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From: 1 Kings 17:1-6

Elijah foretells the drought

[1] Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord the
God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these
years, except by my word.” [2] And the word of the Lord came to him, [3] “Depart
from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, that is east
of the Jordan. [4] You shall drink from the brook and I have commanded the ra-
vens to feed you there.”

The ravens bring Elijah food

[5] So he went and did according to the word of the Lord; he went and dwelt by
the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan. [6] And the ravens brought him bread
and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from
the brook.

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Commentary:

1 Kings 17:1-2 - 2 Kings 1:18. The ample coverage given to the reign of Ahab is
not so much due to the actions of the king as to the fact that God raised up at
this time prophets who played a critical role in maintaining knowledge and wor-
ship of the God of Israel when they were under threat. The most outstanding of
these prophets is Elijah. It is quite likely that the narratives to do with Elijah were
lifted straight out of another text and inserted here, like other accounts of pro-
phets of the same time — an unnamed prophet (chap. 20) and Micaiah the son
of Imlah (chap. 22), both of whom speak to the king on God’s behalf during the
war against Syria.

17:1-19:21. The great drought, which is the backdrop of chapters 17-19, seems
to be a divine punishment for the king’s idolatry reported in the previous chapter;
but the main thing it does is to provide an opportunity to show the superiority of
the God of Israel over the Canaanite god Baal. Elijah, whose name means “my
God is the Lord”, is an itinerant prophet who, like the patriarchs, moves around
the country in obedience to the word of the Lord.

God makes himself known in a new way through the prophet Elijah. The same
God who manifested himself as friend and protector of the patriarchs, and who
gave the Law to Moses, now reveals himself as the Lord of creation and of na-
ture. To the Canaanites the god Baal was master of the forces of nature — rain,
storms, fertility etc. Through the prophet Elijah the true God reveals himself to
be distinct from and higher than all those forces, no matter what their power (cf.
19:11-13), as well as being their Lord (cf. 17:1). Elijah is the champion of the
rights of God and of the poor (cf. chap 21) and in this sense he is a model for
all the prophets that will come after him, the so-called writer prophets. “Elijah is
the ‘father’ of the prophets, ‘the generation of those who seek him, who seek the
face of the God of Jacob’ (Ps 24:6)” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2582).

17:1-4. It is possible that in Gilead, a region in the Transjordan, the religious tra-
dition of Israel was kept in a purer form than in Samaria, where Jezebel’s influ-
ence reigned. “Before whom I stand” (v. 1): Elijah uses this technical expres-
sion to present himself as a servant of God (in the same sort of way as courtiers,
who stand in the presence of the king, serve the king) and as his representative.

The prophet’s oracle (”As the Lord lives . .”: v. 1), which appears in the text out
of nowhere, spells outright rejection of the cult of Baal, the god of rain, because
only the God of Israel is the master of nature. Moreover, since the prophet repre-
sents God, what he says (since it always accords with the divine will) will be
what God does. This will happen also with those who bear witness to Jesus in
the New Testament: they act with the power of the Lord and through their faithful
testimony they are able to emerge victorious over an opposition or any obstacle
they meet, as the apostle John teaches, apropos of the two witnesses, when he
recalls this episode of Elijah (cf. Rev 11:6, 12). St John Chrysostom comments
that “in the time of Elijah, the heavens were opened and closed again, but only
to let rain fall or to prevent it. Now, however, God has opened the gates of heaven
to allow us to enter; and not only so that we ourselves may enter, but — and this
is a greater marvel yet — so that we may bring all others along with us; so great
is this faith and power that we are given over what is his” (Homiliae in Matthaeum,
12,4).

17:5-7. The “brook Cerith” (location uncertain) may have been a small gorge run-
ning north from the river Yarmuk. The food given the prophet is reminiscent of the
manna that God gave his people in the wilderness (cf. Ex 16:8-12).

St Augustine sees in this passage an allegory of Christ and his Church: “The ho-
ly prophet Elijah is a figure of the Lord and Saviour. Just as Elijah suffered perse-
cution at the hands of the Jews, the true Elijah, our Lord, was rejected and con-
demned by the Jews. Elijah left his people and Christ left the synagogue. Elijah
went out into the desert and Christ came into this world. Elijah was fed in the de-
sert by crows, and Christ was nourished in the desert of this world by the faith of
the Gentiles. The crows that brought food to Elijah in accordance with the Lord’s
command symbolize the Gentile peoples. Thus it is written of the church of Gen-
tiles: ‘I am black but beautiful, daughters of Jerusalem.’ Why black and beautiful?
Black by birth, and made beautiful by grace. Why black? ‘Because I was con-
ceived in iniquity and born of my mother in sin.’ Why beautiful? ‘Sprinkle me with
the hyssop and I will be made clean, wash me and I will be made whiter than
snow’” (Sermons attributed to St Augustine, Sermons, 40, 1).

