Mark 10:45

Tag: Elijah

  • Crossing the Jordan

    Crossing the Jordan

    Wednesday of the 11th Week in Ordinary Time

    2 Kings 2:1, 6-14; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

    Places in the Bible are often so much more than locations on a map. Bethlehem isn’t just another small town in the Holy Land; it’s the birth place of Jesus. Jerusalem isn’t just a city in the Judean Hills; it’s the City of David, where Jesus died and rose again. 

    In the same way, the Jordan isn’t just a river flowing into the Dead Sea. It’s where Israel crosses into the Promised Land. As we saw today, it’s where Elijah crosses and is taken up, and Elisha crosses as he begins his own prophetic mission. Of course, it’s also where John baptizes and, most of all, where Jesus is baptized and formally begins his public ministry.

    The Jordan is a boundary, a threshold, a place of decision; where people leave one identity behind and accept another.

    That’s exactly what Jesus describes in Matthew 6:1-6. Hypocrites pray, fast, and give alms so they can be seen doing it. Their identity is built on being noticed rather than being loved by God. Jesus invites them to cross over to something deeper: a relationship with “your Father who sees in secret.”

    The readings pose a couple of hard questions. First, what is the “Jordan” in our own lives that God is asking us to cross? Maybe it’s crossing over from fear to trust, from resentment to forgiveness, from self-reliance to dependence on God, or from public performance to authentic discipleship.

    Second, how do we make that crossing? We certainly can’t do it on our own. Fortunately, Jesus gives us a way through the ordinary practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. As we do those humbly, quietly, and from a grateful heart, God provides us with every grace needed to part the water before us, just as He did for Israel, Elijah, and Elisha.

    We can think of God’s grace like the mantle in the first reading. Notice that Elisha didn’t cross back alone; rather, he carried Elijah’s mantle, a sign that God will provide what he needs for the mission ahead.

    And God will do the same for us. He always has. In the American South generations ago, enslaved Christians knew this. When they wrote spirituals about crossing the Jordan, they sang from bitter experience what Scripture teaches us today – that the deepest desire of every true disciple is to leave bondage behind and cross over into freedom, and the only mantle we need is the glorious gift of God’s grace.

  • Everything

    Everything

    Wednesday of the 10th Week in Ordinary Time

    1 Kings 18:20-39; Matthew 5:17-19

    Today, the Church gives us two powerful images:

    • In 1 Kings, Elijah prays “Answer me, LORD,” and everything is consumed. Not just the burnt offering, but the wood, the stones, the dust… even the water in the surrounding trench.
    • In the gospel, Jesus speaks of the Law and the prophets, saying that in him “not the smallest letter” or even “part of a letter” would go unfulfilled.

    What do these images have in common? They reveal the love of God, who gives completely and fulfills completely.

    First, we see how God gives completely. Elijah asked only for an answer. Just send fire; accept the sacrificial offering. But the Lord didn’t stop there; He answered with such abundance that everything was consumed. Being infinite Love, God can only give everything. We ask for acceptance at Baptism, He makes us His children; for forgiveness of sins in Confession, He removes them entirely; to satisfy our hunger at Communion, He gives us His only Son – Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.

    And God fulfills completely. Imagine receiving a note from someone you love most in the world. You’d save it for years, read it over and over, maybe even remember the exact words. You certainly wouldn’t ignore even the smallest part of it. Why? Because every stroke represents the person and the love behind it. The Scriptures are God’s love letter to us. Every book, every story, every word points to the Eternal Word – Jesus Christ – who in his perfect love for the Father and for us is the fulfillment of the Law and the prophets.

    Of course, these images of love are given to us not just to reflect on but to imitate. We know from experience how hard this is. Do I allow God’s love to totally consume me, or do I keep part of myself for myself? Elijah placed everything on the altar, and God’s fire consumed everything. We’re called to do the same; to hold nothing back. The question is whether we’re willing to place our whole lives on the altar – not just the convenient parts or what costs us little, but everything. Because the God who gives everything asks us, in return, to love with everything we are, and to teach that love to the world in everything we do.