A Penitent Blogger
Elijah the Restorer
Both of today’s readings focus on the work of the prophet Elijah as one of restoration.
In the Gospel (Matthew 17:9a, 10-13), our Lord says that “Elijah will indeed come and restore all things.”
Today’s first reading (Sirach 48:1-4,9-11) says of Elijah:
You were destined, it is written, in time to come
to put an end to wrath before the day of the LORD,
To turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons,
and to re-establish the tribes of Jacob.
Turning back “the hearts of fathers toward their sons” makes Elijah sound like an ancient family counselor: a sort of Old Testament “Doctor Phil”.
How does Elijah “restore all things” and “turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons”?
It can be summed up in his very name: Elijah – The LORD is God.
Recognizing God and restoring our relationship with Him is the starting point, foundation, and ultimate goal of the complete restoration of all things in our lives and in our world.
To put it another way, our broken relationship with God lies at the root of all of the wrath and all of the broken relationships in our world.
When God is not the center and the foundation of our lives, something else becomes the center and foundation of our lives: something that is not infinitely fulfilling, something that does not resonate perfectly, something that may be good in itself but is very, very out of place. Sometimes it is an ideology, sometimes it is pleasure, sometimes it is another human being, sometimes it is our ego. The basic structures of our hearts, minds, and lives are thus themselves out of place and disordered and this is manifested in the out-of-control emotions and the broken relationships that we experience in our lives.
By recognizing that the Lord is God, by restoring God to the center of our hearts and the center of our lives by his grace we restore a solid foundation to our lives upon which our emotions and our relationships can be restored.
Whenever we feel overcome with wrath or recognize the limitations of our relationships and the brokenness of our world, may we listen for the voice of Elijah and come to understand more fully, deeply, and perfectly that the Lord is God.
In the Gospel (Matthew 17:9a, 10-13), our Lord says that “Elijah will indeed come and restore all things.”
Today’s first reading (Sirach 48:1-4,9-11) says of Elijah:
You were destined, it is written, in time to come
to put an end to wrath before the day of the LORD,
To turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons,
and to re-establish the tribes of Jacob.
Turning back “the hearts of fathers toward their sons” makes Elijah sound like an ancient family counselor: a sort of Old Testament “Doctor Phil”.
How does Elijah “restore all things” and “turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons”?
It can be summed up in his very name: Elijah – The LORD is God.
Recognizing God and restoring our relationship with Him is the starting point, foundation, and ultimate goal of the complete restoration of all things in our lives and in our world.
To put it another way, our broken relationship with God lies at the root of all of the wrath and all of the broken relationships in our world.
When God is not the center and the foundation of our lives, something else becomes the center and foundation of our lives: something that is not infinitely fulfilling, something that does not resonate perfectly, something that may be good in itself but is very, very out of place. Sometimes it is an ideology, sometimes it is pleasure, sometimes it is another human being, sometimes it is our ego. The basic structures of our hearts, minds, and lives are thus themselves out of place and disordered and this is manifested in the out-of-control emotions and the broken relationships that we experience in our lives.
By recognizing that the Lord is God, by restoring God to the center of our hearts and the center of our lives by his grace we restore a solid foundation to our lives upon which our emotions and our relationships can be restored.
Whenever we feel overcome with wrath or recognize the limitations of our relationships and the brokenness of our world, may we listen for the voice of Elijah and come to understand more fully, deeply, and perfectly that the Lord is God.
posted by Penitens | 9:23 AM
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