Elijah’s triumph over the priests of Baal reminds me of popular movies where a community lives controlled by a villain aided by evil henchmen. A hero arrives and against all odds saves the day. They are exciting crowd-pleasers; a break from the often grim reality of life, where such plots very seldom successfully play out among us.
Our reading ends with the capture of the priests of Baal and their killing. It was a brief triumph. Elijah died in bitter seclusion while worship of Baal continued.
Despite all that, Elijah’s story reminds us that God raises up prophets among us whose lives are active, vibrant, exhausting and require the grit and determination to continue to remind and assure us that God never gives up on us even when we have lost our way. It may help us to hold on, to be as active and vibrant as we can, even when we are exhausted, and the required grit and determination are hard to muster.
God of Elijah, with great fire you made your presence known to the worshippers of Baal. Help us to resist the temptation to place our trust and faith in anything other than you. Receive our worship and strengthen our faith. Amen. —