Wednesday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
1 Kings 18:20–39
This is one of the best-known stories about Elijah.
It is a dramatic showdown between two altars, two liturgies, and two claims about life.
On one side stand the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal. On the other side stands one prophet of the Lord: Elijah.
The people of Israel are watching.
Elijah begins with a question:
“How long will you straddle the issue? If the Lord is God, follow him; if Baal, follow him.”
It is a simple question, but not an easy one.
Whom will you serve?
The story begins with silence. The people do not answer a word. They do not deny the Lord, but they do not choose Him either. They stand in the middle, waiting to see what will happen.
That silence is still familiar.
Jesus will later say:
“No one can serve two masters… You cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matthew 6:24)
Interestingly, the word Baal can mean “owner,” “lord,” or “master.” Elijah asks Israel to choose between the Lord and Baal. Jesus asks us to choose between God and mammon.
Different names. Same struggle.
And today, the answer is often given without words.
Walk through any modern city and you will see beautiful towers of finance, business, luxury, and consumption. They shine like temples. They promise security, status, comfort, and power.
Sometimes, when I look at those glass towers, I think of the Tower of Babel.
Pope Francis often warned that materialism can rob us of our humanity. But do we listen?
Or do we, like the people in Elijah’s time, remain silent?
Elijah does not answer this crisis with argument alone. He builds an altar.
He takes twelve stones, a sign of the twelve tribes of Israel. He repairs what has been broken. He prepares the sacrifice at the hour of the evening offering. Then he pours water over the sacrifice three times.
Water and fire.
Then Elijah prays.
And the fire of the Lord falls.
The people finally cry out:
“The Lord is God! The Lord is God!”
For Christians, this scene quietly points us toward Christ.
At the hour of sacrifice, Jesus offers Himself on the altar of the Cross. From His pierced side flow blood and water. Through the waters of Baptism, we are made new. Through the fire of the Holy Spirit, our hearts are purified. Through the Eucharist, we are brought to the altar of the Lamb.
So how can the Church help the world rediscover that the Lord is God?
By doing what Elijah did.
Repair the altar. Call people back to the living God. Lead them through the waters of Baptism. Bring them to the fire of the Spirit. Gather them around the Eucharist.
Because the deepest answer to Baal is not an idea.
It is a people set on fire by God.
A people who no longer serve mammon. A people who no longer remain silent. A people who can say with their lives:
The Lord is God. The Lord alone is God.
Scripture Attribution
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993
the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of
Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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