19th Sunday of Ordinary Time

 Hearing God’s Voice

Elijah was the greatest Prophet of the Old Testament.

Of all the prophets of Israel he was the only one

who did not go over to worship false gods.

And now God was going to speak to him.

So he stood on the mountain waiting for God to speak.

And a strong wind came by,

But God was not in the wind.

Then there was an earthquake

But God was not in the earthquake

Then there was a fire,

But God was not in the fire.

And after the fire,

There was a tiny whispering sound,

And when Elijah heard this,

He hid his face in his cloak,

For he knew God was near.

We all have images of what we think God is like in our head.

Powerful and Eternal;

Holy and Unapproachable;

A King, a Judge,

Or someone waiting to catch you when you mess up.

The story of Elijah the greatest prophet of all,

Is a reminder that God is not always what we think He is.

Elijah expected God to reveal Himself,

In Power and Majesty,

Like an earthquake or a consuming Fire.

And instead God revealed Himself in the tiny whisper of a wind.

We often can miss God revealing Himself to us,

Because we have these images and notions of God

That prevent us from noticing God,

When He comes to us in way different than we expect.

God can come to us however and whenever He wants.

Sometimes God speaks to us in the beauty of Creation.

Other times God speaks to us in the depths of our suffering.

God can speak to us in our family members and friends;

In the stranger on the street.

In the Poor and the Homeless.

God actually speaks to us everyday and in various ways.

If we do not hear Him,

It is not because He is not speaking;

But because we expected something different,

And we let our opportunity to hear His voice pass us by.

God Bless