Date: June 10, 2020 (Ordinary Time)
Bible Text: | Fr. