Tag: Elijah

Mark 8:1-11: Nothing to Fear
Mark 8:1-11: Nothing to Fear

Friday, August 29, 2025

The Gospel writers tell us that Jesus feeds thousands from a few fish and several loaves of bread; yet we store up food and goods against the fear that we will one day be without. Famine grips the horn of Africa and war zones while the people who live in these places of death wait on the generosity of others. And despite the abundance in which others live, these images stir some to sharing and others to hoarding. In either case, we fear that we will one day be without. Today’s Mass readings deal with the intense fear that seizes us when cataclysm strikes and we fear the worst. The homily we heard at Mass today was moving. Father reminded us that although we seek physical signs of God’s presence, we do not see the markers God constantly posts along the route of our journey. Fear has the effect of eliminating sight and reason.

In 1 Kings 19:9a-13a, Elijah hides in a cave, fearing that Queen Jezebel’s men will find him and execute him in the same way she has put to death other prophets. God calls to Elijah that it is time for him to come out of his hiding place. Go and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by. And Elijah hears the Lord not in the tumult of the storm or the crashing of the earthquake, but in the whisper of the gentle wind.

In Romans 9:1-5, Paul bears witness to God’s presence even though he suffers great anguish. Rather than succumb to fear, Paul continues to tell the good news story that Christ is risen and present. He persists in responding to God who first called him in the bolt of blinding light in Acts 9 when he says to him: Get up and go into the city, you will be told what you must do. Paul finds God in the blinding light.

In Matthew 14:22-23, the apostles become frightened during a storm that threatens to swamp their boat. Jesus walks toward them over the water and says: Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid. Peter gets out of the boat to walk toward Jesus but doubt overtakes him and he begins to sink. Immediately Jesus reaches to pull him to the water’s surface. Peter finds God in his willingness to risk the dangers of the storm-tossed waters.

God is constantly telling us that we need not be afraid . . . yet we cannot hear the voice for the cacophony of the world.

God is constantly showing us that God is with us . . . yet we cannot see God for the blinding confusion of the world.

God is constantly proving to us that God wants to heal and rescue us . . . yet we cannot feel God’s presence for the fears that we harbor.

Our daily experiences frighten us and so we ask God to give us a sign that God is present . . . forgetting that God already is. God feeds us daily.

We allow the details of living to stir up so much fear that we can no longer hear or see or touch the goodness and providence of God . . . and still God says to us: Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta
We fret over minutiae, we become anxious about events that are too overwhelming for us to handle, anxiety overtakes us . . . and still God says to us: My heart is moved with pity for you have been with me many days now and have come a long distance. Do not be afraid for I am always with you. I will sustain you. You are mine. There is nothing to fear.

A re-post from August 7, 2011.

Images from: https://hearmehearmenot.wordpress.com/2008/11/08/silent-whispers/ and http://realiq.wordpress.com/2007/09/14/blinding-glimpse-of-the-obvious/ and http://raynoah.com/2011/04/14/water-walking-faith/ and http://jeffragan.blogspot.com/2010_11_01_archive.html
Share this:
X
Facebook
Email
Print
More
Reddit
Pinterest
Pocket
LinkedIn
Tumblr
Like Loading…
August 29, 2025

1 Kings 19:9a-13a, Elijah, famine, food, God’s providence, Matthew 14:22-23, Paul.signs, Peter, Romans 9:1-5
1 Kings 17: Moving On
1 Kings 17: Moving On

Monday, July 7, 2025

Il Guercino: Elijah Fed by Ravens
So the Lord said, move on . . .

This two-part story reminds us that the Lord provides for those who are willing to follow God; and it also tells us that we cannot snuggle into the comfort of a refuge we know well. Our true security rests not in the safe harbors we find in life, but in our relationships and in the trust we place in God. This is the message we find in the verse that bridges the two parts of today’s Noontime.

The prophet Elijah has reason to fear Ahab. The king’s wife Jezebel has made it plain that her goal is to rid the kingdom of prophets and this is the likely reason that Elijah hides as the Lord bids him after he delivers his fearsome prophecy to King Ahab. Concealing himself in the Wadi Cherith, he survives with water from the stream and food brought to him by ravens. All seems safe and well until God calls him to Zarepthath of Sidon. Rather than hold onto the security he has found in the wadi, Elijah moves on – as God asks – to help first a widow and then later her son. Elijah not only improves the lot of this impoverished little family to make the world a more humane place, he also allows himself to know God more intimately. He moves out of his safety zone to bring life to those who barely eke out a living.

