We Are Children of the Light (1 Thes 5:5)

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

1 Kings 19:16B, 19-21
The LORD said to Elijah: “You shall anoint Elisha, son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah, as prophet to succeed you.” Elijah set out and came upon Elisha, son of Shaphat, as he was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen; he was following the twelfth. Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak over him. Elisha left the oxen, 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?” Elisha left him, and taking the yoke of oxen, slaughtered them; he used the plowing equipment for fuel to boil their flesh, and gave it to his people to eat. Then Elisha left and followed Elijah as his attendant.

Galatians 5:1,13-18
Brothers and sisters: For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. For you were called for freedom, brothers and sisters. 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, namely, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. But if you go on biting and devouring one another, beware that you are not consumed by one another. I say, then: live by the Spirit and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh. For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want. But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Luke 9:51-62
When the days for Jesus' being taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem, and he sent messengers ahead of him. On the way they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his reception there, but they would not welcome him because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this they asked, "Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?" Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village. As they were proceeding on their journey someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus answered him, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head." And to another he said, "Follow me." But he replied, "Lord, let me go first and bury my father." But he answered him, "Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." And another said, "I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home." To him Jesus said, "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God."

This Sunday’s gospel reading brings to mind two special events that Elijah was involved in in the Old Testament but Jesus out performed him on both counts:

Elijah called down fire from heaven to consume messengers from the king of Samaria (2 Kgs 1:9-14); Jesus rebuked James and John when they asked that the same punishment be exacted on the Samaritan village that refused to receive them.

Elijah allowed his successor, Elisha, to attend to family matters before following him; Jesus’ followers’ similar requests (bury my father, say farewell to family) were flatly turned down.

Message? Attending family matters is a sacred responsibility, but with the economy of salvation crossing the threshold of final fulfillment and the Kingdom of God on the verge of inauguration, the duty of Christian discipleship is more sacred still! (Ref: Ignatius Catholic Study Bible commentary on Luke.)

It also indicates how, as human history enters the final and defining moment of the New Covenant, the values and standards that God expects from men, so privileged and blessed as “to share in the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4) of God the Father because of Christ, are many times above and beyond those of the Old Testament times. For with the coming of Christ “all of you are children of the light and children of the day” (1 Thes 5:5). As St. Paul reminded us in this Sunday’s second reading, we “live by the Spirit”, and “are not under the (Old Testament) law” anymore (Gal 5:18).

Of the 800,000 strong participants attending the 2002 WYD in Toronto, of whom the author was one, who could possibly forget Pope St. John Paul II’s powerful and passionate plea: “Dear young people, do not be content with anything less than the highest ideals!”? After all, we are the people of the New Covenant – children of the light!

Edmond Lo

As a Catholic speaker, writer and RCIA Catechist, Edmond is very active in promoting and defending the Catholic faith. He has a MBA, a CPA-CMA, and a MTS (Master of Theological Studies) from U.T., St. Augustine's Seminary. Having worked many years as the CFO of a non-profit organization, he retired at 55 to follow his special vocation of evangelization. The activities he conducts include the CMCC Bible Study Program, the Catechism Revisited Program, the FLL Spiritual Formation Program, Living in the Holy Tradition, RCIA, family groups and retreats, etc. Edmond is a member of the FLL Core Team. He writes Sunday Mass reflections regularly for the weekly FLL NewSpiration. His personal blog: http://elodocuments.blogspot.com/

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