prophet Elijah

Prophet Elijah

Today the Carmelites celebrate their solemn feast of Prophet Elijah, the spiritual source of the Order of Carmelites.
Each of us experience trials and difficulties in our lives. Maybe we are having problems at work, or turmoil in our families, or challenges with our health. In struggling with these trials and difficulties we often can feel lost and confused, not knowing where to turn.
The Prophet Elijah, who we hear about in today’s first reading, knew exactly how we felt. The story occurs in the 19th chapter of First Kings, Elijah's showdown with the prophets of Baal, and his victory over them, results in their deaths, and Elijah flees Israel when the Jezebel promises to have him killed. At one point he is so miserable that he prays for death, but an angel gives him food and drink, and leads him to a cave on Mt. Horeb for refuge. God finds him inside the cave, and begins to talk with him.
1 Kings 19:11 He said, "Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the LORD, and after the wind an earthquake, then a fire, but the LORD was not in the wind, not in earthquake, not in fire; and after the fire a still, small voice. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said [again], "What are you doing here, Elijah?" 14 He answered [again], "I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away." 15 Then the LORD said to him, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. 16 Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place.
Often we all forget this second part of the story. We remember that Elijah heard the still, small voice after the wind, the earthquake, and the fire passed, but we forget what it said. And basically it said, "I know they've threatened to kill you, and you're afraid for your life, but I want you to go back." We hear God say that to Elijah, and we remember why we might not want to hear what God is saying to us. It can be threatening to know what God is asking us. God so rarely asks us to do what's easy. The irony is, having heard it from God; it no longer seems to matter as much whether it's easy or hard.
The wind and the earthquake and the fire, they might be Elijah's fear, his despair, and his anger. But he kept listening on down to the deeper level where discernment happens, and he heard the most frightening thing of all: that God was asking him to go back. That God was asking him to go back to Israel, to face Ahab and Jezebel who had sworn to take his life, that God was asking him to up the ante by leading a rebellion and installing a new king there.
The underneath level, the level of discernment, held a more frightening message than the wind, the earthquake, and the fire.
When we pay attention to God, no matter what rages at the surface, I can find the underneath level where God tells me, "I know this is hard, but sit here a while longer, and be surprised at what happens. And I'll be keeping you company right here." At the same time, we understand that like Elijah we did not come here only to bring something. We have come to find something, to find someone. True, Elijah came into the desert as a prophet, as one who speaks for God and who represents God. But above all, he came to find God, to have a new experience of God’s love for him.
John Cardinal Newman discovered this real dependence on God after a serious illness, and penned these beautiful words:Lead, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom,Lead thou me on; The night is dark, and I am far from home,Lead thou me on.Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to seeThe distant scene; one step enough for me….I loved to choose and see my path; but nowLead thou me on.