So the Lord said, move on . . .

Bernardo Strozzi: Elijah and the Widow of Sarepta
Each of us has known times when we would rather remain wrapped in our sanctuary, blocking out the horror of a cruel world so that we might live happily and blindly. Oh how much easier, we say to ourselves, to remain in well-known territory in order to stay away from the uncomfortable travails of life. Yet when God calls, we must move on.

We may have experienced for a time the desperation of not knowing where we will find the food to feed our families. Perhaps we have suffered the misery of working with a colleague who has condemned us or of going home to a loved one who has rejected us. Maybe we have crept to the edge of life itself thinking it better to bring all to an end. These are the times when a kind look, a warm smile or a gentle touch heals the wounded heart. This is when a few understanding words that acknowledge pain without censure bring the sweetest balm of all, the healing hand of one who has moved out from a safe harbor to bring others safely home.

We may say that not all of us can be Elijah for we cannot resuscitate life. In truth, this does not matter. God knows the prophet, God knows the widow, and God knows each of us. This alone is enough for us to take courage, it is enough for us to move on.

Images from: https://www.artbible.info/art/large/730.html and https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bernardo_Strozzi_-_Prophet_Elijah_and_the_Widow_of_Sarepta_-_WGA21919.jpg
Share this:
X
Facebook
Email
Print
More
Reddit
Pinterest
Pocket
LinkedIn
Tumblr
Like Loading…
July 7, 2025

Elijah, helping others, safe harbor, trust, widow
Malachi 4:5-6: Behold the New Day
Malachi 4:5-6: Behold the New Day

Christmas Friday, December 29, 2023

Duccio di Buoninsegna: The Prophet Malachi

As we move from through the Christmas season, let us decide to make our hopes tangible, our dreams a prayer for our reality, our faith unwavering and our love secure. Let us cleave to the Creator, follow the Redeemer and rest in the Spirit. This week let us give one another the gift of preparing for the very real promise of eternity.

The prophet Malachi communicates God’s words to us.

Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse. (NASB)

Elijah was able to perform miracles just as Jesus did in his own day and even in this present time. Malachi advises that we might want to look forward in hope rather than backward in fear.

But also look ahead: I’m sending Elijah the prophet to clear the way for the Big Day of God—the decisive Judgment Day! He will convince parents to look after their children and children to look up to their parents. If they refuse, I’ll come and put the land under a curse. (MSG)

That day is great for some and dreadful for others. As followers of Christ we are convinced that God’s “greatness” is with us in every moment and in every place. We are also convinced that Jesus searches for every last sheep, for every hard heart, for every broken soul.

A stained-glass window featuring the prophet Elijah, Gloucester Cathedral, Gloucestershire, England

Behold I will send you Elias the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers: lest I come, and strike the earth with anathema. (DRA)

And as followers of Christ, we are also convinced that the Spirit works to remove all anathema, to heal all destruction and to bring about complete transformation for all.

But before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes, I will send you the prophet Elijah. He will bring fathers and children together again; otherwise I would have to come and destroy your country. (GNT)

Malachi calls out to us across the millennia: Behold, Emmanuel is among you. Awake. Rise up. And Malachi asks that we give witness to the enormity of the gift we find in our hands, the gift of God’s infinite peace, Christ’s overflowing compassion, and the Spirit’s miraculous renewal.

When we compare varying versions of these verses, we behold the enormity of God’s gift that we receive without asking.

N.B. Some versions of Malachi number this citation as 3:23-24.

For more about Malachi, the last of the minor prophets, or Elijah, the prophet who life is described in the Books of Kings, click on their names and/or images above.

Images from: https://www.ncregister.com/blog/the-feast-of-st-malachi and
Share this:
X
Facebook
Email
Print
More
Reddit
Pinterest
Pocket
LinkedIn
Tumblr
Like Loading…
December 29, 2023

Elijah, God’s promise, hope, Malachi, renewal
1 Kings 18: Deception – Part IV
1 Kings 18: Deception – Part IV

Sunday, June 18, 2023

Mount Carmel

The Prophets of Baal

Today’s Noontime is a story we need to hear in our present state on local, national, and international turmoil. The story we hear read out to us at least once during the liturgical cycle; it is the story of the people’s relationship with God that takes place during a time when Yahweh’s prophets were being persecuted. It is also a time of high political intrigue when the kingdom brought together under David’s leadership has split in two. Ahab, Jezebel, Obadiah, and Elijah find themselves caught up in the kind of turmoil that guarantees suffering.

