Word to the Wise
Friday, June 10, 2016 - Friday in the 10th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Kgs 19:9a, 11-16 and Matt 5:27-32]After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound. When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stoodat the entrance of the cave. A voice said tohim, "Elijah, why are you here?" [1 Kings]
This past week the first scripture for the day has been taken from the "Elijah cycle" in the First Book of Kings. I could not allow it to pass completely without some reflection. Since the teaching on marriage and divorce in the Sermon on the Mount is essentially the same as that in the Gospel of Mark which we considered recently, I want to give some attention to one of my own favorite passages from Elijah.
Elijah is on the run from his adversaries and feels very much alone in his prophetic task. He takes refuge on a holy mountain where he is somehow warned that God will speak to him. The usual Old Testament signs of God's presence - wind, earthquake, fire - come and go, but God is not speaking in those. It is the "tiny whispering sound" that brings Elijah to the mouth of the cave to hear what God has to say. That initial sound carries the fundamental question: "Elijah, why are you here?" After listening to Elijah's complaint, God simply tells him to get on with the job!
I cannot help but think that many of us have these Elijah moments when nothing seems to be going right and we are looking for some big sign from God that carries reassurance and resolution to all our challenges. The big sign doesn't come. It's that "tiny whispering sound" that tells us God is listening. We have to ask ourselves that same fundamental question: "Why are you here?" The answer is, basically, to do God's work and to get on with it in confidence that God will provide the necessary strength. AMEN
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