Friday, July 16, 2004
Fast Day
Hieromartyr Athenogenes, Bishop of Herakleopolis
2nd at Vesprs/2, Prophet Elijah: 1 Kings 18:41-46 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 7:35-8:7 Gospel: St. Matthew 15:29-31
1 Kings 18:41-46, especially vs. 41: "And Elijah said to Ahab, 'Go up, eat and drink; for
there is a sound of the rushing of rain.'" We disdain the commandments of God at great peril to life, limb, and our heart's
well-being. God records for us that Ahab, the king of Israel, provoked Divine wrath upon himself, his household, and his
nation "more than all who were before him" (1 K. 16:30). Still, in His mercy, the Lord permits us to perceive what was
plain and evident to His servant, Elijah. The Prophet knew that the king's marriage to Jezebel unequally yoked the
monarch, as well as the people and the realm, to a committed pagan (1 K. 16:31; 2 Cor. 6:14). He understood that the
king's worship of Baal affronted the true Lord Who gives life to all (Ex. 20:3,4). What the king ignored in building a
temple for Baal in the nation's capital, Elijah discerned to be an approaching disaster for the kingdom (1 Sam. 15:23).
Elijah, however, was a man of great faith, one who took God at His word and lived his entire life in close communion with
the Lord. Therefore, God entrusted the power of a prolonged drought and famine solely to the word of Elijah as a warning
to the king and the nation (1 K. 17:1). Later, the Lord affirmed His trust in His Prophet before the people on Mount Carmel
(1 K. 18:20-39), an event that precipitated the execution of the priests of the cult of Baal (1 K. 18:40). It was at that point
that the great Prophet was prepared to say to Ahab, "Go up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of the rushing of rain" (1 K.
18:41). At that moment Elijah knew that the drought was coming to an end, though there was no cloud visible in the sky
(vs. 43).
What is "great faith," a stamp so plainly evident on the person of Elijah? Surely, it is knowing God, and waiting for God,
and, above all, having the hand of God upon one's own person (vs. 46). Without question, Elijah knew God, but let us be
careful and clear. The Prophet had a functioning relationship with the Lord. We must not understand by these words that
he knew much 'about' God. No, he knew the Lord, person to Person. Hence, the Lord could speak to him, and Elijah
heard the "word of the Lord" (1 K. 18:1). How is it possible that a man can hear the word of the Lord? It is because he
"stands before" the Lord (1 K. 17:1).
How is it that anyone 'knows' another person? Is it not by spending time with another, conversing with another, and so
coming to know the heart and mind of another? Knowing God is similar. Think of what is implied in the little reference of
Elijah to his life with God, "the Lord God lives, before Whom I stand" (1 K. 17:1). Hours and days of inner struggle and
prayer are embedded in that phrase. Many of the ascetic Fathers such as St. Isaac the Syrian speak of such inner work:
"The ladder that leads to the Kingdom is hidden within you, and is found in your own soul. Dive into yourself and in your
soul you will discover the rungs by which to ascend." God is there and present for us. Let us struggle to stand before Him,
to be present with Him.
Great faith also entails waiting for the Lord, for God acts in His good time, when He is ready. Elijah did not go to Ahab
until "many days" had passed and until the "word of the Lord came"(1 K. 18:1). Likewise, after the defeat of the priests of
Baal, Elijah "bowed himself down upon the earth" and waited for God, waited in faith (1 K. 18:42). Then the cloud came
(vs. 44).
When one knows God and is content to wait for Him, God empowers such a person with great faith. It is fair to say of such
a person that "the hand of the Lord" is upon him. In such a state, a man is able to run before those of little or no faith, even
as Elijah ran the seventeen miles from Mount Carmel to Jezreel ahead of Ahab's chariot (vs. 46).
O Lord Thou art become my helper; in the shelter of Thy wings will I rejoice. My soul hath cleaved after Thee, Thy right
hand hath been quick to help me. (Ps. 62:7,8 LXX)