Elijah, the only surviving prophet of Yahweh, appeals to the people, and allows God to work through him to remind the split nations that despite their petty squabbles God is in charge. The prophets of Baal bring all of their power and influence to bear and still they cannot best Elijah and Yahweh. This is a good story and it deserves enough reading that we can apply it to our own lives.

What or who might be the Baal prophets in our lives? Who is it we believe more than God who created us and cares for us beyond all human capacity? Who is it we follow more eagerly than Jesus who redeems and saves us daily? And who is it we love more intensely than the Spirit who guides us and counsels us every minute of our day and night?

The humor with which Elijah pits the Baal gods and their prophets against Yahweh makes today’s reading entertaining and authentic. We may want to look for the humor in our own struggle to survive the droughts and famines of our days. And we may want to ask ourselves the same question that Elijah asks his audience: How long will you straddle the issue? If the Lord is God, follow the Lord; if Baal, follow him.

For more information about Mount Carmel, click the image above or visit: http://devotiontoourlady.com/shrine-of-mount-carmel.html

Image from: http://devotiontoourlady.com/shrine-of-mount-carmel.html

Written on June 14, 2010.
Share this:
X
Facebook
Email
Print
More
Reddit
Pinterest
Pocket
LinkedIn
Tumblr
Like Loading…
June 18, 2023

Ahab, Baal, Elijah, Jezebel, Obadiah, our relationship with God
1 Kings 21: Deception – Part II
1 Kings 21: Deception – Part II

Friday, June 16, 2023

Oh what tangled webs we weave, when first we practice to deceive!

My mother’s quoting of Walter Scott’s words peppered our growing-up years. Her use of Scott’s poetic words was her method of teaching the lesson of Ahab and his temper tantrum.

Ahab wants something which someone else cherishes and does not wish to give up. Ahab goes home, puts his face to the wall and refuses to eat. His unfortunate wife, Jezebel, colludes with him to get the coveted vineyard from their neighbor, and if we read the entire story, we see what kind of an end these two come to. They both pay a heavy price for their egregious crimes of trumping up false charges, conniving, lying, stealing, inciting a crowd to stone to death an innocent man. Naboth’s mistake or error is merely the cherishing of something that someone else wants.

We hear Yahweh’s words through the prophet Elijah in verse 20: You have given up yourself to do evil in the Lord’s sight.

Frederick Leighton: Jezebel and Ahab met by Elijah

Since my childhood, and because of the wisdom of my mother, my family has not worried about belonging to a particular group. When my family opens our home to a party, all are welcome. Universal hospitality, bridges building to fringe groups, invitations to include all at the table have grown out of my mother’s teaching about Naboth, Ahab and Jezebel.

In this time when U.S. presidential politics are again fully before us, we must become aware of the many Naboths, Ahabs and Jezebels in the public eye. As we take in the daily news, we recall more words Mother and Dad recited from scripture: The measure that you measure with is measured out to you. Ostracizing others says more about you than it does about the others. There is really nothing that can be kept secret. The truth always comes out in the end. I hope you can stand it when it hits you in the face.

What a wonderful gift we are given in the friends and neighbors God sends to us. What a wonderful treasure is the vocation of building community to which we are called. What a blessing to work, play and live beside people with whom we hold things in common, and people with whom we hold little in common. We learn more from our enemies than we do from the people with whom we feel most comfortable. We are all God’s creatures, made in God’s image. What do our daily actions say about the relationship we have with our Creator? Do we turn away in anger when we covet something someone else has? When we open our hearts and homes, are all welcome? Do we extend invitations with ulterior motives? Do we interact with only a select few and bully others to bow to our wants? And when God asks us to invite the faithful to the table, whom are we willing to invite?

Image from: https://savannaclaudia.wordpress.com/2014/10/26/1-kings-21-what-is-the-price-of-greed/

From a reflection written on June 1, 2008.
Share this:
X
Facebook
Email
Print
More
Reddit
Pinterest
Pocket
LinkedIn
Tumblr
Like Loading…
June 16, 2023

Ahab, bullying, Elijah, Jezebel, lies, Naboth, secrets, Walter Scott
Luke 9:8-36: Transfiguration
Luke 9:8-36: Transfiguration

Sunday, February 19, 2023

So many times we are called to Transfiguration. So many times we are called to Exodus. So many times we meet angels and prophets and yet do not respond. We are so caught up in getting through the day, getting through the night, the week, the month, the year . . . the life.

