In yesterday’s Scripture reading, 1 Kings 17: 7-16, Elijah is hiding from those
who are out to kill him. Today, in the
first reading, 1 Kings 18: 20-39, he is challenging the false prophets of Baal to a test. What happened that Elijah has come out of
hiding, first of all? God intervened as He does in each of our lives, reminding Elijah that He was providing for him, that He was God and there
was no other. Pointedly, in 1 Kings 17: 8, God said to
Elijah: "Move on"; stop feeling sorry for yourself and take up the task I have
given you to do. That did not mean that
no problems would come up. He has no food and is told to go to Zeraphath, where
he meets a widow gathering sticks to prepare a last meal for herself and her
son and whom God designated as the one to meet Elijah’s need. Imagine Elijah hearing the widow's plight and then
proceeding to ask her for a meal for himself first and ensuring her that there will be
enough. Both Elijah’s and her faith is
challenged. She takes the risk and has
enough oil and flour for a whole year. The little she has, her giving out of
her poverty, is richly awarded because
she exercised her faith.
In today’s Scripture reading, 1 Kings 18: 20-39, we see Elijah
challenging 450 prophets of Baal to a test of faith: you call upon Baal, your god, Elijah tells these false prophets, and
I will call upon my God to consume our sacrifices of a young bull. Let us see
which God sends down fire from heaven to consume the holocaust. Of course, the 450 prophets of Baal are
unable to rouse their god while Elijah’s God, the one true and only God,
responds to Elijah’s request. Fire descends upon the altar, consuming the
sacrificial animal, the altar, the stones around the altar and the water.
The faith you and I have been given is no
different. Am I using it or losing it?
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