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| “The Prophet Elisha” by Giorgio Vasari, c. 1566 |
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Sirach 48:1-14
Like a fire there appeared the prophet Elijah
whose words were as a flaming furnace.
Their staff of bread he shattered,
in his zeal he reduced them to straits;
By the Lord’s word he shut up the heavens
and three times brought down fire.
How awesome are you, Elijah, in your wondrous deeds!
Whose glory is equal to yours?
You brought a dead man back to life
from the nether world, by the will of the Lord.
You sent kings down to destruction,
and easily broke their power into pieces.
You brought down nobles, from their beds of sickness.
You heard threats at Sinai,
at Horeb avenging judgments.
You anointed kings who should inflict vengeance,
and a prophet as your successor.
You were taken aloft in a whirlwind of fire,
in a chariot with fiery horses.
You were destined, it is written, in time to come
to put an end to wrath before the day of the Lord,
To turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons,
and to re-establish the tribes of Jacob.
Blessed is he who shall have seen you
And who falls asleep in your friendship.
For we live only in our life,
but after death our name will not be such.
O Elijah, enveloped in the whirlwind!
Then Elisha, filled with the twofold portion of his spirit,
wrought many marvels by his mere word.
During his lifetime he feared no one,
nor was any man able to intimidate his will.
Nothing was beyond his power;
beneath him flesh was brought back into life.
In life he performed wonders,
and after death, marvelous deeds.
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Commentary on Sir 48:1-14
The final nine chapters of Sirach are devoted to praise of the glory of God. The first of these chapters is devoted to God in nature, and the final chapters to great prophets and leaders of Israel. In this selection we hear of the prophet Elijah, who came with a fiery message. Reference is made to Elijah’s passing (2 Kings 2:1ff) and the continuation of his work in the prophet Elisha, his student and successor. The image of Elijah is the precursor to St. John the Baptist, who echoes his prophetic work.
CCC: Sir 48:1 696
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 97:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7
R. (12a) Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
The Lord is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many isles be glad.
Clouds and darkness are round about him,
justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
Fire goes before him
and consumes his foes round about.
His lightnings illumine the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his justice,
and all peoples see his glory.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
All who worship graven things are put to shame,
who glory in the things of nought;
all gods are prostrate before him.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
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Commentary on Ps 97:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7
Psalm 97 is hymn praising God in his majesty. The first strophes provide us with an image of God appearing in a storm and fire, a picture reminiscent of Elijah’s ascension recounted in Sirach and proclaimed in 2 Kings 2:1.
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Gospel: Matthew 6:7-15
Jesus said to his disciples:
“In praying, do not babble like the pagans,
who think that they will be heard because of their many words.
Do not be like them.
Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
“This is how you are to pray:
‘Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.’
“If you forgive others their transgressions,
your heavenly Father will forgive you.
But if you do not forgive others,
neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.”
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Commentary on Mt 6:7-15
This Gospel passage from St. Matthew actually interrupts the pattern in the Sermon on the Mount, in which Jesus is clarifying the spirit of the Law regarding almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. In the presentation of the Lord’s Prayer, St. Matthew differs from the presentation by St. Luke (Luke 11; 1-4) in which the Lord was asked by the disciples how to pray. This passage begins by telling the disciples, “do not babble like the pagans.” This may also be critical of the Jewish tradition of presenting long lists of petitions to God for help. The idea is the same: “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
This Gospel passage from St. Matthew actually interrupts the pattern in the Sermon on the Mount, in which Jesus is clarifying the spirit of the Law regarding almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. In the presentation of the Lord’s Prayer, St. Matthew differs from the presentation by St. Luke (Luke 11; 1-4) in which the Lord was asked by the disciples how to pray. This passage begins by telling the disciples, “do not babble like the pagans.” This may also be critical of the Jewish tradition of presenting long lists of petitions to God for help. The idea is the same: “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
“Here, talk ought to be as sparse as water dripping slowly into a deep well: the echo lasts longer than the sound because the drops fall at wide intervals. Words that really count, words that are 'stored up' eternally, are always the product of slow distillation.” [4]
The prayer in St. Matthew has seven petitions (compared to six in St. Luke). The first three are synonymous, asking that God’s ultimate reign at the eschaton be brought to fulfillment. The request for “daily bread” has a couple of possible meanings beyond the obvious. It may be related to the petition in Matthew 6: 31-33 (“So do not worry and say, 'What are we to eat?'”) and it may also be referring to the Messianic banquet of the Eucharist. Using this interpretation, the fourth petition continues the intent of the first three.
