ThatвЂ™s certainly the way some people have misinterpreted this Gospel passage, but thatвЂ™s not what Jesus is affirming. From the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us, вЂњOffer no resistance to one who is evil.В When someone strikes you on your right cheek,В turn the other one to him as well.В If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic,В hand him your cloak as well.В Should anyone press you into service for one mile,В go with him for two miles.В Give to the one who asks of you,В and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.вЂќ It would appearВ that Jesus is saying, when a covetous, evil, corrupt King asks you for your ancestral land, give it to him, and give him your house, and your clothes and everything else besides.

And yet, when we read the first reading through the prism of the Gospel, it seems at first glance that Jesus is calling us not to resist this corruption and injustice but to enable it.

The whole scene points to the revolting ugliness of wickedness and corruption, of those in positions of authority abusing their offices to trample on those, especially the worldly insignificant, who impede their insatiable will to have more power, popularity and property.

When his wife Jezebel asked why he wasnвЂ™t eating and found out the reason, she set herself on a plan of calculated evil to obtain the vineyard, writing letters in the kingвЂ™s name and with his seal calling on the вЂњelders and noblesвЂќ to secure two scoundrels to frame Naboth for the capital crime of having вЂњcursed God and king.вЂќ The nobles went along with this abomination, Naboth was stoned to death, and Jezebel told her husband to go to acquire NabothвЂ™s familialВ vineyard. We see how coveting for material goods can destroy someone: as King of Israel, he had so many pieces of property and so many possessions, but he was unhappy because of what he didnвЂ™t have, rather than grateful for what he did. Ahab told Naboth, вЂњGive me your vineyard to be my vegetable garden,В since it is close by, next to my house.В I will give you a better vineyard in exchange, or,В if you prefer, I will give you its value in money.вЂќ But Naboth refused, not because of selfishness, but because he believed that it was God who had given that land to him and his family to be treasured almost as a covenantal relationship: вЂњThe LordВ forbidВ that I should give you my ancestral heritage.вЂќ Ahab was so disturbed and angry he lay down on his bed and refused to eat.

In the first reading, we encounter the story of Naboth, whose vineyard Ahab, the king of Samaria, coveted.

At first glance, todayвЂ™s readings are bound to make us physically and spiritually nauseous.

The following points were attempted in the homily: To listen to an audio recording of todayвЂ™s homily, please click below: Monday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time, Year II

Retreats for Priests, Deacons, and SeminariansДЄve Maria University St.

Obey me thirteen