In a few days we will celebrate and honor Prophet Elijah, one of the great Prophets of the Old Testament. He fearlessly proclaimed God’s truth to Israelites and chastised king Ahab and his queen Jezebel for their apostasy from the true God and for their idolatry. They persecuted Yahweh’s true Prophets and the pious, God-fearing Israelites. In addition, Jezebel imported idol-worshiping prophets to convert the people to idol worshiping.
Elijah chastised the king and queen for their idolatry and their scandalizing example. He also challenged the false prophets of Baal to offer a sacrifice to their god, but they should not light the fire themselves. They needed to ask their idol-god to send fire to light the fire of their sacrifice. You know the answer to their prayer. Zero. But when Elijah prayed to Yahweh, the true God, fire came down from heaven and consumed his sacrifice. Thus he was able to prove the truth of the living God and restore the true faith in Israel.
But the king and queen, instead of repenting and believing in the true God, sought to kill Elijah. God, however, protected him and sent him to a secure, hiding place in the desert and miraculously fed him there. The pious Israelites, after they saw God’s miraculous intervention in the life of Elijah, believed in their Paternal God and threw away their idols.
We have so many false prophets and idolatries in our own times. We need the spirit of Elijah and the witness of our true Faith to expose them, to ask our True God to protect and strengthen our true Faith and guide us in our everyday religious life.
As in the time of Elijah, there is much corruption in our political system. Those who dare to point it out, they are maligned and dismissed from their office and are persecuted. In recent years we saw such cases on all levels of government by the powerful.
There is much injustice and immorality in “high society” which scandalizes the common citizens; it surfaces periodically and the powerful try very hard to hide it with their luxury, power, and the latest fashions.
Even the schools and churches and other social institutions are periodically marred by the behavior of some teachers and priests and employees. The institutions have tried to hide them, but the press periodically brings them to light to show us the scandals and weaknesses in these institutions. Responsible parents and faithful people are scandalized by these revelations and worry about their children.
The press and TV, who have become the conscience of society in some way, have recently adopted the easy way of gathering their news and stories. They follow the fire engines and police cruisers to the scenes of the fire or accident or crime to offer us pictures of what they see, tailored to our own curiosity. We need and expect, however, something deeper and more reflective from them for the good and betterment of the citizens and society. We need their constructive analysis of the causes of the events and recommendations for the betterment of society.
Where there is an obligation of the Government to assist certain people, there is also a reciprocal obligation of the people who receive the assistance. First, they are called to improve their condition by working as much as they can. Secondly, to be responsible citizens. If they are parents, to raise their children with love for God and their fellow man; to strive to instill a good character in them to respect their fellow citizens and work constructively for the betterment of society.
Our true God does not bless compromises in our faith and moral life. He is an impartial Judge and will bless or judge us according to our behavior. He has graciously granted us His Grace to enable us to keep His saving Commandments. Let us heed His invitation which His servants proclaim to us and receive God’s blessing.