Ordinary Time

Pause

A wise person once said: “Stillness is strength.”

Take a moment to Be Still.

Let God’s strength fill you and guide you.

Listen

Elijah got up, ate and drank, and went refreshed by that food for forty days and nights until he arrived at Horeb, God’s mountain. There he went into a cave and spent the night.

The Lord’s word came to him and said, “Why are you here, Elijah?”

Elijah replied, “I’ve been very passionate for the Lord God of heavenly forces because the Israelites have abandoned your covenant. They have torn down your altars, and they have murdered your prophets with the sword. I’m the only one left, and now they want to take my life too!”

The Lord said, “Go out and stand at the mountain before the Lord. The Lord is passing by.”

1 Kings 19:8-11a

Think

In the midst of a crisis, we see how much suffering can be inflicted on the people who seem to have the least. We feel like we need to do whatever we can to help those in need but feel so powerless to do so. We see how unfair it is that some people are able to provide food for their families while their neighbors don’t have the means to eat every day. What could we possibly do in this situation while not putting ourselves or anyone else at risk?

In the scripture, Elijah was able to eat and rest safely, but his fellow prophets did not share that same privilege. Elijah feared that he would not be able to help his people without putting his life at risk, but God still called upon him. Elijah was prepared to hear what God had to say to him, even though he was surely scared. As Elijah was called, so are we called to Be Still and listen for how God might be asking us to serve — even if it costs us something.

Jon Chacko

Pray

Creator God, help me to be still and learn from you how I can serve others. Amen.

Go

God, let my seeing and hearing, my words and my actions be rooted like a strong tree in a silent certainty of your presence. Amen.

Adapted from a Celtic benediction by J. Phillip Newell.