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Optional Memorial: St Ephrem, Deacon and Doctor

From: Matthew 5:1-12

The Beatitudes

[1] Seeing the crowds, He (Jesus) went up on the mountain, and when He sat
down His disciples came to Him. [2] And He opened His mouth and taught them,
saying: [3] “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
[4] Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. [5] Blessed are
the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. [6] Blessed are those who hunger and
thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. [7] Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy. [8] Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see
God. [9] Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.
[10] Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is
the Kingdom of Heaven. [11] Blessed are you when men revile you and perse-
cute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account. [12] Re-
joice and be glad, for your reward is great in Heaven, for so men persecuted the
prophets who were before you.”

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Commentary:

1. The Discourse, or Sermon, on the Mount takes up three full chapters of St.
Matthew’s Gospel — Chapters 5-7. It is the first of the five great discourses of Je-
sus which appear in this Gospel and it contains a considerable amount of our
Lord’s teaching.

It is difficult to reduce this discourse to one single theme, but the various tea-
chings it contains could be said to deal with these five points: 1) the attitude a
person must have for entering the Kingdom of Heaven (the Beatitudes, the salt
of the earth, the light of the world, Jesus and His teaching, the fullness of the
Law); 2) uprightness of intention in religious practice (here the “Our Father”
would be included); 3) trust in God’s fatherly providence; 4) how God’s children
should behave towards one another (not judging one’s neighbor, respect for ho-
ly things, the effectiveness of prayer, and the golden rule of charity); 5) the con-
ditions for entering the Kingdom (the narrow gate, false prophets and building
on rock).

“He taught them”: this refers both to the disciples and to the multitude, as can
be seen at the end of the Sermon (Matthew 7:28).

2. The Beatitudes (5:3-12) form, as it were, the gateway to the Sermon on the
Mount. In order to understand the Beatitudes properly, we should bear in mind
that they do not promise salvation only to the particular kinds of people listed
here: they cover everyone whose religious dispositions and moral conduct meet
the demands which Jesus lays down. In other words, the poor in spirit, the meek,
those who mourn, those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, the merciful,
the pure in heart, the peacemakers and those who suffer persecution in their
search for holiness—these are not different people or kinds of people but diffe-
rent demands made on everyone who wants to be a disciple of Christ.

Similarly, salvation is not being promised to different groups in society but to
everyone, no matter what his or her position in life, who strives to follow the spi-
rit and to meet the demands contained in the Beatitudes.

All the Beatitudes have an eschatological meaning, that is, they promise us de-
finitive salvation not in this world, but in the next. But the spirit of the Beatitudes
does give us, in this life, peace in the midst of tribulation. The Beatitudes imply
a completely new approach, quite at odds with the usual way man evaluates
things: they rule out any kind of pharisaical religiosity, which regards earthly hap-
piness as a blessing from God and a reward for good behavior, and unhappiness
and misfortune as a form of punishment. In all ages the Beatitudes put spiritual
goods on a much higher plane than material possessions. The healthy and the
sick, the powerful and the weak, the rich and the poor—all are called, indepen-
dently of their circumstances, to the deep happiness that is experienced by
those who live up to the Beatitudes which Jesus teaches.

The Beatitudes do not, of course, contain the entire teaching of the Gospel, but
they do contain, in embryo, the whole program of Christian perfection.

3. This text outlines the connection between poverty and the soul. This religious
concept of poverty was deeply rooted in the Old Testament (cf., e.g., Zephaniah
2:3ff). It was more to do with a religious attitude of neediness and of humility to-
wards God than with material poverty: that person is poor who has recourse to
God without relying on his own merits and who trusts in God’s mercy to be
saved. This religious attitude of poverty is closely related to what is called “spiri-
tual childhood”. A Christian sees himself as a little child in the presence of God,
a child who owns nothing: everything he has comes from God and belongs to
God. Certainly, spiritual poverty, that is, Christian poverty, means one must be
detached from material things and practice austerity in using them. God asks
certain people — religious — to be legally detached from ownership and thereby
bear witness to others of the transitoriness of earthly things.

4. “Those who mourn”: here our Lord is saying that those are blessed who suf-
fer from any kind of affliction — particularly those who are genuinely sorry for their
sins, or are pained by the offenses which others offer God, and who bear their
suffering with love and in a spirit of atonement.

“You are crying? Don’t be ashamed of it. Yes, cry: men also cry like you, when
they are alone and before God. Each night, says King David, I soak my bed with
tears. With those tears, those burning manly tears, you can purify your past and
supernaturalize your present life” (St. J. Escriva, “The Way”, 216).

The Spirit of God will console with peace and joy, even in this life, those who
weep for their sins, and later will give them a share in the fullness of happiness
and glory in Heaven: these are the blessed.

