FRIDAY, ELEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
2 Kgs 11: 1-4, 9-18, 20 Ps 132: 11-14, 17-18 Mt 6: 19-23
GOD OF ALL
We often hear people say they are “spiritual but not religious,” meaning they do not belong to any faith community. One common objection is that religions seem exclusive, and some appear intolerant toward people with different beliefs. Today’s readings challenge that concern by showing that faith in the one true God is indeed a radical commitment that cannot be divided among competing loyalties.
In the first reading, Baal is the Canaanite fertility god worshipped for rain, fertility, and material success. Elijah’s dramatic confrontation with the prophets of Baal forces the people to choose: either worship the Lord or worship Baal, but not both. The point is not simply about rejecting a false idol but about recognizing that the living God cannot be reduced to a tool for securing worldly benefits. He is not one more power among many, nor is He a deity we can manage through a transactional relationship. To worship the true God is to enter communion with Him and surrender to His will. In modern terms, Baal worship can describe any attempt to use God primarily for material prosperity, power, popularity, or status.
Jesus makes the same demand in the Sermon on the Mount when He speaks about spiritual darkness. A heart absorbed by materialism loses sight of God’s light and becomes unable to serve both God and money. If God is not the center, life becomes scattered and disordered. Jesus intensifies this truth when He says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (Jn 14:6). He does not present Himself as one option among many, but as the only path to the Father. The enemies of this path are clearly named by St. John of the Cross as “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life”. These temptations draw us away from God. But Jesus alone fully reveals the Father, and only His mercy brings us into communion with God. To follow Him is to reject every false center and to let Him become our supreme treasure, where our heart finds its rest.
Response: The Lord has chosen Sion; he has desired it for his dwelling.
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