In today's first reading, 1 Kings 21: 17-29, King Ahab is confronted by the prophet Elijah about his killing of Naboth so as to take possession of his vineyard. He committed this abominable crime by following the evil intent of his wife Jezebel. The Lord instructs his prophet Elijah to communicate how justice will be served him and his wife Jezebel. The Lord says to King Ahab through his prophet: "'In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, the dogs shall lick up your blood, too'....Against [the queen] Jezebel, too, the Lord declared, 'The dogs shall devour Jezebel in the district of Jezreel.'" Hearing his just punishment, King Ahab repents: "He tore his garments and put on sackcloth over his bare flesh. He fasted, slept in the sackcloth, and went about subdued. Then the Lord said to Elijah...'Have you seen that Ahab has humbled himself before me? Since he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his time. I will bring the evil upon his house during the reign of his son.'"
Evil does not go unpunished, no matter how cunning the evil person is or his or her accomplices are! Not only that, no matter who commits hideous crimes, there will be a reckoning. In this case it was the King and Queen of Israel, Ahab and Jezebel. Neither are you or exempt from doing evil, no matter our rank in life or the level of our education, no matter our race or heritage, not even our age! Satan is at work and perhaps the more educated, the higher our positions, the more accomplished we are, the greater the risk of falling into Satan's traps. Why? Because it might be easier for us to deceive ourselves, think ourselves above the law! Pride in us may blind us to the evil in which we are engaged and may deafen us to a conscience poisoned, perhaps, by power and control of others "under" us.
Like King Ahab and Queen Jezebel we need prophets, men and women of God, like Elijah to communicate God's justice. Like King Ahab, we need the humility to accept God's message of justice, no matter by whom it is delivered, repent of our sinfulness, and beg for God's mercy! We also need the humility of the good thief who recognized that Jesus who was dying beside him, accused of crimes He never committed, was the only one who could save him and so said to Him: Remember me in your kingdom! In that moment, among others during His life time, Jesus reveals the overwhelming mercy of His Father and says to the good thief: "This day you shall be with me in Paradise." Let us turn to the Lord, knowing that our salvation depends upon that kind of humility and God's infinite mercy!
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