In our first reading from 1Kings 17, the prophet Elijah is thirsty and hungry, and the Lord sends him to a Gentile widow to be fed. The Gentile woman however has only a handful of flour and a little oil for cooking, enough to feed herself and her son and then she was prepared to die of hunger and thirst after that. But her faith was strong, even though she was not from Israel.
Elijah convinces her to prepare the bread for him, in spite of her circumstances and tells her to not be afraid and that God has told him that the jar of flour will not go empty nor the jug of oils run dry, until the day when the Lord sends rain upon the earth. The rest of the story can be seen in the first book of Kings just prior to today’s readings.
The king of Israel, King Ahab, had worshipped and served Baal, and Ahab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel than any of the kings of Israel before him. Elijah, the prophet was God’s representative while Ahab and his wife Jezebel were devotees to the 850 prophets of Baal. In fact, it was Jezebel who introduced Baal to Israel. In the next chapter of 1 Kings, we see where Elijah pleas to the people of Israel to choose God (Yahweh) rather than the Baals. I recommend that you read 1 and 2 Kings so you can see how powerful God’s prophets like Elijah were and how evil the kings of Israel that came after King David were.
Today, we no longer have kings in Israel or many of the nations of the world, but we have world leaders who are eager to gain power, just like the kings of Israel were. They may not worship Baals, but in many ways they have modern versions of idol worship. Power, wealth, prestige and pride can become things that powerful leaders want and many times they are willing to sacrifice their faith in God in the process of acquiring what they desire. They can also get like the Kings of old and sacrifice not only their faith but also their own family and friends in the process.
We can learn a lot by reading the Old Testament scriptures, including how Yahweh reacted when the rulers and people of Israel were either faithful or unfaithful to Him. The faithful prospered while the unfaithful paid for their defections. In fact, the stories in the two books of Kings could be renamed to the Rise and Fall of the Israelite Monarchy.
As I write this reflection, we are only days away from the election. By the time you read this, we may or may not have the final results. Whoever wins, we must pray for our people and our nation to heal from all the division and work together to love one another in a real way. Here at St. Vincent, we have a great community of faithful believers, and may the Lord show us his will and help us to work towards following his will in our daily lives.
Saint Vincent Ferrer, pray for our community.