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| “St. Anthony of Padua” from an antique Holy Card, artist and date UNKNOWN |
Commentary:
Reading 1: 1 Kings 18:20-39
Commentary on 1 Kgs 18:20-39
This story from the “Elijah Cycle” of 1 Kings describes Elijah returning to Israel to confront the people who had fallen into Baal worship. He proposes a challenge between the false god and the Lord. The actions of the priests of Baal, the dancing, shouting, and cutting themselves as part of their prayer ritual are validated by other ancient Near-Eastern texts as being part of Baal worship.
There is some symbolic language used in describing the preparation of the altar by Elijah. Specifically the use of the number three as the altar is drenched in water indicating it was completely drenched. The result of the test was predictable. God answers Elijah and the people come back to authentic worship of God.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 16:1b-2ab, 4, 5ab and 8, 11
R. (1b) Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
Commentary on Ps 16:1b-2ab, 4, 5ab and 8, 11
Psalm 16 is an individual hymn of praise. The psalmist prays that God will shield the faithful from harm and expresses confidence in the Lord’s salvation, closing the passage with praise for God’s loving mercy.
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Gospel: Matthew 5:17-19
Commentary on Mt 5:17-19
Those who believed that Jesus came to destroy the Jewish faith and laws are refuted in this passage from St. Matthew’s Gospel. The Lord tells them that he did not come to destroy the law, even though he disagreed with the way some of those laws were being implemented. Rather he came to fulfill it, essentially giving the law a reinterpretation through his own divine revelation.
In this early encounter between Jesus’ mission and the Law of Moses, we are told that Jesus came to “fulfill” the law, to bring it to perfection as the Messiah. He supports the rabbinical teaching of the time, which separates the 613 individual precepts of the law found in the Pentateuch into “great and small,” based upon their seriousness, when he refers to breaking the least of the commandments. It is important to understand the Hebrew view of the Law: "The Law was thought to be the summary of all wisdom-human and divine, the revelation of God himself, a complete and a secure guide of conduct and endowed with a sacramental assurance of good relations with God." [4]
The passage is concluded in almost Mosaic style by saying that those who follow the law will be great in heaven. This draws a distinction between those who would break the law being least in heaven in the previous sentence.
CCC: Mt 5:17-19 577, 592, 1967; Mt 5:17 2053
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Reflection:
When we think about the role of Elijah, described in part in the reading from the First Book of Kings, we must see his actions as being prophetic of his counterpart in the time of Jesus, St. John the Baptist. Elijah calls the people to turn away from worshiping false Gods and to return to the Lord. St. John comes, as the new Elijah, also calling the people to turn away from sin and return to the Lord.
The Lord tells us, in St. Matthew’s Gospel, that he has come to fulfill the law and the prophets. In this way, St. John calls the people to accept the fulfilled the promise of the Lord in Christ. Jesus does indeed bring to completion the work started at the very beginning of creation. Throughout the Old Testament there have been stories and signs that look forward to a time of salvation, when all of the sins of the people will be washed away. King David, the psalmist, sings laments constantly, recalling God’s might, the wonders and signs he has performed, and begging for his continued help in times of need. In Christ this wish is granted. In Christ the promise is fulfilled. In him, God’s salvation is spread over all peoples of all nations.
Yet, just as the ancient Jews who had fallen into worship of Baal, people of our day cannot choose life in Christ. They cannot accept that the promise was fulfilled. They worship instead a golden calf of their worldly success. They build altars many stories high to greed and hedonism.
The Lord calls to us, through sacred scripture, to continue to challenge these misguided principles and to put forward, through our words and actions, the Good News of the promise fulfilled. We pray today for the courage and strength to do so.
Pax
[1] The picture is “St. Anthony of Padua” is from an antique Holy Card, artist and date UNKNOWN
[4] Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc., © 1968, 43:34, p. 70.
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