＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

1Kings 18:20-39*

So Ahab sent for all the people of Israel

and gathered the prophets at Mount Carmel. Then Elijah ad-dressed the people and asked, “How long will you follow two ways at the same time? If Yahweh is God, follow him; but if Baal is God then follow him.” The people remained silent.

 So Elijah continued, “I am the only prophet of Yahweh left here to face Baal’s four hundred and fifty prophets. Get us two bulls. Let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it into pieces and lay it on the wood and I will do the same with the other bull.

But we will not set it on fire. Then you shall call on the name of your gods while I shall call on the name of Yah­weh. The God who answers with fire is the true one.” Then the people answered, “That is right.”

 Then Elijah told the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many.(…) But there was no voice and no one an­swered them while they went on dancing on one foot around the altar they had built.

 By noontime, Elijah began to mock them, “Shout out louder. Baal is a busy god; (…) So they shouted louder(…) But still there was no voice.

 Then Elijah said to the people, “Draw closer to me,” and the people drew closer to him. He then repaired the altar of Yahweh which had been thrown down.(….)

 When the time of the evening offering came, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Yahweh, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel (…) Then the fire of Yahweh fell and consumed the burnt offering, together with the wood, the stones also, and the dust; the water also dried up in the trench.

All the people witnessed this. Then they fell on their faces and said, “Yahweh is God! Yahweh is God!”

 

Ps 16:1b-2ab, 4, 5ab & 8, 11

Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

Matthew 5:17-19

Do not think that I have come to remove the Law and the Prophets. I have not come to remove but to fulfill them. I tell you this: as long as heaven and earth last, not the smallest letter or stroke of the Law will change until all is fulfilled.

So then, whoever breaks the least important of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be the least in the kingdom of heaven. On the other hand, whoever obeys them and teaches others to do the same will be great in the kingdom of heaven.

 

Gospel Reflection：

 

One of the most fascinating things to notice in the encounter between Elijah and the prophets of Baal is the complexity of the rituals and prayers of the latter in contrast with the simple and heartfelt supplication Elijah made to God.

Similarly, in the Gospel, Jesus calls himself the fulfillment of the Law and the prophets. There is a profound simplicity to the living God and his ways that often escapes us, we who are often enamored with complexity and sophistication.

We often clutter our lives, our minds, our relationships – with others and with God – with are often unnecessary things that only serve to cloud our vision and block our path towards the truth.

Jesus always had a way of “cutting to the chase”, simplifying what is complex, clarifying what is unclear and opaque, and rendering accessible what human laws (and yes, sometimes even human religion) makes distant and remote. Pray for the grace of simplicity, of trust, and of a child – line heart that depends on God for all things.