Tuesday

15th Week in Ordinary Time, Tuesday, Year II

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In today’s First Reading the Kingdom of Judah, the southern part of Palestine, is facing a threat from the Kingdom of Israel, the northern part of Palestine, which has allied with Aram (Syria) to invade Judah. The Lord sends Isaiah to the king of Judah, Ahaz, to ensure him that the kings who seek to invade are “stumps of smoldering brands”: they’re like matches that are about to burn out, flash with little substance. However, the Lord does ask for Ahaz’s faith or else his kingdom would not stand. In the end, Aram would conquer the Kingdom of Israel and Judah would not fall in Ahaz’s time, despite his weak faith.

The Gospel reminds us today what the Lord insisted on through Isaiah: “Unless your faith is firm you shall not be firm.” Our Lord chastises those towns who had received the grace of him and his miracles for their lack of faith: the fate they’d incur was worse that some of the worst cities in the Old Testament. Why so harsh? Because now ignorance was not an excuse. The towns Our Lord scolds had received a visit from God himself; they’d received the Gospel and had not believed. Due to their disbelief them would not be firm and that’s a recipe for disaster.

This pattern continues even today. Society in many sectors, culture in many areas, is not what it should be. Let’s ask Our Lord to bolster our faith and through a life of faith help keep society solid. The faith is not just good for believers; it helps everyone.

Readings: Isaiah 7:1–9; Psalm 48:2–8; Matthew 11:20–24. See also 15th Week in Ordinary Time, Tuesday.

14th Week in Ordinary Time, Tuesday, Year II

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In today’s Gospel Our Lord just cannot stop healing. He still cannot stop healing, and now he does it through the laborers that he asks to work in the harvest. A harvest is ripe as the result of previous effort: the Lord has been working in those hearts, sowing his grace, and offering healing and redemption to every soul through his sacrifice on the cross. He continues to lavish those spiritual gifts of healing through his sacraments, now that his earthly ministry has concluded.

His detractors see demonic power at work, but it is simply jealously and over-rationalizing what they don’t understand. The crowds see wonders and praise God for them. The people have heard of the power of God in the Scriptures since they were children. Now they see it present and active, conquering sickness, overcoming the power of evil. Today’s Responsorial Psalm reminds us, the new Israel, that “The house of Israel trusts in the Lord.”

With a simple faith and trust you too can see the hand of the Lord working in your life and in the lives of others. Trust in the Lord and he will act.

Readings: Hosea 8:4–7, 11–13; Psalm 115:3–10; Matthew 9:32–38. See also 26th Week in Ordinary Time, Thursday and 14th Week in Ordinary Time, Tuesday.

12th Week of Ordinary Time, Tuesday, Year II

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In today’s First Reading the king of Assyria, Sennacherib, emboldened by his victories, makes the mistake of not just taunting and calling out King Hezekiah of Judah, but the Lord himself. As we saw yesterday, the Assyrians had completely conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel and now they had invaded the Southern Kingdom of Judah.

Any general will tell you that expanding your war is foolish. Sennacherib declared war on the Lord, obviously to demoralize Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem. Unlike the Northern Kingdom, King Hezekiah took it to the Lord and entrusted his kingdom to the one who could save it and would save it, because it was the Lord’s Kingdom, and Hezekiah was simply its steward. Just as the prophet Isaiah brought a word of encouragement to Hezekiah, the Lord sent a message to Sennacherib by striking down a huge portion of his army and forcing his retreat.

The moral of this story is that if you wage war on the Lord, you will lose. If you ally yourself with him, no matter how dire the odds, he will defend you. Entrust yourself to him. He gave you life itself, and he will defend and bless it if you let him.

Readings: 2 Kings 19:9b–11, 14–21, 31–35a, 36; Psalm 48:2–4, 10–11; Matthew 7:6, 12–14. See also 12th Week in Ordinary Time, Tuesday.

11th Week of Ordinary Time, Tuesday, Year II

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In today’s Gospel Our Lord invites us to strive for perfection in our love. The rain is a good for everyone who receives its benefits, regardless of whether they “deserve” it or not. What if the rain stopped being good? If it became acid rain, it would no longer would be good. Through our charity or lack of charity we can go from rain to acid rain and must persevere in charity even when it feels that we’re getting burned.

The Lord acts in today’s First Reading in regard to King Ahab and his corrupt wife because if the king is not just, there can be no justice in his realm: the “rain” that was meant to benefit everyone in the kingdom and became “acid rain”: a good became evil and had to be stopped. King Ahab eliminated Naboth’s entire bloodline unjustly for the sake of one piece of property. In justice King Ahab’s bloodline must be eliminated for becoming worse than one of the peoples, the Amorites, who occupied the Promised Land before the Israelite’s occupied it. Just as the Amorites were cast out, so Ahab’s bloodline must be cast out.

If we suffer injustice, the Lord will make justice prevail, sooner or later. Let’s have faith in the Lord’s justice and not let the evil of others turn us from being a source of good to a source of iniquity. Charity always prevails in the long run.

Readings: 1 Kings 21:17–29; Psalm 51:3–6b, 11, 16; Matthew 5:43–48. See also 1st Week of Lent, Saturday, 23rd Week in Ordinary Time, Thursday, and 11th Week in Ordinary Time, Tuesday.

10th Week of Ordinary Time, Tuesday, Year II

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The widow in today’s First Reading shows great faith that her act of charity toward Elijah will not cost her life or the life of her son. The effects of the drought that Elijah announced on the Lord’s behalf in yesterday‘s First Reading are now taking effect, and Elijah himself no longer has a source of water as a result. Sometimes we believe that the Lord’s service shouldn’t have a personal cost, but circumstances put it directly on our lap. Elijah and the widow have to make a decision, and they decide to believe in the Lord. As a result, both are provided for, as well as the widow’s son.

The simple belief and trust that God will provide is enough make our lives like the salt and light Our Lord describes in today’s Gospel. When we trust in God to provide we are more generous, and that generosity is a great light in a world that is at times darkened by those concerned about their immediate interests and future. No one knows their future, but if we work with God, we know it will be a bright future.

Let’s pray today for the generosity to be a light in the world of hope.

Readings: 1 Kings 17:7–16; Psalm 4:2–5, 7b–8; Matthew 5:13–16. See also 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B and 10th Week in Ordinary Time, Tuesday.