1 Kings 19:1–15a
Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah; he left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, “Get up and eat.” He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him, and said, “Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.” He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.
At that place he 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.
Reflection
A fearful moment in the life of Elijah. Elijah had carried out the will of God with the Baal prophets and now Jezebel had threatened his life. Elijah had had enough and was ready to give up. But God came to Elijah. God came to Elijah as Elijah was hiding. God came to Elijah not in the mighty ways that we all tend to remember. God came to Elijah not in the wondrous miracles. God came to Elijah while Elijah was afraid and ready to give up. God came to Elijah in a small voice.
God comes to us in many ways. God comes in ways that we do not expect. God comes to us to lead and guide his faithful in his will and his way. God comes to us to encourage us to go on with this life. God loves us and uses us in the here and now. Even in the midst of the trials of life, even in the depths of depression, God comes to us, and bids us to go on. God comes and tells us time after time to "Go."
In the depths of depression, God comes to Elijah with a meal. A meal that would sustain Elijah for a long time. God comes to us in meals. Meals of fellowship and love that sustain more than just our body, but meals that sustain our spirits. God comes to us in meals of bread and wine, body and blood and salvation. God sustains his people with meals that are miraculous. God sustains us with meals that we sometimes take for granted. God comes to us and God sustains us for the journey.
Yes, God comes to us in unique and various ways. Here God comes to Elijah in a meal and in the sound of gentleness. God comes to Elijah in gentle silence in the quiet of a cave entrance. I wonder if God came to some women early one Sunday morning in the gentle silence of a different cave opening at the tomb of Jesus on Easter. I'm sure God comes to us at these moment when we stand in the face of death. God comes to us in that gentle silence and proclaims Easter life. Life from death. Resurrection life granted freely to us through faith in Jesus our Lord and Savior.
Yes, God comes to us in various ways. But one of the most powerful is at the entrance to the cave in that quiet, gentle silence and in that still small voice. God comes and commands that we GO! It's all taken care of... it all will be fine... now Go!
Prayer
Come Father... come... come Lord Jesus... come... come Holy Spirit... come... today... tomorrow... and forever. --- Amen
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