“HONEY FROM THE ROCK”
Friday, 17th June 2016,
Eleventh Week of Ordinary Time
2 Kgs 11: 1-4, 9-18, 20;
Ps 131: 11-14,17-18;
Mt 6: 19-23
HOPE IN THE LORD FOR HE WILL SAVE YOU!
The Bible has many narrations which are ‘ungodly’ or rather, seemingly unfitting for being in the Scriptures. The first reading is one such narration which speaks of war, bloodshed, conspiracy and treason. It is important therefore, to understand the relevance of these narrations. Wars between kingdoms, treason and betrayal within royal families were common to the political landscape of the Old Testament times. The Bible is the history of one such kingdom - Israel. However, the specialty of this narration of history is that the events are interpreted in the light of the plan of God for his people. Hence, the victory or failure of the Israelite in a war would be seen in the light of their faithfulness or unfaithfulness to God. Thus, the biblical authors desired to convey a theological message through these narrations.
What is the message we get from the first reading? Queen Athaliah had treacherously usurped the throne of Judah by destroying all the royal family. However, God protected a new-born son of the dead king, who eventually became a symbol of hope. The message is that the wicked will not rule forever, for God will always raise a savior. Therefore, hope in the Lord for He will save you. However, these narrations have an added significance. They pre-figure the salvation which God would bring about through his Son. Just as God saved the people from an evil ruler, so also will he save them from a much greater evil – sin. Thus, the saving of the royal child Joash from the evil queen Athaliah who eventually became a symbol of hope, reminds us of the other child who was saved from the evil king Herod and who grew up to became the Saviour of all mankind - Jesus Christ.
Prayer: No matter how great the struggle, or how deep the trouble, may I never lose hope in Your saving grace, O Lord my Saviour. Amen.
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