DAILY HOMILIES #elijah

Today’s first reading pays a glowing tribute to Elijah. Not many people have such beautiful tributes. I once read a quote: “Live a good life so that no one will be forced to lie about you during your funeral.” Like John the Baptist, we are all called to become Elijah today.

Why do we quickly forget what God has done in the past when our expectations are unmet? Why do we abandon our admiration, faith, and devotion when our prayers are not granted? Bitterness, whether against God, others, or ourselves, dries up our faith. We stop seeing the brighter side of our situation and begin to wish for or expect only the worst. Every day is not Christmas Day; Life is a symphony of good and bad days.

God hears our prayers because He loves us, not because we use many words. For instance, can you compare the length of Elijah’s prayer with that of the prophets of Baal when God sent down fire to consume the burnt offerings? Do not let anyone make you believe that you haven’t prayed unless you sweat. Ensure that every word you utter is meaningful.

Elisha, like Solomon, was given a blank cheque to ask for anything. He could have asked for riches, long life or the death of his enemies, but he asked for a double share of Elijah’s spirit. When I pray, what do I ask for?

God is merciful, but we must first acknowledge our faults and beg for His forgiveness to access His mercy. If Ahab tried to justify his actions or cast blame like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, he would have died that day. There is no short supply of mercy in God’s reservoir; the problem is our refusal to ask for it – the problem is our pride.

God is truth; since no one can fight God, no one can fight, hide, or suppress the truth. Somehow and someday, the truth must come out. There is no need to swear at all. Truth is capable of testifying to itself. Let what you say be ‘yes’ or ‘no.’

The contents of your mind today mirror what your life will be like tomorrow. To create anything, that thing has to first exist in your mind (imagination); our minds have creative power. We can choose what becomes of us simply by choosing our thoughts.

It is one thing to let your light shine, but it is a different thing to pretend to attract the praise and admiration of others. When we truly let our light shine, we do it for God, but when we pretend to be pious, we do it just for ourselves, and we get no reward from God.

God is not interested in quantity; He wants quality. Jesus came to save millions of people, but He chose only twelve disciples. Do not be overwhelmed by the size of your opposition. You might be the only person against a crowd, but with God on your side, you are bigger than the crowd.

Your reward is great in heaven, but it begins here on earth. Don’t be afraid; God sends His consolations when He knows we are suffering on His behalf. God sent Angels to console Jesus at the Garden of Gethsemane. God did not wait for Elijah to die before sending ravens to feed him. It is said that ravens are the stingiest birds on earth, yet of all the other animals on earth, it was ravens that God chose. This teaches us that God makes a way where there seems to be no way.

Humans find it difficult to value what belongs to them. You struggle to acquire something today, and by tomorrow, it will have become worthless in your eyes. We do not value things produced in our country and are the first to criticise our people when they do something good. Meanwhile, we idolise those from distant places. This phenomenon was the sickness Jesus tried to correct when He cited the example of Naaman and the widow of Zaraphath in today’s Gospel passage.

Do you think there is anything too much for God? While thinking about this, remember that God did not consider the sacrifice of his only Son, Jesus Christ, too much for us. Reflecting on this, St. Paul, in our second reading today, assures us that if God did not spare His own Son, Jesus Christ, for our sake, then there is absolutely nothing He cannot do for our sake. (Romans 8:31-34).