＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

１kings 18:41-46

 Elijah then said to Ahab,

“Go up, eat and drink, for the sound of rain is rushing in.”  So Ahab went up to eat and drink. Elijah, in the meantime, went to the top of Carmel, bowed to the ground and put his face between his knees. hen he said to his servant, “Go up and look in the direction of the sea.”

 

The man went up, looked, and said, “There is nothing.” Then Elijah said, “Go again” and seven times he went.  At the seventh time, he perceived a little cloud, the size of a man’s hand, rising out of the sea. Elijah told him, “Go, tell Ahab: Prepare your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.” A little later the sky grew dark with clouds and wind and a strong rain fell. Ahab was riding on his way to Jezreel;  

 as for Elijah, the hand of Yahweh was on him, and tucking his cloak in his belt, he ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

 

Ps 65:10, 11, 12-13

It is right to praise you Zion, O God.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊    

Matthew 5:20-26

 I tell you, then, that if you are not righteous in a much broader way than the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.

 You have heard that it was said to our people in the past: Do not commit murder; anyone who does kill will have to face trial. But now I tell you: whoever gets angry with a brother or sister will have to face trial. Whoever insults a brother or sister deserves to be brought before the council; whoever calls a brother or a sister “Fool” deserves to be thrown into the fire of hell.

So, if you are about to offer your gift at the altar and you remember that your brother has something against you,  eave your gift there in front of the altar, go at once and make peace with him, and then come back and offer your gift to God.

Don’t forget this: be reconciled with your opponent quickly when you are together on the way to court. Otherwise he will turn you over to the judge, who will hand you over to the police, who will put you in jail.  There you will stay, until you have paid the last penny.

 

 Gospel Reflection：

Garden Beyond Right and Wrong

What was Elijah’s failure? Among many, a sense of right and wrong that was so rigid and divisive that it burned bridges instead of building them; a sense of right and wrong that was too judgemental instead of being patiently and fraternally corrective; a sense of right and wrong that sought to kill than to heal.

The “keener sense of right and wrong” that Jesus demands from us is to approach our sinning brothers and sisters from a wider vision and higher ground that seek to love, heal, embrace, and wait on. A keener sense that seeks to forgive seventy times seven and wait for the prodigal son to return, no questions asked.

As Rumi, a Sufi mystic wrote, “Somewhere beyond right and wrong, there is a garden. I will meet you there.” In other words, meet our failing brothers and sisters in the garden of the heart of God for whom everyone is his child. (See reflection on March 11).

 

"Let books be your dining table, and you shall be full of delights. Let them be your mattress, and you shall sleep restful nights."

                                                     〜〜〜〜〜  ST. EPHREM  〜〜〜〜〜