5. “The meek”: those who patiently suffer unjust persecution; those who remain
serene, humble and steadfast in adversity, and do not give way to resentment or
discouragement. The virtue of meekness is very necessary in the Christian life.
Usually irritableness, which is very common, stems from a lack of humility and
interior peace.

“The earth”: this is usually understood as meaning our Heavenly Fatherland.

6. The notion of righteousness (or justice) in Holy Scripture is an essentially reli-
gious one (cf. notes on Matthew 1:19 and 3:15; Romans 1:17; 1:18-32; 3:21-22
and 24). A righteous person is one who sincerely strives to do the Will of God,
which is discovered in the commandments, in one’s duties of state in life (social,
professional and family responsibilities) and through one’s life of prayer. Thus,
righteousness, in the language of the Bible, is the same as what nowadays is
usually called “holiness” (1 John 2:29; 3:7-10; Revelation 22:11; Genesis 15:6;
Deuteronomy 9:4).

As St. Jerome comments (”Comm. on Matthew”, 5, 6), in the fourth Beatitude
our Lord is asking us not simply to have a vague desire for righteousness: we
should hunger and thirst for it, that is, we should love and strive earnestly to seek
what makes a man righteous in God’s eyes. A person who genuinely wants to at-
tain Christian holiness should love the means which the Church, the universal ve-
hicle of salvation, offers all men and teaches them to use—frequent use of the Sa-
craments, an intimate relationship with God in prayer, a valiant effort to meet
one’s social, professional and family responsibilities.

7. Mercy is not a just a matter of giving alms to the poor but also of being under-
standing towards other people’s defects, overlooking them, helping them cope
with them and loving them despite whatever defects they may have. Being mer-
ciful also means rejoicing and suffering with other people.

8. Christ teaches us that the source of the quality of human acts lies in the heart,
that is, in a man’s soul, in the depths of his spirit. “When we speak of a person’s
heart, we refer not just to his sentiments, but to the whole person in his loving
dealings with others. In order to help us understand divine things, Scripture uses
the expression ‘heart’ in its full human meaning, as the summary and source,
expression and ultimate basis, of one’s thoughts, words and actions. A man is
worth what his heart is worth” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 164).

Cleanness of heart is a gift of God, which expresses itself in a capacity to love,
in having an upright and pure attitude to everything noble. As St. Paul says,
“whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, what-
ever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything
worthy of praise, think about these things” (Philippians 4:8). Helped by God’s
grace, a Christian should constantly strive to cleanse his heart and acquire this
purity, whose reward is the vision of God.

9. The translation “peacemakers” well convey the active meaning of the original
text — those who foster peace, in themselves and in others and, as a basis for
that, try to be reconciled and to reconcile others with God. Being at peace with
God is the cause and effect of every kind of peace. Any peace on earth not
based on this divine peace would be vain and misleading.

“They shall be called sons of God”: this is an Hebraicism often found in Sacred
Scripture; it is the same as saying “they will be sons of God”. St. John’s first let-
ter (3:1) provides a correct exegesis of this Beatitude: “See what love the Father
has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are”.

10. What this Beatitude means, then, is: blessed are those who are persecuted
because they are holy, or because they are striving to be holy, for theirs is the
Kingdom of Heaven.

Thus, blessed is he who suffers persecution for being true to Jesus Christ and
who does so not only patiently but joyfully. Circumstances arise in a Christian’s
life that call for heroism—where no compromise is admissible: either one stays
true to Jesus Christ whatever the cost in terms of reputation, life or possessions,
or one denies Him. St. Bernard (”Sermon on the Feast of All Saints”) says that
the eighth Beatitude is as it were the prerogative of Christian martyrs. Every
Christian who is faithful to Jesus’ teaching is in fact a “martyr” (a witness) who
reflects or acts according with this Beatitude, even if he does not undergo phy-
sical death.

11-12. The Beatitudes are the conditions Jesus lays down for entering the King-
dom of Heaven. This verse, in a way summing up the preceding ones, is an invi-
tation to everyone to put this teaching into practice. The Christian life, then, is
no easy matter, but it is worthwhile, given the reward that Jesus promises.

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States

Readings at Mass

First reading

1 Kings 17:1-6 ©

Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, ‘As the Lord lives, the God of Israel whom I serve, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years except at my order.’

The word of the Lord came to him, ‘Go away from here, go eastwards, and hide yourself in the wadi Cherith which lies east of Jordan. You can drink from the stream, and I have ordered the ravens to bring you food there.’ He did as the Lord had said; he went and stayed in the wadi Cherith which lies east of Jordan. The ravens brought him bread in the morning and meat in the evening, and he quenched his thirst at the stream.

Psalm

Psalm 120:1-8 ©