The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to contemplate situations of transgression in which we are nudged by the Holy Spirit to respond with loving action.
The reading from the First Book of Kings details the prophetic condemnation as Elijah pronounces God’s sentence on Ahab.
* [21:20–26] In these verses the narrator uses against the third Israelite dynasty the same condemnation formula that was uttered against the first two dynasties, those of Jeroboam (14:9–11) and Baasha (16:2–4). Part of the formula is put in Elijah’s mouth, in an oracle against Ahab and his descendants (vv. 21–22), and part of it in an aside to the reader that extends the condemnation to Ahab’s wife, Jezebel, and his whole household (vv. 23–24). The oracle against Jezebel will be fulfilled in 2 Kgs 9:36; the obliteration of the dynasty will be recounted in the bloody stories of 2 Kgs 9–11. (1 Kings, CHAPTER 21, n.d.)
Psalm 51 is a prayer for cleansing and pardon.
* [Psalm 51] A lament, the most famous of the seven Penitential Psalms, prays for the removal of the personal and social disorders that sin has brought. The poem has two parts of approximately equal length: Ps 51:3–10 and Ps 51:11–19, and a conclusion in Ps 51:20–21. The two parts interlock by repetition of “blot out” in the first verse of each section (Ps 51:3, 11), of “wash (away)” just after the first verse of each section (Ps 51:4) and just before the last verse (Ps 51:9) of the first section, and of “heart,” “God,” and “spirit” in Ps 51:12, 19. The first part (Ps 51:3–10) asks deliverance from sin, not just a past act but its emotional, physical, and social consequences. The second part (Ps 51:11–19) seeks something more profound than wiping the slate clean: nearness to God, living by the spirit of God (Ps 51:12–13), like the relation between God and people described in Jer 31:33–34. Nearness to God brings joy and the authority to teach sinners (Ps 51:15–16). Such proclamation is better than offering sacrifice (Ps 51:17–19). The last two verses express the hope that God’s good will toward those who are cleansed and contrite will prompt him to look favorably on the acts of worship offered in the Jerusalem Temple (Ps 51:19 [20–21]). (Psalms, PSALM 51, n.d.)
In the Sermon on the Mount, from the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus calls for Love for enemies.
* [5:43–48] See Lv 19:18. There is no Old Testament commandment demanding hatred of one’s enemy, but the “neighbor” of the love commandment was understood as one’s fellow countryman. Both in the Old Testament (Ps 139:19–22) and at Qumran (1QS 9:21) hatred of evil persons is assumed to be right. Jesus extends the love commandment to the enemy and the persecutor. His disciples, as children of God, must imitate the example of their Father, who grants his gifts of sun and rain to both the good and the bad. (Matthew, CHAPTER 5, n.d.)
John Shea, S.J. shares that part of him cheers when Elijah confronts Ahab and tells him that “in the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, the dogs shall lick up your blood, too.” A violent image, but surely the punishment fits the crime. Ahab, however, repents, fasts, and wears a sackcloth. In response, God shows mercy. Part of me feels disappointed that Ahab did not get his just deserts.
Jesus challenges us to love one another, including our enemies, as he has loved us. And we know that Jesus loved us to his death. Jesus also commands us to pray for those who persecute you. Can I pray for all those individuals responsible for the over 200 mass shootings in the United States this year? Can I see them as God sees them: as being worthy of God’s mercy and love? I know I need God’s grace to love an enemy responsible for so much violence, death, and tragedy. Perhaps any person who challenges me, who shows me my limitations, who forces me to turn to God for help and grace, is not an enemy, but a friend. I pray for all those who mourn the loss of loved ones through senseless violence. I also pray for the repentance of those who have perpetrated such acts of violence. (Creighton U. Daily Reflection, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “Pray for those who persecute you,” by John Chrysostom, 347-407 A.D.
"For neither did Christ simply command to love but to pray. Do you see how many steps he has ascended and how he has set us on the very summit of virtue? Mark it, numbering from the beginning. A first step is not to begin with injustice. A second, after one has begun, is not to vindicate oneself by retaliating in kind. A third, to refuse to respond in kind to the one who is injuring us but to remain tranquil. A fourth, even to offer up one's self to suffer wrongfully. A fifth, to give up even more than the wrongdoer wishes to take. A sixth, to refuse to hate one who has wronged us. A seventh, even to love such a one. An eighth, even to do good to that one. A ninth, to entreat God himself on our enemy's behalf. Do you perceive how elevated is a Christian disposition? Hence its reward is also glorious. (excerpt from THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 18.4) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 5:43-48 comments that none of this is easy. Continually ask for God’s grace. Believe that if Jesus is asking you to love your enemies, then he must also be willing to give you all that you need to do it.
No matter how you may be feeling today, go ahead and try to love an “enemy.” Even though what you do might seem like baby steps, know that you are actually taking great strides toward becoming “perfect,” just like your heavenly Father (Matthew 5:48)! “Jesus, help me to love my enemies.” (Meditation on Matthew 5:43-48, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler reviews how Ahab unjustly obtained the vineyard of Naboth and had him killed by false witness testimony. The Sermon on the Mount underlines that God provides for both the evil and the good. St Augustine understood evil to be the absence of good. Friar Jude reminds us that we are not called to perfectionism but to act in the perfect Love of the Father.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that many Christ-centered mystics, like Francis, have experienced the profound presence of God in creation. To know Christ in human form is to know God in created reality; to see God in the Eucharist is to see God in creation. Authors Delio, Warner, and Wood press us to struggle with the implications of such an inclusive understanding of God’s presence during a time of environmental catastrophe.
Do we really believe that God dwells with us, in our lives and in the natural world of creation? Does the Body of Christ move us to contemplate God in creation? If so, then how can we say “Amen” to receiving the Body of Christ and perpetrate destruction of the environment? There is a disconnect between what we claim to be or rather what we claim to see and what we actually do. It is an alienation of heart and mind that has rendered a desecration of the environment, as if we take the host, the Body of Christ, and continually stomp on it while saying, “yes, so be it!” (Rohr, 2022)
The Spirit reveals to us the will of God that we extend love to all as we attend to their needs without considering worthiness.
References
Creighton U. Daily Reflection. (n.d.). Online Ministries. Retrieved June 14, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/061422.html
Matthew, CHAPTER 5. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 14, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/5?43
Meditation on Matthew 5:43-48. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved June 14, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/06/14/410684/
1 Kings, CHAPTER 21. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 14, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1kings/21?17
Psalms, PSALM 51. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 14, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/51?3
Rohr, R. (2022, June 14). The Earth Is Pregnant with God — Center for Action and Contemplation. Daily Meditations Archive: 2022. Retrieved June 14, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/the-earth-is-pregnant-with-god-2022-06-14/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved June 14, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=jun14
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