O Prophet, who foresaw the mighty deeds of our God, O Great Elijah, who through your prayers stopped rain, intercede for us with the only One Who loves mankind
The Prophet, Elijah. from the Monastery of St Catherine, Sinai
Elijah is probably the most famous of all God’s prophets to Israel. He is a saint in the Eastern Church because he provided us with an example of how to truly trust in God. The story of his life is fascinating.
In the days when Ahab was King over the northern kingdom of Israel, the king’s wife, Jezebel, convinced the King and the people to worship false gods. God told Elijah to tell King Ahab that he had done evil and that God was going to stop it raining for three years. The King got so mad that Elijah had to run for his life.
God then told Elijah to go to the brook Cherith and hide himself. Again Elijah placed his trust in God. It was a twenty-five mile trip over mountains and across the river Jordan. As He promised, God sent ravens to feed Elijah. The birds brought Elijah bread and meat every morning and night and he drank out of the stream until it dried up. His placed absolute faith and trust in God’s word and many other miraculous things happened which allowed him to survive. His faith and trust paid off!
We, of course, are called to do the same. Indeed God has revealed to us through the Person of Jesus that He shares His very life with us and that immortality is ours, if only we learn to trust Him and develop the spiritual powers that He has given us. We must remember how St John defines ternal life: Eternal life is this: to know you, the only true God, and him whom you have sent, Jesus Christ.
This, I believe, is what the Eastern Fathers have attempted to teach us through the spiritual doctrine of Theosis. While God shares with us the power to know Him and Jesus Christ, we must want to know Him and actively work to do this. The primary way to come to know Jesus Christ, and therefore God, is by embracing His way of living, a way which includes learning how to unconditionally love others. If we do this, we come to know God.
Paul gives us these directions in his letter to the Romans (today’s Epistle reading):
Your love must be sincere…. Love one another with the affection of brothers. Anticipate each other in showing respect…. Rejoice in hope, be patient under trial, persevere in prayer. Look on the needs of the saints…. Bless your persecutors; bless and do not curse them.
This is the Jesus way of living. Something happens to us when we live in this manner. All of a sudden God becomes real to us since we are living in the manner that He intended us to live when He created us. To live this way, however, takes personal change and transformation. When we change, the reality of God and His promises become real. It is only when we do this, however, that God and the spiritual dimension of life become real – it is only then that we can hope to experience eternal life!