In our first reading from the first book of Kings, the prophet Elijah is in a desperate situation, fleeing for his life, as King Ahab and Jezebel are out to kill him. The people of Ancient Israel have broken their covenant with God; they now worship the foreign god Baal. Elijah flees into the wilderness, wishing for a quick, peaceful death. The word of God comes to Elijah, telling him to stand on the mountaintop to see the Lord pass before him. Elijah looks for God in the expected powerful mighty places, but God isn’t in the great wind, or the strong earthquake, or the tremendous fire. Elijah looks out of the entrance of the cave where he was hiding, watching all those powerful manifestations of nature pass by where God often appeared to his prophets. But, instead, God appeared to Elijah in a tiny, quiet whisper. We might be looking for God in certain things ourselves, we might be expecting God to speak to us in a certain way, but God often presents himself in some very surprising ways.
Elijah is one of the greatest prophets in the history of Israel. He had just defeated the false prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel right before today’s reading starts. In that gentle whisper, God encourages Elijah to continue his mission in speaking for God to the people of Israel. In this reading, we see how even a great prophet like Elijah needs encouragement on his journey. Even though Elijah had accomplished so much as a prophet, even though he had some amazing victories in fighting off the forces of evil, he still felt afraid and alone at times. In the midst of victory, Elijah felt loneliness, discouragement, and doubt. But, instead of rebuking Elijah for his fears, God encourages him.
We need to feel encouragement from God during this time, don’t we? We need to feel we are not alone. We need to feel that we are on the right track. We see a lot going on in the world today and often times we do not understand. And even now, in the pandemic, many of us are vulnerable and at risk and cannot come back to Mass. We cannot have ALPHA and our other faith formation programs. It is a very difficult challenging time. So, in the midst of this, how is God encouraging us? How is He speaking to us in subtle ways? We are all human. Even Elijah, who was called by God in a very special way, was human. What I take away from today’s first reading is this: God did not give up on Elijah. And he does not give up on us. God was patient with Elijah, taking him to a place where he was able to respond. God is patient with us. And we must be patient with him and not give up. As I was writing this homily and pondering this reading about Elijah, several things came to my mind. I thought about how God calls us not only as individuals, but as a community of faith as well, and we are called to be loyal to that community. Someone who is not a Christian or who is a member of a Protestant denomination might enter a Catholic church and notice first and foremost how our altar is a prominent part of our church. The Eucharist we celebrate on that altar there is considered the source and summit of our Catholic life of faith and our Catholic identity. We may be hurting or disgruntled or in pain about things that are going on in our lives, in our world, perhaps even in our Church. The Church calls us bring all of that to the altar of the Lord, to receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist as the presence of Jesus speaks to our hearts. Through the Eucharist, Jesus brings us healing, comfort, and strength. It may take an extreme act of courage to even come to the Lord’s table on some days, we may be hurting so badly, but that is what that quiet whisper of God residing in the recesses of our hearts is calling us to do.
Another thought I had – sometimes the way God speaks to us is not the way God is speaking to others. Look at Elijah - certainly the message he received from God was the not the message the rest of the people was getting. So many of the revered saints and movements of our day were mocked and criticized during their lives here on earth. Teresa of Avila was brought before the Spanish Inquisition. John of the Cross was thrown into a dungeon in the middle of winter by his brother monks and died of exposure. Both of them are now Doctors of the Church and two very beloved saints. Pope Francis, a Jesuit priest, was chosen by the Conclave of Cardinals by the Holy Spirit as the head of our Church. Even though the Jesuits are largest Catholic religious order of priests in the world, in the late 18th century, the Jesuits were suppressed and not allowed to work in ministry in the Church for 40 years. Even Hildegard of Bingen, named a Doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict in 2012, who is described to have a very creative theology, was often criticized and condemned in her day – way back in the 12th century. The point is – many of the theologians and saints we hold in high esteem today were criticized for the message they once proclaimed in their own day, a message that often becomes accepted and appreciated with time. It is easy for us to think that the theology we personally embrace is the only right and orthodox theology. We can learn from others who think different from us, that is for sure.
God speaks to us in many ways – through a clap of thunder sometimes, through a quiet whisper at other times. God can come to us in very expected ways in the different situations we are confronted with in life. God often comes to us in those seemingly mundane, ordinary events that make up the majority of our days here on earth. Maybe we’re looking for a specific way for God to speak to us, so much so that we miss the way he is already present to us. Let’s be open to the ways God is opening our hearts to his presence. And let us do so with patience and kindness.
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