So often we want to pause at a happy spot to set up a tent to house that moment and hold it. So often we want to wrestle with time until it obeys us. We live in the past, we live in the future, we live anywhere else but the present, re-living, un-living, projecting, transferring.

Jesus goes up to the mountain with two of his beloved apostles to speak with Elijah, Moses and his Father about the work that lies before him. Of course he knows what was expected of him – down to the smallest detail – yet he listens to those who have gone before him. He listens to the wisdom of the ages. And he shares the experience with his friends.

Jesus shares this wisdom and love with us as well. He give to us the opportunity of transfiguration of self. We are not held away from the gift of salvation; rather, we are invited to join Christ’s joy and glory. So when the cloud descends upon us, and we hear the voice from the mist say: This is my Son, listen to him . . . may we have the courage, the wisdom, the light and the joy to do as we are bidden. Because through this experience comes a true knowing of God, a true knowing of self. With this comes an openness to the Word and the Truth and the Light.

As we anticipate our Lenten journey that begins on Ash Wednesday this week, it is good to pause to reflect upon the possibilities offered to us through Transfiguration.

Looking for transfiguration, we begin a new Lenten practice this week. Rather than thinking: “Let us make three tents to contain the joy of God’s wisdom,” let us think instead, “Let us share the joy of God’s great gift of love”.

Tomorrow, the Christ.

To learn more about how the Violins of Hope provide an opportunity for learning and reflection through restored instruments that survived the Holocaust, and to see how Cleveland’s MALTZ MUSEUM OF JEWISH HERITAGE offers opportunities of transfiguration, click on the images above or visit: http://www.violinsofhopecle.org/

To hear these violins in concert, go to a CBS video at: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/violins-of-hope/

Learn about the book Violins of Hope by James A. Grymes at: http://www.jamesagrymes.com/

Images from: http://www.violinsofhopecle.org/

Adapted from a Favorite from December 11, 2007.
Share this:
X
Facebook
Email
Print
More
Reddit
Pinterest
Pocket
LinkedIn
Tumblr
Like Loading…
February 19, 2023

Elijah, Exodus, John, light, Moses, Peter, The Word, truth, Violins of Hope, wisdom
Hosea 10: False Heart, True Heart
Hosea 10: False Heart, True Heart

Wednesday, December 21, 2022

A favorite from December 22, 2010.

False oaths, fake alliances, evil intrigues, any means to achieve an end: this is what Hosea sees in his community. The kingdom of David has been divided in two. Elijah, Elisha, and Amos have warned the people; Isaiah and Micah will add their prophetic words of warning. Hosea finds himself seeing clearly the devastation that awaits this false-hearted people, but he is ignored.

Yet Hosea persists, telling us that we are people meant to worship God, we are meant to take the yoke upon fair neck, to thresh, to be harnessed by the plow of the true God with a true heart. We are created to be workers in the vineyard, to sow justice and reap piety, we are meant to break new fields so that the rain of God’s justice might bring forth fruit.

Hosea warns that those who have sowed discord and wickedness will reap perversity and eat of the fruit of falsehood. Turmoil will break out among those who have trusted their warriors and chariots rather than trusting God. The fortresses carefully built against the needs of the world will be tumbled and ravaged; the false hearts who take advantage of the poor will be lost in the utter destruction. Hosea does not surrender to the pressures around him, he endures.

Like Hosea, we might want God’s justice to be clearly visible in the present; we may want all of Hosea’s predictions about false hearts to materialize in an instant. Those who seek a settling of scores may wish God’s integrity to rain down on those who sit on comfortable couches to contrive wicked plots. They will want to see a world of integrity replace the world of falsehood they experience. Yet this is the message of Advent: the one of true heart and true words, the one of promises kept and miracles revealed has come to live among us. Advent tells us that the possibility of living a genuine life is here – now – this day. We need only open our eyes to see.

If we are dissatisfied with the speed of God’s coming, or if we doubt that God is even here among us, we must look first to ourselves to begin kingdom-building. We must examine our own hearts to see if we remain in truth no matter the social consequence. We must cease the gossip, cease the controlling, cease the lusting after outcomes, fame, possessions, power and people. We must amend our ability – and our willingness – to ignore reality. We must change our hearts so that we do not succumb to the social pressure to acquire goods or supremacy. We must nurture our desire to share, our yearning to heal, and our aspiration for peace. We must ask God to transform the falsehood in our own hearts so that we might receive the goodness from his. We must be open to the reality of Advent.

