Liturgical Readings for : Monday, 17th June, 2024
Monday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time, Year 2
FIRST READING
A reading from the first Book of Kings 21: 1-16
Naboth has been stoned to death.
Naboth of Jezreel had a vineyard close by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria, and Ahab said to Naboth,
‘Give me your vineyard to be my vegetable garden, since it adjoins my house;
I will give you a better vineyard for it or, if you prefer, I will give you its worth in money’.
But Naboth answered Ahab,
‘The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my ancestors!
Ahab went home gloomy and out of temper at the words of Naboth of Jezreel,
‘I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers’.
He lay down on his bed and turned his face away and refused to eat. His wife Jezebel came to him.
‘Why are you so dispirited‘ she said ‘that you will not eat?’
He said,
‘I have been speaking to Naboth of Jezreel; I said: Give me your vineyard either for money or, if you prefer, for another vineyard in exchange.
But he said, “I will not give you my vineyard”.‘
Then his wife Jezebel said,
‘You make a fine king of Israel, and no mistake! Get up and eat; cheer up, and you will feel better; I will get you the vineyard of Naboth of Jezreel myself.’
So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal, sending them to the elders and nobles who lived where Naboth lived. In the letters she wrote,
‘Proclaim a fast, and put Naboth in the forefront of the people.
Confront him with a couple of scoundrels who will accuse him like this, “You have cursed God and the king.” Then take him outside and stone him to death.’
The men of Naboth’s town, the elders and nobles who lived in his town, did what Jezebel ordered, what was written in the letters she had sent them. They proclaimed a fast and put Naboth in the forefront of the people. Then the two scoundrels came and stood in front of him and made their accusation, ‘Naboth has cursed God and the king’.
They led him outside the town and stoned him to death.
They then sent word to Jezebel, ‘Naboth has been stoned to death‘.
When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab,
‘Get up! Take possession of the vineyard which Naboth of Jezreel would not give you for money,
for Naboth is no longer alive, he is dead.’
When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth of Jezreel and take possession of it.
The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 5:2-3, 5-7, Rv 2
Response Give heed to my groaning, O Lord.
I. To my words give ear, O Lord, give heed to my groaning.
Attend to the sound of my cries, my King and my God. Response
2. You are no God who loves evil; no sinner is your guest.
The boastful shall not stand their ground before your face. Response
3. You hate all who do evil: you destroy all who lie.
The deceitful and bloodthirsty man the Lord detests Response
Gospel Acclamation Jn 14: 23
Alleluia, alleluia!
If anyone loves me he will keep my word,
and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him .
Alleluia!
or Ps 118 : 105
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your word is a lamp for my steps and a light for my path.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew 5: 38-42 Glory to you, O Lord
I say this to you: offer the wicked man no resistance.
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘You have learnt how it was said: Eye for eye and tooth for tooth.
But I say this to you: offer the wicked man no resistance.
On the contrary, if anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him the other as well;
if a man takes you to law and would have your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.
And if anyone orders you to go one mile, go two miles with him.
Give to anyone who asks, and if anyone wants to borrow, do not turn away.
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Gospel Reflection Monday, Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time Matthew 5:38-42
Those in positions of power can be very tempted to seize land that doesn’t belong to them, often with deadly consequences for others. The war in Ukraine and is a very obvious example of such behaviour. We find it again in our first reading. King Ahab wanted a vineyard that belonged to Naboth to use as a vegetable garden because it lay alongside the land holding of the king. Understandably, Naboth refused the request of the king. This was land that had been in his family for generations. People who fight to defend their land often do so because they know that they have an historical claim to their land. Ahab’s wife was less scrupulous than Ahab, and she arranged to have Naboth condemned to death by stoning on trumped up charges. That too has a contemporary ring to it. Those who want to hang on to power at all costs find ways to silence or do away with political opponents. The combination of Ahab’s greed and Jezebel’s unscrupulous nature meant Ahab got his vineyard and Naboth lost his life. When land or territory becomes more important than human life, terrible things happen.
The teaching of Jesus in today’s gospel reading could not be further from the behaviour of Ahab and his wife in the first reading. Great evil was done to Naboth. How is evil to be dealt with and addressed. Jesus declares in the gospel reading that evil is not to be responded to with more evil. The principal of ‘eye for eye’ leaves everyone blind. Jesus calls on us to overcome evil with goodness. It can be difficult to know what that means in practice, especially in a war situation. Yet, the principle of overcoming evil with goodness is worth holding on to, especially when the temptation is very strong to keep returning evil with more evil.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.
