“Go Outside and Stand on The Mountain” by Phil Russell

“Go Outside and Stand on The Mountain” by Phil Russell

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Piety

“When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance of the cave.  1 Kings 19:13

[Peter cried out], “Lord, save me.”  Matthew 14:30

Study

“Elijah came to a cave where he took shelter, then the Lord said to him, “Go outside and stand on the mountain before the Lord; the Lord will be passing by.” 1 Kings 19 

“During the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them walking on the sea.”  Matthew 14:25

Action

“There was a tiny whispering sound. When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance of the cave.”  1 Kings 19

“Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying: “Truly you are the Son of God.”  Matthew 14:33

There is a song with compelling lyrics for today from back in the last millennium, composed by Samuel Barber and recorded by John Michael Talbot called “Cave of the Heart.”[i]

This Elijah is one of my earliest recollections, so long ago now, I am not sure if it was my Dad, or my Grandfather, who told it more and how often. That experience indelibly imprinted the story of Elijah on my heart and soul.

How things have changed over my lifetime of these seventy years, and how some things remain the same.

Life comes at us; often, we run, sometimes we find shelter and sometimes the storm just pounds away at us.

My watershed, the most savage storm of my life, came that Sunday morning two years ago when I got the call that my youngest son, my baby was dead.

The storm came at me like the iconic scene from Disney’s The Little Mermaid, when Ursula, the sea-witch rises with rage and creates colossal tempest, seeking to destroy.

Elijah had to feel something like that, as did Peter and others in the boat. The Lord asked both of these men to “come out” of their comfort zone.  They cannot let the Lord pass by ignored. 

Often it is in the “raging” that forces us to take those steps of faith actively.  Whether Jesus asks us to look outside of the cave or to get out of the boat, we must rely upon Faith to take sure-footed steps forward, onward.  

It is the Lord who reaches into the depths of our loss, our sorrows, our fears, our whatever, to take our hand and lead us to Peace.

Not unlike either Elijah or Peter, I want to do the just thing, whether that is to serve or to seek.  However, like both these “giants” of Faith, I get caught up in the “human”!

I fall. I retreat.  Only to have to listen to that still small voice, gently call to me in the cave of my heart.

We seem to be living in times, not unlike the times we read of in Scripture. I believe that every emotion that both these people experienced, we too, are suffering.  In some sense, we also have become “cave dwellers.”

We cover our faces with our masks, and yet we peer out from behind them, gazing with fear. The storm of this pandemic separates families, unable to bury our loved ones properly; to appropriately celebrate the marriage’s and graduations of our children; to collectively educate or children, least of which to socialize them.

We are living in a time when we, too, are witnessing division and distrust and even hatred for our neighbors.

Today is not just an ordinary Sunday in Ordinary Time. Today is an extraordinary time for Faith, for Hope, for Trust – and Jesus!

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[i] John Michael Talbot - Cave of the Heart from "Nothing Is Impossible" DVD (Introduction, Meditation and Song)