Take Me In

June 13, 2008
Memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua, priest and doctor of the Church

Even if my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will take me in. LORD, show me your way; lead me on a level path because of my enemies. Do not abandon me to the will of my foes; malicious and lying witnesses have risen against me. Psalm 27:11-12

If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna. Matthew 5:29-30

Piety
Lord take me in no matter what I do to stray from your path. Take me in. Do not abandon me to the forces of selfishness, materialism and greed that so infect today’s world and rise up all around me. Take me in. Amen.

Study
http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/061308.shtml

What is it about Elijah that caused him to be revered as such a great prophet? Some of his actions up to now seem particularly barbaric by modern standards…at least my modern standards. No wonder nearly everyone wants to kill him because of his particularly violent way of defending Yahweh.

So as much as I would like to spend tonight reading about Saint Anthony -- my name saint -- instead, I keep trying to understand what it is about Elijah that – despite his violent means – allows the Lord to hold him in such high esteem.

A few references set the stage:

Elijah came onto the scene a few chapters earlier warning Ahab, king of Israel, that there will be years of drought, a drought so severe that not even dew will fall. This catastrophe will come because Ahab and his queen--Jezebel--stand at the end of a line of kings of Israel who are said to have "done evil in the sight of the Lord." In particular, Ahab and Jezebel had encouraged the worship of Baal and killed the prophets of the Lord.

Elijah not only challenges Baal on behalf of Yahweh (Jehovah) the God of Israel, he challenges Jezebel, her priests, Ahab, and the people of Israel.

According to Dennis Bracter, “When crops were abundant, Ba‘al (a rival deity in the Old Testament) was praised and thanked for his abundant rain. It is in this context that drought of I Kings 18 had such impact. Not only was lack of rain a threat to survival, it was also a sign that the gods of the Ba‘al myth were unhappy. That is why, Bracter contends, that the "contest" between Elijah and the prophets of Ba’al carries such significance. The issue is really who controls the rain, Ba‘al or Yahweh.[1] Elijah shows that it is Yahweh. Yet in victory, he turns to violence – gruesome violence – and that leaves him exiled from all the people.

The confrontation and execution of the prophets of Ba’al left Elijah in conflict with King Ahad and Jezebel who now threaten Elijah. After that, Elijah hid in the mountains and the wilderness until a sign and message from the Lord caused him to race ahead of Ahab to Jezreel.

After the journey to Jezreel, Elijah takes up hiding in a new place near Mount Horeb because the Israelites also seek to kill him. During this exile, Elijah gets another message from the Lord on his next assignment. Rather than stay in exile, the Lord sends Elijah back into the world to anoint the kings and prophets who will succeed him.

Clearly Elijah has emerged as a defender of the Lord who is forced to face possible death when he goes back out into the world as commissioned. Yet, I can’t help but wonder if his reputation as defender of the Lord would have been secure without the need to execute his rivals?

Some answers may lie in our Psalm for today.

Hear my voice, LORD, when I call; have mercy on me and answer me. "Come," says my heart, "seek God's face"; your face, LORD, do I seek! Do not hide your face from me; do not repel your servant in anger. You are my help; do not cast me off; do not forsake me, God my savior! Even if my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will take me in. LORD, show me your way; lead me on a level path because of my enemies. Do not abandon me to the will of my foes; malicious and lying witnesses have risen against me. Psalm 27:7-12

The Lord does not abandon Elijah to the will of his enemies. Instead, He keeps Elijah on “a level path” with them.

Jesus, in today’s reading from Matthew, comes along and is now encouraging purity of heart and mind, body and soul. As the notes to the N.A.B. for this chapter point out, “No sacrifice is too great to avoid total destruction.”

If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna. Matthew 5:29-30

So while Elijah’s behavior helped him to survive the trials he faced for the Lord in the 9th century B.C., Jesus changes the standards of behavior when he comes along. So Elijah helps Judaism survive and thrive when it was faced with particular challenges from the outside world. Yet, a few centuries later, he may have had to use different tactics.

If I am missing something, please post a comment or send me references to understand “Elijah for Dummies” (like me).

Action

Maybe this whole mass execution bothers me because we have made such progress on death penalty issues. There is a long way to go but we had some good news this week in Virginia.
Thank you very much to all who took action over the weekend and yesterday to ask Virginia Governor Tim Kaine to commute the death sentence of Percy Walton, who was scheduled to be executed Tuesday night (6/10/08) at 9pm for his murders of Jessie Kendrick, Elizabeth Kendrick and Archie Moore. Late Monday, Governor Kaine commuted Percy Walton's death sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole, citing Walton's severe mental illness.

You can read the Governor's statement here.

Please take a moment to thank Governor Kaine for this action.Gov. Tim KaineP.O. Box 1475Richmond, Virginia 23218Phone: (804) 786-2211Fax: (804) 371-6351

You can e-mail Gov. Kaine via his web page.

[1] “Ba‘al Worship in the Old Testament” by Dennis Bratcher http://www.cresourcei.org/baal.html