1st Reading – 1 Kings 8:41-43
According to 2 Chronicles 3:1, Solomon built the Temple in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah; the spot which had been selected by David, his father. The site had been the threshing-floor of Ornan (Araunah) the Jebusite. It is located to the north of Mount Zion, the eastern hill to which the city of Jerusalem was then confined. Moriah has been occupied ever since the building of the Temple and is today occupied by the western wall of the second Temple (the Wailing Wall), the Mosque of Omar, and the Dome of the Rock. According to Jewish lore:
“When Noah the righteous left the ark, after the waters of the flood had receded and the face of the earth was revealed, he came with his sons first to Mount Moriah. There they sacrificed a thank offering to the Lord, on the same spot where Adam had sacrificed and where Abraham, generations later, brought his offering. It is told that when Abraham and Isaac reached Mount Moriah, the Holy One, blessed be He, pointed out the altar to Abraham and said: ‘There is the altar! Upon this altar did Adam, Cain, and Abel place their offerings! Upon this altar did Noah and his sons place their offerings!’ On a nearby hill, Shem, the son of Noah, Interred the skull of Adam, which he had taken with him into the ark and guarded during the flood. Since then the hill is called Golgotha – the Skull.” [Vilnay, Zev, The Legends of Jerusalem, The Jewish Publication Society of America, Philadelphia, 1973, page 70]
Our first reading for today is from the account of the dedication of this first Temple in Jerusalem.
2nd Reading – Galatians 1:1-2, 6-10
Shortly after Saint Paul’s second visit to Galatia (during his second missionary journey, A.D. 51-53) some agitators challenged Paul’s authority as an apostle; possibly on the grounds that his commission did not come from Christ personally. They claimed that he did not preach the true gospel since he neglected the Mosaic Law, thus watering down the requirements of the gospel for the sake of the Gentiles. The new demands of these Judaizers caused confusion within the Galatian community which prompted Saint Paul to send this strongly worded letter, possibly written from Ephesus in 54-55, warning against this “different gospel” and defending his position as an apostle.
Gospel – Luke 7:1-10
Today’s gospel reading is the familiar healing of the centurion’s servant. It is a story 4 which relates to us the effectiveness of a prayer of petition; a prayer which induces the almighty God to work miracles.
