PROPHET ELIJAH & FIRE FROM HEAVEN
(Friday, August 2)
“Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, ‘Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?’ But He turned and rebuked them, and said, ‘You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.’ And they went to another village.” (Lk 9: 51-56)
Today, when on the OC we celebrate the Prophet Elijah, I’m thinking about the shocking (to my mind) moments in the ministry of this glorious Prophet, like the one mentioned by James and John in the above-quoted passage, when Elijah prayed that 50 soldiers of King Ochozias and their commander, who were sent to arrest Elijah, be consumed by fire from heaven. “And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him, and the fifty that were with him.” (4 Kingdoms 1) When another 50 soldiers were sent to the Prophet, they, too, were burned alive by heavenly fire, by his prayers. Then, a third group of 50 soldiers was sent to arrest Elijah, but their commander begged the Prophet to spare their lives, and an angel of the Lord also chimed in, so they survived.
Now, if we think about how our Lord Jesus Christ in the above-quoted passage refused to do “just as Elijah did” in the case of the inhospitable Samaritans, we’ll note a change in the way God is manifesting His “fire” to us, in the new era that dawned with the coming to us of His Son. While God Himself did not want to consume His creation by His “fire,” as revealed to Moses already in the Burning or Unburnt Bush (Exodus 3), still in the time of Elijah humanity was not ready to receive the heavenly fire in Christ-like ways. But in the new era of our Lord, instead of “50 men” being burned by heavenly fire, the Apostles receive the “tongues of fire” on the “50th Day,” on Pentecost, which empower them to speak the Good News to crowds of diverse people in a unifying, salvific manner. Our Lord also revealed His light to both Moses and Elijah in a new way on the mountain of the Transfiguration (as described earlier in the same Chapter 9 of Luke, quoted above), although James and John did not quite get the point of that revelation, which they also witnessed on that mountain, as we can see in their consequent “not helpful” suggestion about the Samaritan village.
I can’t do justice to this profound topic in a brief reflection, but just wanted to note with gratitude the progress God has made with us, throughout Salvation History. Thank You, Lord, for teaching us but not consuming us, by Your fire. May it burn brightly in our hearts today, by the prayers of Your glorious prophets and apostles. Amen!
