DAILY- HOMILY

JUNE 15, 2010
TUESDAY 11TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR II

FIRST KINGS 21:17-29
Then the word of Yahweh came to Elijah the Tishbite, 'Up! Go down to
meet Ahab king of Israel, in Samaria. You will find him in Naboth's
vineyard; he has gone down to take possession of it. You are to say
this to him, "Yahweh says this: You have committed murder and now you
usurp as well. For this -- and Yahweh says this -- in the place where
the dogs licked the blood of Naboth, the dogs will lick your blood
too." ' Ahab said to Elijah, 'So you have caught me, O my enemy!'
Elijah answered, 'I have caught you! For your double dealing, and
since you have done what is displeasing to Yahweh, I shall now bring
disaster down on you; I shall sweep away your descendants and wipe out
every manjack of the House of Ahab, fettered or free in Israel. I
shall treat your House as I treated the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat
and of Baasha son of Ahijah, for provoking my anger and leading Israel
into sin. (Against Jezebel too Yahweh spoke these words, "The dogs
will eat Jezebel in the Field of Jezreel.") Those of Ahab's family who
die in the city, the dogs will eat; and those who die in the open
country, the birds of the air will eat.' And indeed there never was
anyone like Ahab for double dealing and for doing what is displeasing
to Yahweh, urged on by Jezebel his wife. He behaved in the most
abominable way, adhering to idols, just as the Amorites had, whom
Yahweh had dispossessed for the Israelites. When Ahab heard these
words, he tore his garments and put sackcloth next to his skin and
fasted; he slept in the sackcloth; he walked with slow steps. Then the
word of Yahweh came to Elijah the Tishbite, 'Have you seen how Ahab
has humbled himself before me? Since he has humbled himself before me,
I shall not bring the disaster in his days; I shall bring the disaster
down on his House in his son's days.'

MATTHEW 5:43-48
'You have heard how it was said, You will love your neighbor and hate
your enemy. But I say this to you, love your enemies and pray for
those who persecute you; so that you may be children of your Father in
heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on the bad as well as the good,
and sends down rain to fall on the upright and the wicked alike. For
if you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Do not even
the tax collectors do as much? And if you save your greetings for your
brothers, are you doing anything exceptional? Do not even the gentiles
do as much? You must therefore be perfect, just as your heavenly
Father is perfect.'

REFLECTION
Yesterday we read how Jezebel, the wife of King Ahab, murdered Naboth
so that her husband could take over Naboth's vineyard. Ahab was guilty
with his wife by complicity and all the more responsible since he was
the king. The Prophet Elijah presented himself before the king to
impose the sentence of God for his evil deed.

In a somewhat surprising reaction, Ahab repented. When he repented,
the Lord forgave him and postponed the pronounced judgment against his
dynasty. Jezebel however, did not repent and the prophecy was
fulfilled in her case.

God delayed his sentence in Ahab's case in order to give him a chance
to get his life in order. The truth is that God loved Ahab in spite of
his terrible sins. God yearned for the complete and final repentance
of Ahab. God preaches what he practices. Through his Son Jesus, we
heard the teaching that we are to love our enemies and pray for our
persecutors. As children of the Father, we are to become like him. We
see what we should be in his only begot ten Son, Jesus Christ who is
his perfect image in the flesh. And what did Jesus do? He died for us
while we were as yet sinners.

He did not wait until we could somehow be counted worthy of his death.
As for those who were physically putting him to death, his
persecutors, he prayed for them from the cross.

It is no easy task to love our enemies and to pray for our
persecutors. But we should not complain that God is asking us to do
something which he himself does not do. We have heard the teaching of
Jesus. We also have before us the perfect example of his teaching
which should be a sufficient motive for us to be even heroic in the
love of our enemies. To love an enemy is a decision not to let
another's hostility control our reaction. Love admits of degrees. To
love our enemies is to decide to assist that individual in various
ways so that he could come closer to the light.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Ely Lara
- Rita P. Cuerva
- Jilbert Perez
… for the personal intentions of
- Jessy
- Jo Marcelo
- Jun Lee
- Cesar Galang
- Josheil Dapo
- Titong V.
… for the guidance and enlightenment of R
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Joselito de Vera
- Wedding Anniversary: Wilfred Lim & Edna Lim
- In Memoriam (+): Estanislawa S. Bate
… for world peace and reconciliation.

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers
and for those who need our prayers the most.

Have a good day!

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