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| “Proclaiming Joash King” by Edward Bird, c. 1815 |
Readings for Friday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time [1]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
Readings and Commentary: [3]
Reading 1: 2 Kings 11:1-4, 9-18, 20
When Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah,
saw that her son was dead,
she began to kill off the whole royal family.
But Jehosheba, daughter of King Jehoram and sister of Ahaziah,
took Joash, his son, and spirited him away, along with his nurse,
from the bedroom where the princes were about to be slain.
She concealed him from Athaliah, and so he did not die.
For six years he remained hidden in the temple of the Lord,
while Athaliah ruled the land.
But in the seventh year,
Jehoiada summoned the captains of the Carians
and of the guards.
He had them come to him in the temple of the Lord,
exacted from them a sworn commitment,
and then showed them the king’s son.
The captains did just as Jehoiada the priest commanded.
Each one with his men, both those going on duty for the sabbath
and those going off duty that week,
came to Jehoiada the priest.
He gave the captains King David’s spears and shields,
which were in the temple of the Lord.
And the guards, with drawn weapons,
lined up from the southern to the northern limit of the enclosure,
surrounding the altar and the temple on the king’s behalf.
Then Jehoiada led out the king’s son
and put the crown and the insignia upon him.
They proclaimed him king and anointed him,
clapping their hands and shouting, “Long live the king!”
Athaliah heard the noise made by the people,
and appeared before them in the temple of the Lord.
When she saw the king standing by the pillar, as was the custom,
and the captains and trumpeters near him,
with all the people of the land rejoicing and blowing trumpets,
she tore her garments and cried out,
“Treason, treason!”
Then Jehoiada the priest instructed the captains
in command of the force:
“Bring her outside through the ranks.
If anyone follows her,” he added, “let him die by the sword.”
He had given orders that she
should not be slain in the temple of the Lord.
She was led out forcibly to the horse gate of the royal palace,
where she was put to death.
Then Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord as one party
and the king and the people as the other,
by which they would be the Lord’s people;
and another covenant, between the king and the people.
Thereupon all the people of the land went to the temple of Baal
and demolished it.
They shattered its altars and images completely,
and slew Mattan, the priest of Baal, before the altars.
Jehoiada appointed a detachment for the temple of the Lord.
All the people of the land rejoiced and the city was quiet,
now that Athaliah had been slain with the sword
at the royal palace.
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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.
The Lord swore to David
a firm promise from which he will not withdraw:
“Your own offspring
I will set upon your throne.”
R. The Lord has chosen Zion for his dwelling.
“If your sons keep my covenant
and the decrees which I shall teach them,
Their sons, too, forever
shall sit upon your throne.”
R. The Lord has chosen Zion for his dwelling.
For the Lord has chosen Zion;
he prefers her for his dwelling.
“Zion is my resting place forever;
in her will I dwell, for I prefer her.”
R. The Lord has chosen Zion for his dwelling.
“In her will I make a horn to sprout forth for David;
I will place a lamp for my anointed.
His enemies I will clothe with shame,
but upon him my crown shall shine.”
R. The Lord has chosen Zion for his dwelling.
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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 fruit of Mary's womb, the Messiah, who comes from the house of David to rule forever.
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Gospel: Matthew 6:19-23
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal.
But store up treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.
“The lamp of the body is the eye.
If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light;
but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness.
And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.”
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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
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[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.
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