How Long Will You Straddle the Issue - Weekday Homily Video

Elijah’s question from today’s first reading, “How long will you straddle the issue?” is a classic and ageless one!

It reminds me of one evening at Symphony Hall in Boston, when I was out of earshot, my Mom asked our family friend, Fr. Bill Walsh, what he thought about my applying to the seminary. Without blinking an eye and with a smile, Fr. Walsh said, “I think God gave him a good kick in the pants and got him off the fence!”

Whether it is in politics, family life, relationships—whether deciding about a friendship or a deeper commitment to marriage, priesthood or religious life—or in our moral and ethical lives, we’re all called to examine whether we are straddling issues or, as we'd say, where I come from: fence sitters.

The people gathered on Mount Carmel had reached precisely that point. They wanted to keep one foot with the Lord and one foot with Baal.

They wanted to enjoy the blessings of the true God while also placing their trust in the false securities and popular idols of their day. Elijah challenges them to choose because divided hearts cannot fully belong to God.

Faith is not simply one option among many or a part-time deal….it’s a covenant relationship that calls for trust, loyalty, and commitment.

The One True Living God

The dramatic contest on Mount Carmel reveals that the Lord alone really is the living God. While the prophets of Baal cry out in vain, Elijah prays with quiet confidence, and God answers by sending fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice.

The miracle is not simply a display of divine power; it is God's loving invitation for His people to return to Him with undivided hearts.

That invitation is just as relevant today. We may not bow before statues of Baal, but we are tempted by modern idols: success, wealth, comfort, popularity, or the desire to fit in.

Even within our families, we can find ourselves straddling the issue—wanting to pass on the faith to our children or grandchildren, yet hesitating to speak about God; wanting peace at home, yet avoiding forgiveness or difficult conversations; wanting to follow Christ, yet allowing busy sports schedules or worldly priorities to crowd out prayer, Sunday Mass, and time together as a family rooted in faith.

Christ Came to Fulfill the Law

In today's Gospel, Jesus reminds us that He has not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. He calls His disciples not merely to outward observance but to faithful obedience born of love.

Christ fulfilled the Father's will completely, and He invites us to do the same. Living God's commandments shapes not only our personal lives but also our homes, making them places where faith is seen, lived, and handed on; not just with words but through decisions and actions.

Today, Elijah's challenge and Jesus' teaching come together in one simple but demanding invitation: choose the Lord wholeheartedly.

Let us ask for the grace to place Christ at the center of our families, our relationships, and every decision we make.

One concrete and effective way to do this is to find time to pray together as a family; whether at home, in the car, or on vacation…then, with the grace of God and our choice, our lives can better reflect our faith, that "The Lord is God! in every place and circumstance, that the Lord is God!

• Today’s Readings
  
  
• Father David’s inspirational homily was recorded live during Mass at the Father Peyton Center today. You can watch the entire Mass on the Family Rosary Video streams channel on YouTube.
  
  
• Join the Rosary (11:30 am ET) and Mass (Noon ET) livestreams on the Family Rosary YouTube or Facebook page, Monday – Friday. Invite your friends and family to pray with you as well.