Frederick, Maryland, United States - Daily Mass Reading & Catholic Meditation “The Word Among Us” for Tuesday, 10 June 2014

Frederick, Maryland, United States - Daily Mass Reading & Catholic Meditation “The Word Among Us” for Tuesday, 10 June 2014
Meditations: 1 Kings 17:7 After a while, the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.
8 Yahweh’s word came to him, saying, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to sustain you.”
10 So he arose and went to Zarephath; and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her, and said, “Please get me a little water in a jar, that I may drink.”
11 As she was going to get it, he called to her, and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”
12 She said, “As Yahweh your God lives, I don’t have a cake, but a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jar. Behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and bake it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”
13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go and do as you have said; but make me a little cake from it first, and bring it out to me, and afterward make some for you and for your son. 14 For Yahweh, the God of Israel says, ‘The jar of meal will not run out, and the jar of oil will not fail, until the day that Yahweh sends rain on the earth.’”
15 She went and did according to the saying of Elijah; and she, and he, and her house, ate many days. 16 The jar of meal didn’t run out, and the jar of oil did not fail, according to Yahweh’s word, which he spoke by Elijah.
10th Week in Ordinary Time
The jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until the day when the Lord sends rain upon the earth. (1 Kings 17:14)
Have you ever heard the poker term “going all in”? It’s when you take your chips and throw them all in during one hand. When you go all in, you know you have the chance to win it all—or to lose absolutely everything.
Today’s first reading has a similar “going all in” feel to it, but the stakes are much higher than a poker game. People here are gambling with their lives!
Even though God has kept the prophet Elijah hidden and protected him from Queen Jezebel’s death threats, God now tells him to go to a widow who lives in Jezebel’s homeland of Zarephath. Knowing how dangerous such a journey could be, Elijah goes all in. He leaves his safe haven and travels across the drought-ridden land to find the woman.
For showing such faith, Elijah is rewarded. He discovers that this widow is also willing to go all in with the Lord—even though she is a pagan with no connection to the God of Israel! She puts her life and the life of her son at risk, trusting that God will do what he has promised through this wandering prophet.
How about you? Have there been times in your life when you decided to go all in with the Lord? Perhaps by choosing one vocation over another or by finding the courage to finally confess a long-standing sin. Have you ever done this and not been rewarded by the Lord? Of course not!
But it’s not just in the major events that we can take steps like this. Every day offers us numerous opportunities to decide whether we are going to remain all in with the Lord. “How should I respond when people at work start to gossip?” “What should I say when a friend asks why I go to church?” “Is there anything I can do for that poor fellow on the street corner?” Each and every decision we make is an opportunity to affirm that we are “all in” with Christ.
Throw in all your chips, and see what kind of reward the Lord has waiting for you.
“Lord, help me go all in with you today. Teach me to entrust my whole life to you.” Amen.
Psalms 4:2 You sons of men, how long shall my glory be turned into dishonor?
    Will you love vanity, and seek after falsehood?
Selah.
3 But know that Yahweh has set apart for himself him who is godly:
    Yahweh will hear when I call to him.
4 Stand in awe, and don’t sin.
    Search your own heart on your bed, and be still.
Selah.
5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness.
    Put your trust in Yahweh.
7 You have put gladness in my heart,
    more than when their grain and their new wine are increased.
8 In peace I will both lay myself down and sleep,
    for you, Yahweh alone, make me live in safety.
5:13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its flavor, with what will it be salted? It is then good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under the feet of men. 14 You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill can’t be hidden. 15 Neither do you light a lamp, and put it under a measuring basket, but on a stand; and it shines to all who are in the house. 16 Even so, let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
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