Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

2 Kings 2:1, 6-14

Psalm 31:20, 21, 24

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Take care not to perform righteous deeds

in order that people may see them;

otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.

When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you,

as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets

to win the praise of others.

Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.

But when you give alms,

do not let your left hand know what your right is doing,

so that your almsgiving may be secret.

And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

“When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites,

who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners

so that others may see them.

Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.

But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door,

and pray to your Father in secret.

And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

“When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.

They neglect their appearance,

so that they may appear to others to be fasting.

Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.

But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,

so that you may not appear to others to be fasting,

except to your Father who is hidden.

And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, I want to fight the good fight in the daily battle of prayer. Help me to banish greed from my heart so that I may care for the poor around me. Help me to overcome my sinful tendencies so that I may be docile to the inspirations of your Holy Spirit.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting in Secret: In the Gospel, Jesus invites his disciples to look beyond the external fulfillment of religious practices. We shouldn’t give alms, pray, and fast just to be seen by others and praised by them. God sees our heart and he knows when we make sacrifices. He knows when we are listening to him and speaking to him in prayer. As we read about the history of Israel and the message of the prophets, we will see how God is active in human history and guides it to its fullness in Jesus Christ. Just as he loved his people and cared for them, so also God loves us and cares for us. We place our hope in the Lord and not in other human beings. This hope truly comforts us. God is not far off; he is near. And, as the Alleluia verse says, desires to dwell in us: “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him and we will come to him.” We are repaid for our good deeds, not with things that will pass away, but with the reward of the children of God – the inheritance of eternal, divine life.

2. From Elijah to Elisha: When the Lord was about to take the prophet Elijah up to heaven, Elijah appointed Elisha as his successor. This appointment took place after the death of King Ahaziah, who had reigned over Israel for two years (853-852 B.C.). Like many of the kings of Judah and Israel, Ahaziah was a wicked king. Instead of consulting the God of Israel through the prophet Elijah, Ahaziah chose to consult Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to see if he would recover from an accidental fall (2 Kings 1:1-3). When Elijah condemned the king for consulting foreign gods, the king attempted to arrest him, but Elijah defended himself by calling down fire to destroy two detachments of soldiers. Ahaziah did not recover from his fall and, after his death, his brother Jehoram became the king of Israel. Elijah's successor, Elisha, was the prophet of Israel during the reigns of four kings: Jehoram (852-841), Jehu (841-814), Jehoahaz (814-798), Jehoash/Joash (798-782). After Elisha died, God called Amos, a prophet active during the reign of Jeroboam II (786-746) to be his prophet to Israel. The First Readings, both this week and next, prepare us for the next eight weeks (13th-20th week in Ordinary Time), during which we read from eight prophets that lead us from the fall of the kingdom of Israel (722 B.C.) to the time of the Babylonian exile: Amos (750 B.C.), Hosea (780-725 B.C.), Isaiah (740 B.C.), Micah (737-693 B.C.), Jeremiah (626-587 B.C.), Nahum (615-612 B.C.), Habakkuk (612 B.C.) and Ezekiel (622-570 B.C.). Before he departed from this world, Elijah, like Moses and Joshua before him, divided a body of water so that he and Elisha could cross it on dry ground. The mysterious ending to Elijah’s prophetic career led to the tradition that his work was not done. It was promised that one day he would return before the coming of the Lord (Malachi 4:4-6). In the New Testament, the promised return of Elijah is fulfilled first in the figure of John the Baptist, who announces the coming of the Messiah, and again at the transfiguration, before the Messiah goes up to Jerusalem to die for us on the Cross. Elisha asked Elijah for a double portion of his spirit and was granted his request. Elijah performed 8 miracles, Elisha performed 16: Elisha parted the waters of the Jordan (2:13-14); transformed bad water into good (2:19-22); summons bears to execute a curse (2 Kings 2:23-24); filled the stream-bed with water (3:16-18); supplied oil for a widow (4:1-7); prophesied that a barren woman will have a son (4:15-17); restored a child to life (4:18-37); turned spoiled stew into edible stew (4:38-41); fed 100 men with 20 loaves of bread (4:42-44); cleansed a leper (5:1-27); inflicted leprosy (2 Kings 5:19-27); floated an iron axe head (6:1-7); revealed the secret plans of the Syrian army (2 Kings 6:8-10); granted spiritual vision to his servant (2 Kings 6:15-17); blinded the Aramean army (6:28-23); prophesied the end of a famine (7:1,16); and finally, his bones brought a dead man back to life (13:20-21) (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: The First and Second Book of the Kings, 77).

3. Elijah and Elisha; John the Baptist and Jesus: Elijah and Elisha, whose lives are notably different, foreshadow the different lives of John the Baptist and Jesus: “Elijah was a radical reformer who roamed the margins of society, living in caves and camping on mountains throughout Ahab’s reign over the northern kingdom... By contrast, Elisha was a farmer who moved into a house in the city of Samaria and walked among the common folk in the northern kingdom for the half century from Ahaziah to Jehoash.” Elijah devoted his life to combating the militant paganism and persecution of the Lord by Jezebel. He proclaimed God's sovereignty over the pagan gods and confronted the prophets of Baal. Like Elijah, John the Baptist will call the people to repentance and confront a wicked king. Elisha was a healer who cared for ordinary people. He reflects the Lord’s compassion for the poor and the needy (see Duggan, The Consuming Fire, 197-199). Elijah and Elisha both preached and performed miraculous healings. In this way, they foreshadowed Jesus as the Messiah who brings the Kingdom of God in word and deed. During Jesus’ ministry, many people thought of Jesus as a new Elijah (Mark 6:15; 8:28). However, Matthew and Mark were careful to identify John the Baptist as the new Elijah. This implies that Jesus, who John baptizes in the Jordan River, is the New Elisha. In fact, three of Elisha’s miracles anticipate three of Jesus’ miracles: Elisha’s cleansing of Naaman’s leprosy foreshadows Jesus’ cleansing of the ten lepers; Elisha’s feeding a large multitude with just twenty barley loaves and fresh ears of grain foreshadows Jesus’ multiplication of the loaves in the Gospels; and Elisha’s resuscitation of the son of a woman from Sunem anticipates Jesus’ resuscitation of the son of the widow of Nain, which is not far from Sunem (see Hamilton, Handbook on the Historical Books, 446).

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you are the New Moses who brings the law to fulfillment. You are the New Elisha who performs mighty deeds and cares for the poor. Teach me by your word and example to love the Father above all things and my neighbor as myself.

Living the Word of God: How have I been living the three righteous deeds announced by Jesus? What have I given to the poor recently? How is my life of prayer? What good things am I sacrificing in secret?