27 June/Thursday/12th Week in Ordinary Time,

            2Kgs 24,8-17/Psa 79,1-2.3-5.8.9/Matt 7,21-29

 

First Reading   2 Kings 24:8-17

The first deportation into captivity in Babylon

Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he came to the throne, and he reigned for three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Nehushta, daughter of Elnathan, from Jerusalem. He did what is displeasing to the Lord, just as his father had done.

At that time the troops of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched on Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon himself came to attack the city while his troops were besieging it. Then Jehoiachin king of Judah surrendered to the king of Babylon, he, his mother, his officers, his nobles and his eunuchs, and the king of Babylon took them prisoner. This was in the eighth year of King Nebuchadnezzar.

The latter carried off all the treasures of the Temple of the Lord and the treasures of the royal palace, and broke up all the golden furnishings that Solomon king of Israel had made for the sanctuary of the Lord, as the Lord had foretold. He carried off all Jerusalem into exile, all the nobles and all the notables, ten thousand of these were exiled, with all the blacksmiths and metalworkers; only the poorest people in the country were left behind. He deported Jehoiachin to Babylon, as also the king’s mother, his eunuchs and the nobility of the country; he made them all leave Jerusalem for exile in Babylon. All the men of distinction, seven thousand of them, the blacksmiths and metalworkers, one thousand of them, all of them men capable of bearing arms, were led into exile in Babylon by the king of Babylon.

The king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in succession to him, and changed his name to Zedekiah.

 

Responsorial Psalm      Psalm 78(79):1-5,8-9

 

Rescue us, O Lord, for the glory of your name.

 

O God, the nations have invaded your land,

    they have profaned your holy temple.

They have made Jerusalem a heap of ruins.

    They have handed over the bodies of your servants

as food to feed the birds of heaven

    and the flesh of your faithful to the beasts of the earth.

 

 

They have poured out blood like water in Jerusalem;

    no one is left to bury the dead.

We have become the taunt of our neighbours,

    the mockery and scorn of those who surround us.

How long, O Lord? Will you be angry for ever;

    how long will your anger burn like fire?

 

Do not hold the guilt of our fathers against us.

    Let your compassion hasten to meet us;

    we are left in the depths of distress.

 

O God our saviour, come to our help.

    Come for the sake of the glory of your name.

O Lord our God, forgive us our sins;

    rescue us for the sake of your name.

Gospel Acclamation   Heb 4:12

Alleluia, alleluia!

The word of God is something alive and active:

it can judge secret emotions and thoughts.

Alleluia!

Gospel     Matthew 7:21-29

The wise man built his house on a rock

 

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘It is not those who say to me, “Lord, Lord,” who will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the person who does the will of my Father in heaven. When the day comes many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, cast out demons in your name, work many miracles in your name?” Then I shall tell them to their faces: I have never known you; away from me, you evil men!

‘Therefore, everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on rock. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and hurled themselves against that house, and it did not fall: it was founded on rock. But everyone who listens to these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a stupid man who built his house on sand. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and struck that house, and it fell; and what a fall it had!’

Jesus had now finished what he wanted to say, and his teaching made a deep impression on the people because he taught them with authority, and not like their own scribes.

 

Reflection

It is saddening to observe the sudden change in the behaviour of the kings of Israel in the First Readings of yesterday and today. These two stories are only two chapters apart but the contrast is very striking. Josiah tried to revive the religious life of his people. He made great efforts not only to rebuild the Temple but also to bring back the hearts of the people to the God of the Covenant. In the First Reading today, we read of Jehoiachin who is reported to have done what was displeasing in the sight of the Lord. In consequence, the Lord handed over Israel into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

It is painful to read about the deportation to Babylon. The strong and industrious part of the population was driven into exile, leaving only the poorest and weak people in the land. In this way, Nebuchadnezzar reassured himself that there would be no opposition to his rule. He concretised this further by imposing a stooge as king on the people. This was in the person of Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, who accepted the change of his name to Zedekiah. It was as if he did not know what a change of name meant in Semitic culture. In effect, he sold his conscience to a foreign king instead of remaining faithful to the God of the Covenant who is the real king of Israel. In such a situation, the righteous ones like the Psalmist cry to God and ask him to rescue the nation.

In the Gospel Reading, Jesus warns us about our allegiances as he speaks about the foundation on which we build our life. Our life can be compared to a house. If it is built on a solid foundation, it can stand the test of time. If the foundation is not of good quality, the risk that our faith falters or vacillates is very high. The one sure foundation on which we should construct our lives is Jesus Christ. He has assured us that he has the words of eternal life. His words are the appropriate bricks that we should use in building our lives. These are the words that would help us resist the temptation of cheap glory and false pleasure. What happened to Israel when they distanced themselves from the God of the Covenant should be a lesson for us today. We should learn to build on Christ so that we can stand the test of time and share in the glory of the kingdom of the children of God.

