May I receive a double portion of your spirit.

Scripture readings for this reflection can be found at Wednesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB

In our first reading for today we hear of the prophets Elijah and Elisha. They both had just finished going from town to town bringing the love of God to Gilgal, Bethel, and Jordon. Elisha followed and served Elijah devotedly in each place that they went. Finally, when it was close to Elijah getting ready to be taken from this world by God, Elijah asks Elisha, “Request whatever I might do for you, before I am taken from you.” Elisha, in his eagerness to serve God, responds, “May I receive a double portion of your spirit.” Once Elijah was taken up to heaven, Elisha did indeed receive the double portion of Elijah’s spirit. Elisha would go on to bring God’s love and healing to all the people he encountered.

In our zeal in following the Lord God, may we be as diligent as Elisha when he requested the Spirit that Elijah had.  We have all received the gifts of the Holy Spirit when we were Confirmed. With the gifts of the Holy Spirit that we all have, we can, like Elijah and Elisha, bring the love of God to all we meet in our lives. We are to be “prophets” in our day-to-day situations, sharing that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior. Whether it’s within our families, or at work, or in our parish community, we are all called to be like Elijah and Elisha: to be examples of God’s love to all people.

Earlier, in 1 Kings 19:10, we hear Elijah say, “I have been most zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts…” Elijah’s life as a prophet was difficult. He was rejected by the people he was called to serve and to bring the love of God to. People in our lives also may reject our message of the love of God. With the examples of Elijah and Elisha from today’s first reading, let us all be zealous in our service of God by being kind and loving to all people we meet, even those people that we find it difficult to love.

 

But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you

 

Scripture readings for this reflection can be found at Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB

In our gospel for today the Lord is teaching us about the gospel of love for all people, even those we don't like or who we may consider our enemies. It's interesting that he uses the word "enemy." There are those I know that may not be my "enemy," but I would rather not have anything to do with. Loving these people is not easy, is it?

As our Lord points out, it's easy to love those that we find "lovable" in our lives. But we have to remember that all people we encounter are made in the image and likeness of God. God loves them unconditionally. God loves those people that we may consider to be "jerks!" There are those in our circle of life, whether it's family or people we encounter during the day, that know how to press our "buttons". They know how to say or do things that can hurt our feelings and get under our skin. Further, it is during this time of year when we may be discussing who should win the presidential election. We may get wrapped up in our particular political point of view and hate those who may disagree with what we consider to be true or correct. Or we may hate the candidate that doesn't fit in line with our political point of view. We need to view all people through the lens of love. Then we need to pray for them and their intentions.

Regarding those that may be good at pressing our buttons, it may be best for our own peace of mind to keep our distance from them. But we are still expected to love them and pray for them. We don't have to "like" them, but we need to love them. 

So, let's "So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect" and love all people as the Lord is calling us to love them.

After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound

 

Scripture readings for this reflection can be found at Friday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB

Over the last few days during daily Mass our first reading was from the First Book of Kings in the Old Testament, chapters 17 – 18. We have been hearing of the prophet Elijah, and the struggles he was having in being a prophet for the Lord God. As we heard in today’s readings, Elijah is quoted as saying, "I have been most zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts.” 1 Kings, CHAPTER 19 | USCCB (1 Kings 19:14). Elijah’s love for God was central to who he was as a prophet.

He was anxious to bring the Jewish people away from worshiping false gods to the worship of the one, true, God of Israel. Earlier this week, we heard of the struggle between Elijah and prophets of Baal, and how Elijah was able to prove that there was only one true God. Though at first the people said, “The Lord is God, the Lord is God,” Elijah was eventually rejected by the people, and he ran for fear of his life.

In today’s reading we see Elijah facing his problems and how he was trying to figure out what to do next in his service to God. He was having problems hearing the voice of God above the noise and distractions of all the things going on around him. It wasn’t until he settled down in silence that he hears God’s voice and was able to determine what God was calling him to do.

We can use Elijah as an example of how to live our lives. He was zealous in serving the Lord God of Israel but still had problems with those around him that he was called to serve. We, too, are called to be zealous for the Lord God in all our struggles. People may reject us and our message of love of God, and we may be facing our own problems when we are attempting to live out a God centered life. We need to take time from our busy lives and make quiet time in prayer in order to hear what God is calling us to do in our lives. Further, God will comfort us in our struggles. By having God as the center of who we are and living out our lives zealously for the Lord God, we then can have that peace that can only come from the God the Father, through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.