19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

In today’s first reading we see the prophet Elijah suffering from classic burnout syndrome. He is sitting forlornly under a broom tree and prays for death in these words: “This is enough, O Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” Many of us know all too well what it is to give, and give and keep on giving without any recognition, without any thanks and only to be met with failure. This is certainly what has happened to Elijah, and perhaps we are filled with sympathy for him. But the truth of the matter is that Elijah is entirely to blame for his own burnout, as a close study of the text will actually reveal. Such a study might also be salutary for us also, as we may realize that we are also to blame for our own burnout.

The story of Elijah begins in chapter 17 of the first book of Kings, with him trying to find a solution to the problem of idol worship in Israel. He decides to confront the problem head on, when he prophesies that as a punishment to the people of Israel for not having followed the covenant, that the heavens would be closed up and would not rain a single drop of water on the land until his say-so. Elijah’s prophesy so angers the King of Israel, King Ahab, that Elijah has to flee to the neighbouring land of Zarephath, where he is given shelter and provided for by a widow whose oil and flour never run out, even though she always has but a handful left.

This story reads like the classical biography of an Old Testament prophet who is harried and hated by the people for announcing unpopular news from the Lord. However, Elijah’s story is far from typical, as a close examination of the text will reveal. Usually when a prophet is given an oracle from YHWH, the words that he speaks are prefaced by “The word of the Lord came to the prophet X, say to the people of Israel: “_______.” A close examination of 1 Kings 17:1 reveals that Elijah’s prophecy of a drought upon the land of Israel was not prefaced by these words. It is fairly safe to deduce therefore that the author wants us to conclude that these words uttered by Elijah were not in response to a directive emanating from the Lord. This was Elijah’s own initiative, his own hair-brained scheme to wean off the people of Israel from their idol-worship of Baal. This intuition is further confirmed when we note the way the threat is formulated, “By the life of YHWH, God of Israel, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain these coming years unless I give the word.” If this was truly a prophesy from the Lord, it would surely have made sense for Elijah to have stressed that it would be the word of the Lord that would end the drought, and not simply his own word.

I think that we are often more like Elijah that we would like to admit. We formulate the agenda and then expect God to fall into lockstep with our plans. Worse still when these plans are purportedly in service of the Lord. The drought does not have the intended effect of calling the people of Israel back to the worship of the one true God, indeed its only effect seems to be to make life harder for Elijah by forcing him to flee his homeland and further antagonizing an already belligerent Ahab. Often, when in pursuit of our own agenda, not matter how holy it might be, we come out all guns blazing, thinking that God is on our side. All we really end up doing is making things worse for ourselves and then we wonder why God does not come to our rescue when things go pear-shaped. Lucky for Elijah, God does come to his rescue and provides for him through the widow at Zarephath. But then God tries to put Elijah back on the straight and narrow and tells him to go to Ahab and deliver the good news that the drought is over.

Is this what Elijah actually does? Not a chance! Elijah still stubbornly clings to his agenda of proving to the whole house of Israel that YHWH is the one true God. So, instead of announcing the good news about the end of the drought, he goes to Ahab and proposes a competition between himself and the prophets of Baal to see whose God is the real God. With the whole of Israel assembled he proposes the terms of competition and invites the prophets of Baal to prepare a sacrifice of a bull and then call upon their God to light the fire of the sacrifice while he will do likewise, calling up YHWH, and the god who responds with fire is the true God.

God had told Elijah to announce the coming of water, instead Elijah announces the coming of fire. So often our God wants to slip quietly into our lives like a morning rain shower, but instead we long for the drama of fireworks and the spectacular, thinking that this is what will make people truly believe. It is curious that God decides to indulge this childish megalomaniac stunt of Elijah’s and does indeed send down fire to light the sacrifice he has prepared. But this stunt doesn’t work, and although Elijah orders the slaying of all 400 priests of Baal, he still ends up having to flee for his life, as Ahab’s wife Jezebel starts baying for his blood. It is at this point that we pick up the story, and find Elijah at the point of a nervous breakdown and thoroughly burnt-out, thinking that he has done nothing wrong and that it is the world that is against him. He tells the Lord that it would be just better for him to die. When we think about it, Elijah is acting out like a typical adolescent. He thought he knew better than YHWH, and didn’t take the time to discern and listen to the soft still gentle voice that speaks to us of God’s paths. Instead he pursues his agenda to make the world a better place, thinking that if he goes in with enough firepower, the people will be forced to come around and see the light. When this plan fails, and despite all his firepower, the world still remains a stubbornly unconverted place, he gives up and begins to wallow in self-pity, like a typical adolescent.

Although many of us might be full-grown adults physically, we are perhaps still spiritual adolescents. We think that in order for our plans to succeed, it suffices for us to be pursuing the cause of right and justice. We think that the way to overcome obstacles is by attacking them head-on and throwing everything we have at them. The Lord wants to teach us that this is simply not the way that God operates. God has compassion on us just as God had compassion on Elijah – and gently wakes us up from our sleep of hopelessness and inertia with the words “Get up and eat else the journey will be too long for you.” The journey from spiritual adolescence to spiritual adulthood is a long one. Elijah will have to journey to Mt. Horeb where he will be taught by the Lord that God speaks in the still gentle breeze and not in the earth shattering and spectacular phenomena of earthquakes, hurricanes and fire. This is the long journey that we need to make as well – a journey of letting God be God in our lives and not seeking to set the agenda all the time. It is a journey of learning how to make enough space in our lives to hear that still gentle breeze, so that we don’t feel we need to set the agenda. It is a journey of realizing that God’s work in the ordinariness of our lives can be far more powerful and effective than our own work in the spectacular.

Questions for reflection:

1. Do I exhibit signs of spiritual adolescence? Have I been looking for God in the spectacular? Have I had unreasonable expectations about my own ability to change my world, my life, my friends and family?
2. In the major decisions of the past few months, have I taken the time to discern and make sure it is not just me setting my own agenda?
3. How do I create the silence I need to hear the still gentle voice of God in my life?
4. Where have I seen the delicate touch of God, gentling nudging me awake and encouraging me to pick myself up again and carry on my journey?