18 June 2018
Monday in the Eleventh Week of Ordinary Time
Sometimes we are not very accurate in diagnosing our needs. In today’s first reading, King Ahab thinks he needs to acquire more land for himself from his neighbors. What he really needs is an antidote for his greed. Instead, when he does not get what he covets, he returns to his palace and pouts. Literally, he goes to his bedroom and refuses to eat.
Jezebel, too, thinks that this malaise of the king is far more important than the life of Naboth the landowner, who simply wants to live on the land of his ancestors. When given the choice of seeing Ahab upset or seeing Naboth dead, Jezebel seeks the latter without hesitation.
We may think that this reading does not hold up a mirror for us to examine ourselves, because we are not avaricious land grabbers or murderous rulers. And yet, do we not seek to put our own personal whims over the needs of our neighbor? Do we not at times try to meet our needs by idolizing our wants? Instead, let us hear the voice of Christ who commands us, “Give to the one who asks of you.” Is there anyone whom these words of Christ are pointing to in my life today?