Commentary
Sunday, 6/30/2019, Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
God Calls Elisha
First Reading Commentary: 1 Kings 19:16b, 19-21
The Lord told Elijah to anoint Elisha to succeed him. So, Elijah went to Elisha, who at the time, was plowing with twelve yokes of oxen. Elijah threw his cloak over Elisha who ran after Elijah and said, “Please, let me kiss my father and mother goodbye, and I will follow you.” Elijah answered, “Go back! Have I done anything to you?”
Elijah’s act of throwing his cloak over Elisha was a sign that Elisha was receiving a divine call to share the prophetic message. Elisha said, "yes" to the call but he wanted to go and say goodbye to his parents first. Elijah’s answer to Eisha may not seem to make sense but the point is, when God calls, drop everything! Jesus gives us this message Himself in today’s gospel.
Elisha went and took the yokes off of his oxen and used them as fuel to boil the oxen which he gave to his people to eat. This was an act which showed that Elisha had completely detached himself from his former way of life and it also showed obedience to Elijah.
But let’s not overlook the fact that Elisha had twelve yokes of oxen with which he fed his people. This is a sign that Elisha was a forerunner to the Apostles who were given the Word and the Eucharist by Jesus to feed His people.
After Elisha had fed his people, he answered God’s call and followed Elijah as his attendant. How do we answer God’s call? Are we willing to drop everything and detach ourselves from our way of life to follow Him? Hold that thought for today's gospel.
Called to Be Free
Second Reading Commentary: Galatians 5:1, 13-18
St Paul wrote to the Galatians, “For freedom Christ set us free; so, stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery…But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh; rather, serve one another through love. For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement…You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Christ set us free from original sin but we all have a free will which allows us to choose and make decisions. God does not interfere with how we choose or make decisions. Paul is telling us that the yoke of slavery is sin and he is encouraging us not to choose sin.
Paul reminds us of the second Greatest Commandment. I commented before that in order to obey the second Greatest Commandment, one must obey the first and you cannot obey the first without obeying the second. This is why Paul said that the whole law is fulfilled in one statement. If you love God with your whole self, you will obey all of His commandments. Therefore, the two Greatest Commandments depend on each other and the Greatest Commandments are all about love.
Paul is telling us that if we limit our love for each other to the flesh, we will fall into the slavery of sin. Lust, greed and deceit will take over and when that happens; love will not be in our hearts at all.
Paul continued, “But if you go on biting and devouring one another, beware that you are not consumed by one another.” Here, Paul is telling us not to take advantage of each other or be mean to each other or to intentionally hurt each other. In other words, what goes around; comes around. Therefore, if we treat each other badly, ultimately, we will destroy ourselves.
Paul tells us to live by the Spirit instead so that we do not gratify the desire of the flesh. He tells us that the Spirit and the flesh are opposed to each other so that we may not do what we want. Paul is not telling us not to exercise our free will. God gave it to us to use and He wants us to use our free will. The message here is that if we live by the Spirit, we can overcome the temptation of choosing sin. We will choose to live by God’s law of love instead.
Finally, Paul says that if we are guided by the Spirit, we are not under the law. Point being; if we stay away from sin, we will be in accordance with the law and we will have nothing to worry about on judgment day. We will be free from sin.
Drop Everything
Gospel Commentary: Luke 9:51-62
Jesus resolves to begin His journey to Jerusalem sending messengers ahead of Him. When they entered a Samaritan village to prepare his reception, the people there would not welcome Jesus because of His destination. James and John asked Jesus, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” But Jesus rebuked them and they journeyed to another village.
Why did it make a difference where Jesus was going? If these people were believers, it would not have mattered. Remember when Jesus sent the Twelve and the Seventy-Two, He told them to shake the dust off of their feet in protest at anyone who did not receive them? Jesus practiced what He preached. He did not and does not waste time with anyone who has no time for Him.
James and John must have thought, who do these people think they are? How dare they not welcome Jesus? Have you ever felt that way when you wanted to proclaim Jesus but you were rejected? I have. Sometimes I ask myself, “What’s with this person, why are they so blind and closed minded?” But Jesus rebuked them and simply moved on. Why? Because, we have the God given right to choose. We can follow Christ, or we can choose not to follow Christ. Jesus wants us to follow Him but He does not force us.
Someone came up to Jesus and said, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus said, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” Jesus was making the point that in order to follow Him; one must leave all of their worries behind. Don’t worry about where you will sleep or eat or anything else. In order to follow Jesus, one must place complete and absolute faith in Him. Don’t just say, “God will provide.” Know it and believe it!
Jesus said to someone else, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” Jesus answered, “Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Another person said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home.” Jesus said, “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit tor the kingdom of God.”
Remember today’s first reading and I asked the questions, “How do you answer God’s call?” Are you willing to give up your way of life to follow Him? The bottom-line message to what Jesus said to each of these people is that nothing is more important than answering God's call. This does not mean that burying our dead is not an important thing or the right thing to do. In fact, burying the dead is a work of mercy. But those who refuse to follow Christ are spiritually dead and Jesus was saying, let the spiritually dead bury their own.
When we are preparing to go away, it is common courtesy to say goodbye to those who are close to us. It is also good practice to make sure that our business is in order. But when we decide to follow Christ, we cannot look back. What we leave behind us is full of distractions and temptations which will delay and probably completely stop us from following Christ.
In order to follow Christ, we have to stop thinking worldly thoughts. We have to think Christ and keep our eye on the prize of heaven. If we can’t do that, then we cannot do what we have to do when God calls and that is why Jesus warns, “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit tor the kingdom of God.” When God calls, be prepared to drop everything!
