11th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B) : Wednesday 19th June 2024

The succession story of Elijah and Elisha seems simple but lauded with role and responsibility. Elijah, the prophet, was being called to go home to the Lord. Elisha was to be his successor. It almost seems like Elijah was testing Elisha’s fidelity as he kept moving from place to place, telling Elisha to stay behind. However, Elisha was not about to let Elijah go without him. When Elijah was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elisha was distraught, but he picked up the mantle of Elijah and found that he had been given the same powers. Elisha would carry on the work of the Lord as had Elijah.

Then in the Gospel, we are presented with three important religious activities for Jews in Jesus’ time – almsgiving, prayer and fasting. On top of these roles and duties, Jesus tied them together by encouraging the people to not be prideful in their observances. They were to give alms in secret; to pray in secret; to fast without letting others know. In other words, when we take time to follow the precepts of our Lord, God is the only one who needs to know. We are to be humble in the way in which we follow our faith. This role and responsibility seem to be easily pronounced, however it is good for us to always examine whether we are humble in our service to our Lord.

Lord, help me to serve You faithfully and humbly.