Father Christopher Zugger

After God shows his power and the destruction of the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18), the wicked queen Jezebel set out to destroy Elijah. The once mighty prophet runs for cover-seeking refuge in a desert under a broom tree, begging God to take his life. There an angel comes to him, and gives him bread from heaven, bread that foreshadows the Eucharist. The angel brings him this unique bread, the bread that foreshadows what Jesus will bring to us, the bread worshipped by the angels at every altar in every Catholic rite around the world, the bread that is the summit of our lives, the heart of our existence.

With this bread, Elijah travels to Horeb, that is to Mount Sinai. He goes to where Moses met God, where ancient Israel once worshipped an idol made of gold, and where God revealed Himself in His full power and majesty amid thunder and lightning, and gave the commandments to Moses and to the people of Israel. Elijah saw the people reject those commandments and are worshipping idols and false gods again. But how does God reveal himself to Elijah, the greatest of all of the prophets?

“Then the LORD said, “Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will be passing by.” 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. A voice said to him, “Elijah, why are you here?” (1 Kings 19:11 – 13)

Not in thunder, or earthquakes, or fire – but after all those dramatic moments, Elijah hears the thin small sound of silence, and then he goes to the mouth of the cave and covers his face and his head, because he knows that God is there.

Why are we here? Not just here, tonight, in this church. Why are we here?
We are here to learn, to grow, to love, to grow in love and truly learn how to love God and be loved by God. The Eucharist is our principal food, our main food, the food that carries us. That heavenly bread, the bread of the angel, that first panis angelicus, carried Elijah for 40 days to Sinai, to meet the Lord God face to face.

Holy Communion, the true angelic bread, the true panis angelicus, brings us face to face with God here and now.

Why are you here?

He was there to learn, and after all of the spectacular things recorded in the first book of Kings – of calling in drought, of destroying the false prophets of the false god, of raising the dead back to life, of ending the drought with the torrential rains that poured out of a single little cloud, escaping Jezebel’s plan to kill him, of feeding off the bread from an angel – after all that, he finds God in the thin small sound of silence, of a tiny whisper of a sound. Elijah hears God, because he surrendered and let go.

There is a mystery here, deep and profound, as simple as a whisper. God is searching for men and women who will surrender their lives in love to Him. Often, it takes the depletion of all of our own efforts and resources before we are willing to give up – and give in – to Him.

In this liturgy tonight, let us ask the Lord when we receive Him in Holy Communion that like Elijah, we will surrender ourselves to Him. Let us strive to listen to Him, to hear Him. In all of the spectacular miracles that Elijah performed, he never once covered his head and face, in all of the times that he proclaimed what the Holy Spirit revealed to him, he never covered his head and face. He only does that in the thin small sound of silence at the mouth of the cave because he has learned to truly listen.

The apostles asked Jesus when had Elijah returned, and he tells them that it was through the mission of John the Baptist, that fulfilled what the angel Gabriel had announced to Zechariah. The angel had said then in Luke chapter 1  that John will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him [Jesus] in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord”.

Am I prepared for the Lord, or am I overly attached still to certain things of this fallen world? Am I obedient in the wisdom of the just, or am I attached to the disobedience of sin? Elijah made mistakes, got scared, ran away. But in the end, he surrendered his own will to the will of God, and then he could meet  God. Let us try especially hard tonight to meet God when we receive the panis angelicus, the bread of angels, in this Eucharist, and may Saint Elijah the prophet to pray for us all to do just that.