THE EVIL OF COVETOUSNESS AND THE ABUSE OF POWER BY KING AHAB (HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE 11WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME (ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA, PRIEST, DOCTOR).
THE EVIL OF COVETOUSNESS AND THE ABUSE OF POWER BY KING AHAB ( HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE 11WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME (ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA, PRIEST, DOCTOR) Ikings 21:1-16; Matthew 5:38-42. Covetousness, the sage will say, is the father of unfilled desires and the bringer of the spirit of jealousy and envy. It is like counting the blessings of others instead of your own. Dearest brothers and sisters in Christ, the reading of today presents to us the indiscriminate abuse of power by those in authority, in this case by King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, which inadvertently was birthed by covetousness (inordinate desire for another's possession). We are told of a Jezreelite, Naboth by name, who had a vineyard close to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. There came a day when Ahab said to Naboth, “give me your vineyard to be my vegetable garden since it adjoins my house; I will give you a better vineyard for it, or if you prefer I will give you its worth in money. But Naboth answered Ahab, ...