“After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound.”
The gospel text of today – the 19th Sunday in Cycle A – narrates to us how the disciples encounter Jesus walking on the water. The first reading narrates to us how Elijah encounters the Lord God in a “whispering sound” or as NRSV has it, “a sound of sheer silence,” on Mt Horeb. What would it mean for us?
The first question to ask is: what state is Elijah in before the encounter? As soon as Elijah reaches the cave on Horeb, before the encounter, Yahweh asks him, “Why are you here, Elijah?” (1Kg 18:9). Why would the all-knowing God ask a mere mortal such a question? Can’t he see where is Elijah, and what he is doing? And why he is there? After all, it is Yahweh who asked him to go up the mountain. In fact, God would repeat this question once again (1Kg 18:13) – though this is not included in the first reading of today.
The question is much like that of Jesus to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Lk 24:17): “What are you discussing as you walk along?” God knows our stories, but he wants to know our version of the story. After all, it is not the events of our lives that affect us but the narrative or the interpretation of the events that affect us! And God/Jesus in effecting a healing process in us, attempts to re-frame our stories. And so, He first listens to our version of the story.
Elijah gives a pathetic negative answer in reply to the question of Yahweh, “I have been most zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts, but the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to the sword. I alone am left, and they seek to take my life.” (1Kings 18:9-10). A pessimistic rumination of a traumatized man. What was the reason for his trauma?
Elijah ministered during the time of King Ahab in the Northern Kingdom of Israel (1Kings 17). Initially, the reign of Ahab was marked by great peace, since his marriage with Jezebel from Sidon or Phoenician – a non-Israelite – was worked out by his father with an aim of political alliance.
Somehow Jezebel is very popular among evangelical churches but does not get much mention in the Catholic Church. Perhaps it is because research shows that in America, where most of these churches have their origin, there are more people who believe in the devil than those who believe in God. And Jezebel is a symbol that evil power.
She had brought with her to Israel the worship of Baal – the Canaanite god, and his consort, Asherah! Ahab himself had begun to worship them. Jezebel had installed 450 prophets of Baal (1Kg 18:23), and another 400 for Asherah. She systematically killed the prophets of Yahweh and only Elijah was left. (Though there is a mention that about 100 of them were hidden by Obadiah – 1Kg 18:4).
Initially, Yahweh through prophet Elijah had declared a severe drought that would last three years (1Kg 17), Why drought? It was a challenge to Baal, who was supposedly the god of thunder, rain, and fertility. This message was not powerful enough for Ahab and Jezebel.
Therefore, still during the drought, there is the famous contest between the prophets of Baal and Elijah (1Kings 18:19-36). Altars are set up for sacrifice, and the bulls are slaughtered. The prophets of Baal pray to their god to send fire down, nothing happens. But when Elijah prays the fire consumes the sacrifice. Following this the prophets of Baal are caught and slaughtered. Note: Elijah himself slits their throats. Four hundred and fifty of them.
Now when Jezebel hears of this, she wants to have Elijah killed. Elijah has to run for his life (1Kg 19:1). This leads him to a crisis, a psychological depression. Perhaps he suffers from posttraumatic stress disorder. He has killed 450 men, was it all futile? Perhaps there is a feeling of guilt in him. After all, blood is blood. Human blood. Was it the will of God? If all this was the will of God, why trouble again? Why is it that his own life is in danger.
Elijah does not have appetite, he wants to die, he is lethargic. He prayed for death! (1Kg 19:4). He is clearly depressed. He falls asleep under the Broom Tree. When he wakes up, he is told to eat and drink and walk for 40 days and 40 nights to reach a cave on Mount Horeb, where Elijah is going to see God face to face! Elijah is alone, having left his servant (1Kg 19:3).
Here, Elijah’s story has clear parallels to the encounter of Moses with Yahweh “in the hollow of a rock” in Exodus 33. Moses and Elijah two great personages of the Hebrew Scriptures! Moses’ own encounter takes place after a depressive episode, where the Lord calls the people of Israel stiff-necked people and tells them that He will not go with them to the promised land. And it is a moment discernment for Moses, who asks for a sign. He is told that Yahweh will pass before him, but he will not see his face.
Back to the story of Elijah. Even when he reaches the mount he is still depressed. The temptation in our lives is when we are in transition, and when we are discouraged, to escape from the Lord. Elijah stays there put, even if he is not too sure of his faith.
When we go through crises in our life, the temptation is to go into a downward spiral. We get sucked deeper and deeper into misery. We hide one mistake with another. We lose ourselves. On the other hand, the invitation of God to us is to go up the mountain.
As Elijah waits expectantly outside the cave, “a strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the LORD– but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake– but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was fire– but the LORD was not in the fire. After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound. When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance of the cave” (1Kg 19:11-13).
Holy, Holy, Holy… Mysterium tremendum et fascinans! There is theophany. The face of God is too tremendous to behold, even if it is attractive, fascinating! In the case of Moses, Yahweh himself hides Moses’ face. In the case of Elijah, he hides his face himself, overcome by a sense of awe!
What follows often after a deep experience of God is a new mission. The magi (Mt 2:1-11) have to go back to their own country following another path. The Samaritan woman (Jn 4) leaves her empty water jar and goes back to the people to invite them to come and see the messiah. The two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Lk 24:33) go back to Jerusalem that same night.
Elijah is going to be offered a new mission. In effect, he is going to retire. He has to anoint his successor: Elisha! Are we confused in moments of transition? Resignations, change of jobs, and transitions do not mean that God is far away from us. Those could be most powerful moments in our life. Because, God meets us in our vulnerability!
May the story of Elijah, and his encounter with the Lord God in the whisper inspire us to recognise Jesus who also comes to us in the storms of life.
We can also renew in ourselves a deep desire to see God face to face!
Sahaya G. Selvam, sdb
For another version of sermon for 19th Sunday: http://www.sahayaselvam.org/2026/08/08/sermon-for-19th-sunday-in-ordinary-time-year-a-homily/