＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

1 Kings 17:1-6

 Now Elijah, the pro­phet from Tishbe in Gilead,

said to Ahab, “As Yahweh, the God of Israel whom I serve lives, neither dew shall drop nor rain fall except at my command.” Then the word of Yahweh came to Elijah,   “Leave this place and go eastward. Hide yourself by the brook Che­rith, east of the Jordan.  

You shall drink from the brook and, for your food, I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”   So Elijah obeyed the word of Yahweh and went to live by the brook Cherith, east of the Jordan.  There the ravens brought him bread in the morning and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook.

 

Ps 121:1bc-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8

Our help is from the Lord, whi made heaven and earth.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

Matthew 5:1-12

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain. He sat down and his disciples gathered around him. Then he spoke and began to teach them:

Fortunate are those who are poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Fortunate are those who mourn, they shall be comforted.

Fortunate are the gentle, they shall pos­sess the land.

 Fortunate are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied.

 Fortunate are the merciful, for they shall find mercy.

Fortunate are those with a pure heart, for they shall see God.

Fortunate are those who work for peace, they shall be called children of God.

Fortunate are those who are persecuted for the cause of justice, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 Fortunate are you, when people insult you and persecute you and speak all kinds of evil against you because you are my followers. Be glad and joyful, for a great reward is kept for you in God. This is how this people persecuted the prophets who lived before you.

 

Gospel Reflection：

The ‘Beatitudes’ which Jesus proclaims in the Gospel reading represent a kind of ‘reversal’ of the order in which we ordinarily understand things. After all, none of those who are pronounced ‘blessed’ (or in the case of this translation, ‘fortunate’) are what the world would ordinarily regard as such.

And yet that is precisely what Jesus proclaims. Too often, our wealth, our abilities, our skills, talents and capacities blind us to the reality that we are all ultimately poor, we are all weak, sinful, inadequate and fallen. And yet our pride hinders us from seeing that we are totally dependent on God.

The ‘reversals’ proclaimed by the Beatitudes call us to once again acknowledge our utter poverty and dependence on God. Our lives are in his hands; it is he who sustains us, not ourselves. Does that lessen our abilities, talents, gifts, and skills? Far from it.

In fact, acknowledging our dependence on God highlights them even more, raises them to the level to which they really belong: gifts from the Almighty.