In today's first reading from 1 Kings, we read the story of Elijah and how he got by during the terrible drought. Our Gospel reading is from Matthew 5, the Beatitudes, as we begin another journey through the Sermon on the Mount.
Today's Responsorial Psalm is from Psalm 121: Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. How appropriate, as we see how the Lord provided for Elijah.
It's always good for us to remember how we get along in this life. The Lord provides all that we need, day in and day out. The air that we breathe, the food that we eat - everything is a gift from God. I'm particularly struck by the last stanza in today's Psalm: "The LORD will guard you from all evil; he will guard your life. The LORD will guard your coming and your going, both now and forever."
Father, we thank you for all things, for being our help and our provider. May we always be grateful. Amen.
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In the first reading, Elijah has a message from God for Ahab that his nation will be hit with a sever drought because of them turning away from God. I seemed to recall Fr. Mike Schmitz during the BIY saying how Ahab may have had the dubious honor of being the worst king, so I did a brief check. “Ahab, son of Omri, did what was evil in the LORD’s sight more than any of his predecessors.” (1 Kgs 16:30)
I wonder how many of the people at Ahab’s time recognized that they were being punished by God or if they just attributed it to nature. I wonder the same about us today.