In this way – with endurance, with fidelity, and with honesty – the prophecy of Hosea will arrive fully. And in this way the false hearts of the world will become the true heart of Christ.

Images from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/33649935@N00/galleries/72157626753383441/
Share this:
X
Facebook
Email
Print
More
Reddit
Pinterest
Pocket
LinkedIn
Tumblr
Like Loading…
December 21, 2022

Amos, Elijah, Elisha, endurance, fidelity, God’s justice, honesty, Isaiah, kingdom-building, Micah
1 & 2 Kings: Some Left Over – Part III
1 & 2 Kings: Some Left Over – Part III

Elijah Fed by Ravens

Wednesday, August 3, 2022

When we study the stories of Elijah and Elisha we find that with their miracles of sustenance for the marginalized there is always something left over. Their acts of mercy foreshadow Jesus’ acts of mercy in the New Testament.

Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath: In 1 Kings 17 Elijah predicts a great drought. He moves east to rest, as God recommends, and rests near a stream where ravens bring him bread and meat. After a time the water dries up and so Elijah follows God’s voice as it counsels him to move to another place to stay with a particular widow. What follows when the prophet resides with her is a story that gives us counsel about what we might do when we find ourselves searching for solutions to problems that for us are enormous, but that for God are quite ordinary. When we use the scripture link to explore different versions of this story, we find that solutions to our own dilemmas appear – and we also find that when God provides, there is always something left over to share with others.

Aert de Gelder: Elisha and the Widow of the Prophet

Elisha, the Widow’s Oil, and the Multiplication of Loaves: In 2 Kings 4 Elisha helps the widow of a God-fearing man whose creditors want to take his two children as slaves in payment for an unpaid debt. Miracles follow when Elisha follows God’s advice. Later in this chapter we see the renewal of life through resurrection, and transformation of a poisoned stew. More miracles follow in subsequent chapters and again, comparing varying versions of these stories using the scripture link brings us a fresh perspective of stories we may have heard many times. Ultimately, the message remains . . . when God provides, there is always something left over.

Tomorrow . . . Matthew’s story of the loaves and fish.

Images from: https://www.freebibleimages.org/photos/elijah-fed-by-ravens/ and https://agnes.queensu.ca/explore/collections/object/elisha-and-the-widow-of-the-prophet-pouring-the-flasks-of-oil/
Share this:
X
Facebook
Email
Print
More
Reddit
Pinterest
Pocket
LinkedIn
Tumblr
Like Loading…
August 3, 2022

Elijah, Elisha, multiplication of loaves, the Shunammite woman, the widow of Zarephath
Daniel 12:6: How Long?
Saturday, January 29, 2015

Gerard Seghers: The Patient Job

Daniel 12:6

How Long?

How long shall it be to the end of these appalling things?

Exodus 10:3: Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me’.”

Exodus 10:7: Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not realize that Egypt is destroyed?”

Exodus 16:28: Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep my commandments and my instructions?”

Numbers 14:11: The Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people spurn me? And how long will they not believe in me, despite all the signs which I have performed in their midst?”

Joshua asks the men of Israel how long they will delay in moving into the Promised Land. (Joshua 18:3)

The priest Eli asks the barren Hannah how long she continue with her drunken babbling (1 Samuel 1:14) and the Lord asks Samuel how long he will grieve over the loss of Saul as king of Israel (1 Samuel 16:1).

In 1 Kings 18:21 Elijah asks the people how long their will vacillate between the Living God Yahweh and the false gods of the Baals.

Job’s companion, Bildad, asks Job how long he will refuse to acknowledge his sin – which he, in fact, did not commit (Job 8:2). He asks how long Job will put off speaking truth (Job 18:2). To this, Job replies: How long will you torment me and crush me with lies? (Job 19:1)

In these Old Testament verses we read the words we ourselves use when we are overwhelmed. We hear the human and divine plea for understanding; and we feel the urgent desire for resolution in all that seems precarious and unjust. Let us gather our moments of plight and petition, and bring them to the one who holds the answer to our prayers of supplication.

Tomorrow . . . a response.

Image from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gerard_Seghers_-_The_Patient_Job_-_WGA21132.jpg

For more reflections on the words of this prophet, enter the words Daniel or Apocalypse into the blog search bar and explore.
Share this:
X
Facebook
Email
Print
More
Reddit
Pinterest
Pocket
LinkedIn
Tumblr
Like Loading…
January 29, 2022

Eli, Elijah, grief, Hannah, Job, Joshua, petition, Samuel, Saul, suffering, the Baals