The fifth petition, “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us” is, in spite of the denominational tradition, best translated as “debts.” In St. Luke’s version, the word used is “sins,” an easier word for non-Jewish readers. Regardless of the transliteration, the precondition for forgiveness given is that we forgive others.
“Lead us not into temptation” is likely not intended to mean our daily encounter with “evil” or the “evil one.” St. Matthew would agree with St. Paul, that God could easily avoid the evil of the world (1 Corinthians 10: 13). Rather the likely meaning would be that we not be led to a great test, that is, despair at the tribulations of the eschaton (the end times). Similarly the final petition, “deliver us from evil,” also would focus on the Christian hope of salvation rather than damnation.
CCC: Mt 6:7 2608, 2668, 2776; Mt 6:8 443, 2736; Mt 6:9-13 1969, 2759, 2759; Mt 6:9 268, 443; Mt 6:10 2632; Mt 6:11 1165, 2659; Mt 6:12 2845; Mt 6:14-16 2792; Mt 6:14-15 2608, 2841
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Homily:
Homily:
Heavenly Father, we humbly pray that those suffering from the coronavirus be returned quickly to full health by the power of your Son’s healing presence, and those in fear be calmed through the Holy Spirit.
In Christ’s name we pray. – Amen.
When we hear the likes of the son of Sirach praise the great prophets Elijah and Elisha, it seems like the weight of God’s message is bearing down on us from a great height. The passage from Sirach, coupled with the passage from St. Matthew’s Gospel, in which Jesus gives his disciples one of the oldest prayers in all of Christian history, gives us a perspective of the persistence of God in trying to teach us what his children must know in order to find peace in this life, and joy in his company in the next.
Consider for a moment the many attempts God has made trying to get us to understand that it is his love for us and our love for each other that will show us the way to him, even if we forget, for the moment, the body of Mosaic Law through which God defines right and wrong behavior. (As St. Paul put it, by the Law defining sin, sin entered the world.) Forgetting also all of the prophets who came before Elijah, we look at the message he brought to our Jewish forebears. Elijah tried to turn the people away from worshiping “things,” and back to genuine love of God, the one and only Father. For his efforts, this servant of God was chased, persecuted and hated by those in power. (Does this reception sound familiar?)
All of those who followed God likewise met resistance. Why? Because in God resides all power and in him alone is the path to salvation we must follow. For a person or group who depend upon secular power to enhance or maintain their own egos or lifestyles, this path diminishes them and inspires from them constant attempts (even today) to suppress or eradicate proponents of the Father.
This truth is nowhere more evident than the reception given to God’s Only Begotten Son. Through his sacred authors, he teaches us to relate to God, the loving Father, in prayer. Prayer is transformative. When we use the words of prayer, spoken from the heart (not simply rote or from memory), our relationship with the Father is strengthened, and we can see more clearly what he intends for us.
Today, as we pray the Lord’s Prayer, the prayer Jesus taught his disciples, consider carefully what you say and ask for. See in those words a means by which we can deepen our understanding of God’s will for us. His will, as the loving Father, is for our happiness and peace. In his prayer, we find the love and forgiveness that can bring us that gift.
In this strange year where many of us will not be able to receive the Blessed Sacrament or celebrate as a community in our houses of worship, we must be prepared to receive spiritual communion in prayer:
My Jesus,
I believe that You
are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love You above all things,
and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment
receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You.
Amen.
Pax
[1] The picture is “The Prophet Elisha” by Giorgio Vasari, c. 1566.
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4] Fire of Mercy Heart of the Word Volume I. Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA, © 1996 p. 251.
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