26 June/Wednesday/12th Week in Ordinary Time,

            2Kgs 22,8-13; 23,1-3/Psa 119,33.34.35.36.37.40/Matt 7,15-20

 

First Reading   2 Kings 22:8-13,23:1-3

The Book of the Law is found in the Temple of the Lord

The high priest Hilkiah said to Shaphan the secretary, ‘I have found the Book of the Law in the Temple of the Lord.’’’ And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, who read it. Shaphan the secretary went to the king and reported to him as follows, ‘Your servants’ he said ‘have melted down the silver which was in the Temple and have handed it over to the masters of works attached to the Temple of the Lord.’ Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, ‘Hilkiah the priest has given me a book’; and Shaphan read it aloud in the king’s presence.

On hearing the contents of the Book of the Law, the king tore his garments, and gave the following order to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Achbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king’s minister: ‘Go and consult the Lord, on behalf of me and the people, about the contents of this book that has been found. Great indeed must be the anger of the Lord blazing out against us because our ancestors did not obey what this book says by practising everything written in it.’

The king then had all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem summoned to him, and the king went up to the Temple of the Lord with all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, priests, prophets and all the people, of high or low degree. In their hearing he read out everything that was said in the book of the covenant found in the Temple of the Lord. The king stood beside the pillar, and in the presence of the Lord he made a covenant to follow the Lord and keep his commandments and decrees and laws with all his heart and soul, in order to enforce the terms of the covenant as written in that book. All the people gave their allegiance to the covenant.

Responsorial Psalm    Psalm 118(119):33-37,40

 

Lord, teach me your statutes.

 

Teach me the demands of your statutes

    and I will keep them to the end.

Train me to observe your law,

    to keep it with my heart.

 

Guide me in the path of your commands;

    for there is my delight.

Bend my heart to your will

    and not to love of gain.

 

Keep my eyes from what is false;

    by your word, give me life.

See, I long for your precepts;

    then in your justice, give me life.

 

Gospel Acclamation      Psa118:18

 

Alleluia, alleluia!

Open my eyes, O Lord, that I may consider

the wonders of your law.

Alleluia!

 

Gospel     Matthew 7:15-20

You will be able to tell them by their fruits

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Beware of false prophets who come to you disguised as sheep but underneath are ravenous wolves. You will be able to tell them by their fruits. Can people pick grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, a sound tree produces good fruit but a rotten tree bad fruit. A sound tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor a rotten tree bear good fruit. Any tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown on the fire. I repeat, you will be able to tell them by their fruits.’

 

Reflection

The king to whom Shaphan, the secretary read the Book of the Law in the First Reading is King Josiah. He was king over Israel after the reign of Amon whose father was Manasseh. A common characteristic of these three people is their uprightness in serving the Lord their God. The reign of Josiah was characterised by a religious revival which the author of the Second Book of Kings describes in terms of the discovery of the Book of the Law. It is as if for many years no one in Israel knew about the existence of the Book of the Law and one day Hilkiah the high priest discovered it in the Temple. While we may need to take this story with a grain of salt, its essence should not escape our attention.

The most important thing in this story is the circumstance in which the Book of the Law was rediscovered. The physical structure of the Temple, the symbolic dwelling place of God, was in a bad shape and risked falling in ruins. This could be a reflection of the spiritual life of the people during the period before King Josiah. The campaign to raise funds to repair the Temple is an indication not only of his concern for the house of God but also for the cult that goes on there. The reading of the Book of the Law to the king was part of the process of revival. The people were not to restore only the physical structure but more importantly their own lives and their own relationship with God who dwells in the Temple. We may ask of what use it would be to renovate the Temple when the hearts of the people are turned toward idols and other gods. This is why the Psalmist prays that God might teach him the demands of his statutes so that he may keep them to the end.

The important thing in life is that our lives correspond to what we truly believe. In other words, our lives should follow the statutes of the Lord. In the Gospel Reading, Jesus asked a number of questions which help us observe the relationship between our faith and everyday life. We need to be cautious of pretenders who deceive us into believing in what they are not. We should be sharp enough to make them out and not follow their manoeuvres if not we risk being led astray. The advice of Jesus in the Gospel Reading to evaluate people by their fruits is a golden rule that we should not only apply to others but principally to ourselves. By so doing, we would be true witnesses of Jesus by the way we live or the fruits we bear.