14 June 2014
Saturday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
This week’s first readings concludes with an introduction to Elisha, the successor of Elijah, and the primary witness to Elijah being taken up in the fiery chariot (II Kings 2:1-12). Too often it is easy to pass over the Old Testament prophets as stoic individuals, but in today’s reading we get a glimpse into the humanness of Elisha. What child does not want to say goodbye to their parents before they go? Yet, before saying goodbye, he has a “going away” party by slaughtering the yoke of oxen he was using to plow the field. It was through the simple action of agreeing to be Elijah’s attendant that another great prophet of Israel rose up. May each of us in our own way be an announcer of God’s message in a world that is too often consumed with materialism, wealth, and pride.