t think of anyone who is “fit for the kingdom of God” based on the criteria in today’s reading. (Creighton U. Daily Reflection, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “Jesus' disciples must bear insult and suffering patiently,” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD).
"It would be false to affirm that our Savior did not know what was about to happen, because he knows all things. He knew, of course, that the Samaritans would not receive his messengers. There can be no doubt of this. Why then did he command them to go before him? It was his custom to benefit diligently the holy apostles in every possible way, and because of this, it was his practice sometimes to test them... What was the purpose of this occurrence? He was going up to Jerusalem, as the time of his passion was already drawing near. He was about to endure the scorn of the Jews. He was about to be destroyed by the scribes and Pharisees and to suffer those things that they inflicted upon him when they went to accomplish all of violence and wicked boldness. He did not want them to be offended when they saw him suffering. He also wanted them to be patient and not to complain greatly, although people would treat them rudely. He, so to speak, made the Samaritans' hatred a preparatory exercise in the matter. They had not received the messengers... For their benefit, he rebuked the disciples and gently restrained the sharpness of their wrath, not permitting them to grumble violently against those who sinned. He rather persuaded them to be patient and to cherish a mind that is unmovable by anything like this."(excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 56) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Galatians 5:1, 13-18 comments that Paul saw that the Galatians’ acceptance of a false gospel was bringing about real-world results. Dissension, rivalry, selfishness, and envy were cropping up in place of the peace, the joy, and the love they had once known (Galatians 5:20-22). It had become so bad that Paul warned them that they risked “devouring one another” (5:15). All because they had stopped living by the Spirit, the One who unites God’s people in love and humility (3:3-4).
So follow Paul’s advice and “beware” (Galatians 5:15). Don’t fall into the trap of trying to live out your faith without the help and grace of the Holy Spirit. Invite the Spirit to be with you as you worship at Mass today. Listen for his voice throughout the day. Follow his promptings. Let him teach you how to live in love with the people around you. “Holy Spirit, come and fill me!” (Meditation on Galatians 5:1, 13-18, n.d.)
Peter Edmonds SJ, a member of the Jesuit community in Stamford Hill, north London, guides us through the passages that we will hear from the dramatic and emotional letter to the Galatians. Paul is at his most practical, as he addresses the issue of how one is to lead a moral and Christian life if one is free of the demands of the traditional law.
Paradoxically, the freedom which we enjoy in Christ leads into the slavery that is the result of genuine love. The lover is a slave of the beloved, and here we meet one of the rare correspondences of Paul’s teaching to the gospel message of Jesus. Jesus had insisted that the one commandment was love of God and neighbour (Mark 12:30-31). Luke gives the best commentary on this in his parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37). The second key word is ‘Spirit’, which is opposed to flesh. Flesh in Paul refers to the all-too-human way of living for oneself. It is unfortunate that our reading stops here, because Paul obligingly provides a list of the behavioural consequences of living for oneself and then, refreshingly. a list of the consequences of what he calls the ‘fruit’ of the Spirit. At the top of the list is love, and eight other qualities of Christian life follow, namely ‘joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control’ (5:19-25). A fine commentary is found in the ‘hymn to love’ of 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. (Edmonds, 2016)
Friar Jude Winkler outlines the decision of Elisha to abandon his life in a wealthy family to accept anointing as the successor to Elijah. Paul declares that we are called to freedom that is not licentiousness, passion, or prejudice but to a loving community under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Friar Jude reminds us of the Jewish custom of two burials of the father that were separated by about a year.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that the Polish-born rabbi and influential theologian Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907–1972) found great inspiration in Hasidism, the great movement of religious revival of Jewish spirituality and history. One of the great themes of Father Richard’s teachings is the importance of experiencing God’s love and delight, and the emptiness of religion without it
[One] who does not taste paradise in the performance of a precept in this world will not feel the taste of paradise in the world to come. And so the Jews began to feel life everlasting in a sacred melody and to absorb the Sabbath as a vivid anticipation of the life to come. [3]
The trouble with much of civic religion and cultural Christianity is the lack of religious experience. People who haven’t had a loving or intimate experience with God tend to get extremely rigid, dogmatic, and controlling about religion. They think that if they pray the right words, read the Bible daily, and go to church often enough, it will happen. But God loves us before we do the rituals. God doesn’t need them, but we need them to tenderly express our childlike devotion and desire—and to get in touch with that desire. The great commandment is not “thou shalt be right.” The great commandment is to “be in love.” [4] (Rohr, n.d.)
We are called by the Spirit to live in love that reflects ‘joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control’ as we address the needs of those we encounter on our journey.
References
Creighton U. Daily Reflection. (n.d.). Online Ministries. Retrieved June 26, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/062622.html
Edmonds, P. (2016, May 26). Paul to the Galatians: Our freedom in Christ. Thinking Faith. Retrieved June 26, 2022, from https://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/paul-galatians-our-freedom-christ
Galatians, CHAPTER 5. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 26, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/galatians/5?1
Luke, CHAPTER 9. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 26, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/9?51
Meditation on Galatians 5:1, 13-18. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved June 26, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/06/26/420296/
1 Kings, CHAPTER 19. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 26, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1kings/19?16
Psalms, PSALM 16. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 26, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/16?1
Rohr, R. (n.d.). A Spiritual Renewal. Daily Meditations Archive: 2022. Retrieved June 26, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/a-spiritual-renewal-2022-06-26/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). No One Who Looks Back Is Fit for the Kingdom of God. Daily Scripture net. Retrieved June 26, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=jun26
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