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Friday of
the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
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(I Kings 19:9a,
11-16, Matthew
5:27-30)
The “tiny,
whispering sound” conveying the presence of the Lord to Elijah might be translated
the “sound of silence.” God visits him,
as He does each of us, in the silent chamber of conscience where He tempers our
pride and chastens our sloth.
The Lord
questions Elijah, “Why are you here?” He is being both rhetorical and
accusatory. God knows well that Elijah
has chosen to run away from his responsibilities as prophet. Elijah must speak the word of God in order to
turn the people’s hearts back to God. But
the prophet only complains about his lot: the people have abandoned God, they
have killed God’s messengers, and they are presently hunting down Elijah
himself. God, however, does not condemn Elijah
for irresponsibility and endless complaints.
He re-commissions him to carry out His will.
Sometimes we
feel discouraged like Elijah. Nothing
seems to go right despite our efforts to please God. We too complain about our situation and
perhaps become cynical about our lots improving. A generation ago Henry Nouwen wrote a
pamphlet “From Resentment to Gratitude” which explored these feelings of
frustration and anger that pervade contemporary life. As an antidote, Nouwen prescribes humbly
refocusing our perspective. He writes
that we must see “that our life is not an inalienable property to be defended but a gift to be shared.” Recognizing life for the gift that it is, we
can leave behind our sulking to do God’s will.
