The story we heard from the first reading from the first book of Kings, was about, on one hand, Naboth and his vineyard, and on the other, King Ahab and his wife, Jezebel. While its setting is from a very very long time ago, even before the time of Christ, the whole event seems remarkably current. And I am not just talking about recent movies where the two main characters oppose each other, like Batman v Superman, or Captain America versus Iron Man in Civil War. Our story today, Naboth versus King Ahab, is really about timeless things – of discontent and greed, and fighting for what is right and for one’s rights, of corruption, and the struggle against injustice and oppression. As such, there is plenty for us to consider, and to wonder about, and to reflect on. For today, instead of focusing on the Gospel reading, or on the feast of St Anthony de Padua, let me share with you two points based on the first …show more content…
Can we take a different mindset, and give thanks for what we have, even for what we had? That’s my first point. The second has something to do with Naboth’s side of the story. What are we to make of him? I think the key to understand Naboth is to realize that for him, the contentious land that he owned, was never just any other piece of property. His vineyard was his inheritance from his ancestors, from the people who had worked and cared for the same piece of land, passed on from generation to generation. And on top of all that, this land was his own little part of God’s covenant with his people. This very land was the way God showed him and his ancestors, how God had provided and cared for them through the years. It thus reminded them, time and time again, of the very personal, tangible presence of Yahweh in their