June 20th 2006

1 Kgs 21:17-29 After the death of Naboth the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite: “Start down to meet Ahab, king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He will be in the vineyard of Naboth, of which he has come to take possession. This is what you shall tell him,‘The LORD says: After murdering, do you also take possession? For this, the LORD says: In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, the dogs shall lick up your blood, too.’” Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me out, my enemy?” “Yes,” he answered. “Because you have given yourself up to doing evil in the LORD’s sight, I am bringing evil upon you: I will destroy you and will cut off every male in Ahab’s line, whether slave or freeman, in Israel. I will make your house like that of Jeroboam, son of Nebat,and like that of Baasha, son of Ahijah, because of how you have provoked me by leading Israel into sin.” (Against Jezebel, too, the LORD declared,“The dogs shall devour Jezebel in the district of Jezreel.”) “When one of Ahab’s line dies in the city, dogs will devour him; when one of them dies in the field, the birds of the sky will devour him.” Indeed, no one gave himself up to the doing of evil in the sight of the LORD as did Ahab, urged on by his wife Jezebel. He became completely abominable by following idols, just as the Amorites had done, whom the LORD drove out before the children of Israel. When Ahab heard these words, he tore his garments and put on sackcloth over his bare flesh. He fasted, slept in the sackcloth, and went about subdued. Then the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite,“Have you seen that Ahab has humbled himself before me? Since he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his time.I will bring the evil upon his house during the reign of his son.”

Ps 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 11 and 16
R. (see 3a) Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
For I acknowledge my offense, and my sin is before me always: “Against you only have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight.”
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Turn away your face from my sins,and blot out all my guilt.
Free me from blood guilt, O God, my saving God; then my tongue shall revel in your justice.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

Heb 9:11-15
Brothers and sisters: When Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come to be, passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands, that is, not belonging to this creation,
he entered once for all into the sanctuary, not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.
For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of a heifer's ashes
can sanctify those who are defiled so that their flesh is cleansed,
how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God. For this reason he is mediator of a new covenant: since a death has taken place for deliverance from transgressions under the first covenant,those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance.

lMt 5:43-48 Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only,what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect

There are those who are easy to love. It is to follow the example of God, the Father, to have compassion toward a person who has persecuted me or harmed me. Being kind to those who are already kind to me takes little effort. The sun rises on us all and the rain falls on us all. We are meant to share this world in love. Love does not come without a willingness to give...to give is a sacrafice of sorts of self. Without the love of my persecutors, I am no different than those who are Godless pagans. The love is what can lift me up and give grace and meaning to my life.

In the first reading God shows compassion to Ahab who out of greed for land has gone as far as murdering/having murdered Naboth. For even this most cruel and extreme of crimes, God is able to show mercy on Ahab when Ahab shows repentance. If God can show this depth of forgiveness, I should be able to also.

I am not without sin and God has forgiven my sins...so why shouldnt I forgive others when they wrong me. My heart is lighten if forgiveness and what seems to be a gift to another is also a gift to myself.

Forgiveness of others gives healing to the self. The Lord's prayer is a great daily reminder and call to forgiveness in every day. I believe that we are all capable of great good and great evil and the gifts and graces of God help me to be a willing instrument of good as long as I am willing to let go of any anger and truly live in love and completely give myself to God and others in a Gospel life. The joys of giving a unlimited and free flowing. I am grateful this morning for the blessings of the day and pray that I will be a witness today to those I meet of the love of God and the goodness of the life in Christ.