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| “The Prophet Elisha” by Giorgio Vasari, c. 1566 |
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!
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
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 97:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7
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!
and consumes his foes round about.
His lightnings illumine the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
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!
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
Gospel: Matthew 6:7-15
“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.
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.’
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.”
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Reflection:
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.) Also forgetting 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.
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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