The Holy and Glorious Prophet Elijah (Elias) (9th c. BC)
James 5:10-20; Luke 4:22-30
All-Night Vigil Feast. A day when the faithful are highly encouraged to participate in the Divine Liturgy.
Read James 5:10-20
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
Today, brothers and sisters, we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Prophet Elias (Elijah) the Tishbite. St. Elias was an Old Testament prophet whom we hear about in the Books of Kings, and he is mentioned in today’s Epistle Reading from the Book of James.
The lives of the saints are eloquent expositions of each saint’s sanctity and righteous life and should inspire a great sense of awe and reverence within us. However, they can also sometimes make us feel inadequate and unworthy. Rather than aspiring to imitate their sanctity, we see it as an unreachable goal. We see the saints not as human beings who, through a God-fearing and righteous life, have attained theosis, but rather as superhumans to whom we cannot relate nor imitate.
The Holy Apostle James reminds us today of two very important things: 1) the fervent and effective prayer of a righteous person is effectual and 2) Elias was a human just like us. Elias did all these wondrous works not because he was superhuman. Elias was full of zeal for the Lord and was a man of deep prayer. His zeal and prayer life opened him to allow the Lord to work through him in service to others for the greater glory to God.
Pray, brothers and sisters. May we pray like Elias so that the Lord can use us in this world as well!