Yesterday we reflected on the test Elijah put to the
prophets of Baal. Through Elijah, Yahweh
revealed that the only true God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the
God who created heaven and earth, the God who freed the people from slavery in
Egypt, and who covenanted with Israel, His Chosen Ones: “…of all the peoples on
earth, you have been chosen by Yahweh, your God, to be his own people “(Dt.
7:6). Yahweh alone is [your] guide; no
alien god for him” (Dt. 32: 11).
The miracle on Mt. Carmel—Yahweh sent down fire to consume
Elijah’s sacrifice whereas the prayer of the god of the 450 prophets of Baal
did not respond to their same request—is followed by the miracle revealed in today’s
first reading: the drought is lifted over
the land and its fertility restored. In the N. T., we meet Jesus giving the
sermon on the Mount and sharing with us ways in which each of us will be
transformed and made more fertile: don’t even use abusive language with others,
don’t enter into communion with the Lord in the Eucharist when your communion
with others is severed by anger, resentment, and/or revenge. Go first to your brothers
or sisters to seek reconciliation and forgiveness. Then return to the altar of
God.
Jesus raises the bar for His followers and challenges us to
be compassionate, understanding, and forgiving; in short, to love others in the
way the Father loves us.
Do my behaviors, I need to ask myself, reflect this covenant?
Is my life being transformed by the sacrifices I am giving to God through the
way I relate to others and to myself? Do others see this transformation taking
place in me, as they witness the way I love and respect others and myself,
forgiving myself and others when we offend each other? Do others say: look how
that family loves one another? Look how those women/men religious respect one
another and seek reconciliation with each other?
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