＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

1 Kings 19:9a, 11-16

On reaching the place, he came to the cave and stayed in it.

Then the word of Yahweh came to him,“What are you doing here, Elijah?” Then Yahweh said, “Go up and stand on the mount, waiting for Yahweh.” And Yahweh passed by. 

There was first a windstorm, wild wind which rent the mountains and broke the rocks into pieces before Yah­weh, but Yahweh was not in the wind. After the storm, an earthquake, but Yahweh was not in the earthquake. Af­ter the earthquake, a fire, but Yahweh was not in the fire.

After the fire, the mur­mur of a gentle breeze. When Elijah perceived it, he covered his face with his cloak, went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then he heard a voice addressing him again, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

He answered, “I am burning with jealous love for Yahweh, the God of hosts, because the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars and slain your prophets with the sword. No one is left but myself, yet they still seek my life to take it away.”

Yahweh said to him, “Take the road back through the desert and go to Damascus for you must anoint Hazael as king of Syria; you shall also anoint Jehu, son of Nimshi, as king over Israel; and Elisha, son of Shaphat, from Abel Meholah, you shall anoint as pro­phet in your place.

 

Ps 27:7-8a, 8b-9abc, 13-14

I long to see your face, O Lord.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

Matthew 5:27-32

 You have heard that it was said: Do not commit adultery.   But I tell you this: anyone who looks at a woman to lustfully has in fact already committed adultery with her in his heart.

 So, if your right eye causes you to sin, pull it out and throw it away! It is much better for you to lose a part of your body than to have your whole body thrown into hell.  If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away! It is better for you to lose a part of your body than to have your whole body thrown into hell.

It was also said: anyone who divorces his wife must give her a written notice of divorce.  But what I tell you is this: If a man divorces his wife except in the case of unlawful union, he causes her to commit adultery. And the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

 

Gospel Reflection：

Jesus continues to remind his disciples of the need to see beyond the letter of the law and live its spirit. In the first reading, all the expectations of power and splendor that accompany God’s presence are shown to fall apart, replaced instead by his revelation of himself in a “gentle breeze.”

There is something subtle, quiet, uncomplicated, and lacking in showiness in genuine manifestations or revelations of God’s presence. Too often, we seek God in the wrong places because we look for him in what “glitters”, “sparkles”, “brilliantly shines”, when he chooses to reveal himself in what is their exact opposite: the poor, the lowly, the unnoticed, the insignificant, the child-like.