Elijah is fed by ravens in the desert, and by a poor widow who has nothing. Then the Lord shows that he is the one true God by setting fire to an altar.
Elijah is another one of the prophets: people who spoke to the Lord and gave messages to the people of Israel from God the Father. Once, many years after King David had passed away, Elijiah was told that there would be a drought in the land of Israel, meaning that there wouldn't be any rain and so no plants would grow.
So Elijah went into the desert where the Lord had told him to go, and was fed in the morning and evening by ravens who would bring him bread and meat - just as the Lord had promised. The river from which he drank soon ran dry from the drought. The Lord sent Elijah into a nearby town to ask a poor woman who's husband had died for food.
When he asked for the food, the widow told Elijah about the fact that she had only a handful of flour left to feed her and her son with, and that when they had eaten it she feared that they would die of starvation. They had no one to provide them with food. Elijah asked her to use the little flour to make him food anyway, and promised that the Lord would ensure that she had food for her son and her household for a long time.
The widow followed the instructions Elijah gave her, and there was so much bread for her to eat after that Elijah stayed with the family during the drought. Soon the widow's son fell sick as well and the widow thought it was because of Elijah's presence - so Elijah prayed that the Lord would be merciful to the woman who had been so generous with him, and the Lord granted Elijah's request: the widow's son was healed.
After that the Lord called Elijah away to meet the new King of Israel, Ahab. Ahab had let his people fall into worshiping other gods, especially the good Baal of the other people who lived in the land. There was so much unfaithfulness to the Lord that a young woman named Jezebel had been hunting down prophets of the Lord and killing them. But Elijah faced the danger anyway and told King Ahab to call all of his people to a mountain in the morning.
There, he told the Israelites to stop straddling both faithfulness to the Lord and worshiping Baal. He had them set up two altars with sacrifices of a bull, and to call upon their god Baal to set fire to it.
When it was noon, Elijah taunted them: “Call louder, for he is a god; he may be busy doing his business, or may be on a journey. Perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” Noon passed and they remained in a prophetic state until the time for offering sacrifice. But there was no sound, no one answering, no one listening.
Then, Elijah had them pour three large pots of water upon the other altar, and he added twelve stones to represent the twelve tribes of Israel - and he prayed to the God of Abraham, Jacob and Israel to set fire to the altar. Immediately, the altar, all of the bull that had been offered, all of the wood and even the stones were completely consumed by the fire! They all were burnt up so quickly that nothing was left.
The Baal worshipers who were gathered said themselves that the Lord is God!
Connection & Reflection: On the stone altar that Elijah sets up, the Lord proves again his power and that he is the Lord of All Creation. The Israelites keep searching for a god who will give them whatever they want, a god who is the most powerful, but they continue to turn away from God the Father. But our Father is patient, and continues over and over again to give his beloved children proof of his love and his presence.
Prayer: Father in Heaven, we know that you are the Lord of all Creation. We also know that you love us, and even though we would like to have an easy life, that a life with you is richer and better. Please give us the courage, as Elijah had, to face the world around us that does not believe in you, to keep faithful, to speak when we should about your love and grace.
Conclude with your favorite family prayer, or an Our Father, Hail Mary & Glory Be.
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