Homily Tenth Wednesday of Ordinary Time (1 Kings 18:20-39) “The One True God”
Homily Tenth Wednesday of Ordinary Time (1 Kings 18:20-39) “The One True God”
Prophets are known for the symbolic gestures. Jesus was a great rabbi and prophet. Who can forget when he chased the money changers out of the temple? He was mad that they were turning the temple into a marketplace.
Elijah engages in the preeminent prophetic action in the section from First Kings that we read about in todays first lesson at Mass. Elijah seems like he is losing in the religious competition that is taking place in Israel under King Ahab.
There are many prophets of Baal. The prophets of Baal have King Ahab and Queen Jezebel listening to them. The people, of course are following the King. Ahab was forgetting the one true God. It was more profitable for him to worship foreign Gods and to make friends with his political adversaries by doing so. Perhaps Ahab felt a sense of security when he made this compromise.
Elijah takes drastic action. He challenges the Prophets of Baal to a contest. Who can make the most impressive sacrifice? Elijah has an altar built. Elijah places his offering on it. He asks the false prophets to call down fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice, but they fail.
Elijah taunts Baal’s prophets. He makes fun of their God. He then calls down fire from the heavens to consume the sacrifice. God and Elijah are obviously on the same page. Elijah cooperates with God and trusts God implicitly.
The question of whether the people of Israel return to the worship of the one true God is not answered in the story. Elijah, in fact, runs for his life after this episode. Elijah is like us, strong in faith at times, at other moments struggling with doubt and fear. But he always ready to serve the Lord again.
Reflection Questions:
1. Do I wonder why I am the only one who seems to believe? Or, am I the one who worships false Gods at times?
2. Does God do great things for me at times? Do I hold on to those moments or do I quickly forget them?
Dear Parishioners,
Remember that we will be having a rosary before Mass on Friday. Just tune in 20 minutes before Mass to participate.
I once again encourage you to sign up for Mass this weekend. We will have Mass in the church at 7 a.m. on Sunday and 11 a.m. on Sunday. We also will have a 9 a.m. Mass outdoors. As of now it looks like God will once again bless us with good weather.
We hope to be scheduling liturgies for First Communion and Confirmation soon. The bishop has delegated pastors to confirm this summer. Our young people have had to wait for their sacraments, but that wait will soon be over. I will be working out the details with our parish staff. I would like to be completely back in church before we schedule these sacraments.
Please keep in mind that the Sunday Mass obligation is not in force. If you feel that you are at risk, you can still watch our live stream Mass. When we get completely back in church, we hope to be able to livestream some of our liturgical celebrations on a regular basis.
May our Lady and all the Angels and Saints watch over you today.
Fr. Mark