The Holy and Glorious Prophet Elijah (Elias) (9th c. BC)
All-Night Vigil Feast. A day when the faithful are highly encouraged to participate in the Divine Liturgy.
Read
James 5:10-20; Luke 4:22-30
What happened to the people who listened to Jesus and His teaching? From marvel at His words to the desire to throw Him off a cliff! And are we in any way like these townsfolk of Jesus?
It is amazing what narrow-minded pride can do. Jesus came to His hometown of Nazareth and the people wanted to hear Him. But they also wanted Him to perform the same or even greater miracles and wonders at home than He did in Capernaum. One could say that they felt entitled to this as Jesus was “nash” (our own). If Jesus did greater works in Nazareth than elsewhere, it could easily be perceived that they were somehow better than any other place. Simply put, they wanted to satisfy their own vanity.
Jesus gave two examples to try to get His own people to change their perspective on the whole miracle thing – the widow of Zarephath and the leper Naaman of Syria – both of whom had interactions with Elias the Prophet (whose feast we celebrate today). Elias continually dealt with a people who had hardened hearts, who sought special entitled favour with the Lord. Lead by the Holy Spirit, he sought a change of heart in the people to whom he ministered – to hearts of flesh instead of hearts of stone. Elias found hearts of flesh in the neediness of the widow of Zarephath and in the helplessness of the Naaman the leper. With a heart of flesh, they could not only hear the word of the Lord as given through Elias, but allow it to change their lives. It just doesn’t work with stony hearts.
How is your heart today? Do you seek to “control” the Lord and His words and deeds in your life like His own townspeople? Do you try to hear with a heart of flesh, allowing His word to penetrate and change your life? King David realized how hard his heart was after he killed a man to take his wife. He repented in ash and sackcloth and wrote Psalm 50[51]. Perhaps you would like to pray that same psalm of repentance, have your heart changed, and see what glories the Lord has in store for you!