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| “Proclaiming Joash king” by Edward Bird, c. 1815 |
Commentary:
Reading 1: 2 Kings 11:1-4, 9-18, 20
Commentary on 2 Kgs 11:1-4, 9-18, 20
This story of the succession of the kingship of Israel to King Joash begins with the fulfillment of the prophecy that the house of the sons of King Ahaziah would suffer God’s wrath. We see in the beginning of this story Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah learning of her son’s death. He was in fact a prince of Judah (see 2 Chronicles 22:9ff) killed by Jehu. This action sets off the sequence of events that ends with the rightful king, Joash, installed, and the return of Israel to faithful worship, and another suppression of Baal worship. (Note: Baal was not a single god but had many guises depending upon the region. In Holy Writ the various forms are not usually distinguished.)
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 132:11, 12, 13-14, 17-18
R. (13) The Lord has chosen Zion for his dwelling.
Reading 1: 2 Kings 11:1-4, 9-18, 20
Commentary on 2 Kgs 11:1-4, 9-18, 20
This story of the succession of the kingship of Israel to King Joash begins with the fulfillment of the prophecy that the house of the sons of King Ahaziah would suffer God’s wrath. We see in the beginning of this story Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah learning of her son’s death. He was in fact a prince of Judah (see 2 Chronicles 22:9ff) killed by Jehu. This action sets off the sequence of events that ends with the rightful king, Joash, installed, and the return of Israel to faithful worship, and another suppression of Baal worship. (Note: Baal was not a single god but had many guises depending upon the region. In Holy Writ the various forms are not usually distinguished.)
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 132:11, 12, 13-14, 17-18
R. (13) The Lord has chosen Zion for his dwelling.
Commentary on Ps 132:11, 12, 13-14, 17-18
Psalm 132 is a song of thanksgiving sung by the community as they remember the establishment of God’s salvation expressed in the Davidic Dynasty. The promise of God is fulfilled in Jesus, the Messiah, who comes from the house of David to rule forever.
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Gospel: Matthew 6:19-23
Commentary on Mt 6:19-23
Jesus concludes his sermon with a caution about placing importance on “treasures on earth.” In this context, St. Matthew’s Gospel also recalls the Lord’s analogy of faith being light, using it as a symbol of seeking one’s desires. Here we see that if what we seek is of darkness (material wealth), as contrasted with seeking the light (spiritual wealth), how dark will that spirit inside us be?
CCC: Mt 6:21 368, 2533, 2551, 2604, 2608, 2729, 2848
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Reflection:
As we grow older, our view of time changes. We have heard many times how a brush with death causes a person to come to grips with his or her own mortality. Yet, for the most part, we go through our lives thinking in terms of tomorrow, next week, next month, or on rare occasions, next year. It seems the furthest out we seem to go is when we are looking at retirement, and what kind of stability we can provide for ourselves. With the current crop of “baby boomers” coming to retirement age, we hear more and more about 401(k)s, retirement planning, and how we need to plan so we can enjoy the rewards of the “Golden Years.”
One would think, with all this attention paid to retirement planning, a person might think in even longer terms. If we think about it, in the United States today a typical retirement expectation is that a person will retire at around 68 or 70 (some wealthier might even retire at 55). With current life expectations, that means that the “Golden Years” may last for 20-40 years at the longest. At the end of that time, another phase in our lives begins – eternity. Once the body dies, we do not have to worry about things like health insurance and a fixed income. The planning we did for our financial health is now meaningless. What is important at that time is what we planned for by what we did with our lives.
That is what Jesus spoke about in the Gospel of St. Matthew. That is what the story from the Second Book of Kings should have reminded us. Only the greatest figures in history are even remembered (who even remembers what was accomplished by some of the Kings of Israel?), so out of the six billion people on earth, whom are we trying to impress with our wealth, our treasure, our power, our prosperity? Before someone says it, yes, we need to provide for ourselves and our families. Yes, we should use the gifts God gave us to the fullest extent of our abilities. But where is the true treasure? What are we storing up and how do we see the “Golden Years?”
Jesus reminds us today that what we need to store up is “…treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal.” We need to come as close to the Lord as we possibly can in terms of our character. That means love of God, love of others, service to all. Our prayer today is that we see our response to the Lord, not just as our duty as Christians, but that it becomes our passion so that like the Lord says: “For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.”
Pax
[1] The picture used today is “Proclaiming Joash king” by Edward Bird, c. 1815
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