The Holy and Glorious Prophet Elijah (Elias) (9th c. BC)
James 5:10-20; Luke 4:22-30
Read Luke 4:22-30
The people’s opinion of Jesus at the beginning of today’s reading is drastically different from their opinion of Him at the end. Today’s reading begins: “All spoke well of Him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from His mouth” (Lk. 4:22). Towards the end we read: “When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. They got up, drove Him out of the town, and led Him to the brow of the hill . . . so that they might hurl Him off the cliff” (Lk. 4:28-29).
Today we celebrate the feast of St. Elijah. In the reading, Christ recalls Elijah as an example of a prophet who was not accepted in his own country. When Israel was experiencing a drought, Elijah was sent by God to a widow of great faith outside of Israel, in Zarephath. Faithless Israel would not accept him, but this woman did. God worked wonders for her through Elijah, including the multiplication of food and the raising of her son from the dead. Christ being rejected in His own country follows the same pattern we see with Old Testament prophets such as Elijah and Elisha. The people were enraged by Jesus and wanted to kill Him, but they were unsuccessful because His hour had not yet come.
Many people are attracted to Jesus and the wonders He works, but once they hear His message, many turn away from Him. His words are hard to accept, and we see this theme repeated throughout the New Testament. For example, let us recall the end of John 6 when “many of His disciples turned back and no longer went about with Him. So Jesus asked the twelve, ‘Do you also wish to go away?’ Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life’” (John 6:66-68). Today, let us remember that being faithful to Christ’s message probably won’t make us well-liked. Are we willing to face rejection in order to remain faithful to God?