Upcoming Sunday
Old Testament Readings
Sunday 13 August
2017
1
Kings 19:9-18
At Horeb, the mount of God, Elijah came to a cave, and spent the
night there. Then the word of the Lord came to
him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He answered, “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.” 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, but the Lord
was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the
earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the
fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. 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, “What are you doing here,
Elijah?” He answered, “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.”
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. 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. Whoever escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall kill; and whoever
escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall kill. Yet I will leave seven
thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth
that has not kissed him.”
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I
love this reading. The prophet Elijah is
filled with anxiety. He fears for his
very life, and is concerned that he alone is left among the faithful to
God. God seeks out the prophet. It is worth noting, especially as we do so
poorly with this environment of silence, that it is in sheer silence that
Elijah hears God and knows that he is in the presence of God. And in that moment God gives the prophet a
word of divine wisdom that will enable him to press onward trusting that he is
not alone and that God is his strength.
How we need to hear this message.
In the midst of the noise that overwhelms us, sometimes all we need is
the very last thing we are comfortable embracing: the gift of silence. But if we are willing to sit in that silence,
God who speaks in silence can break through the noise and give us what we need
to press forward and to endure all that this life can throw our way.
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Father Timothy
Alleman
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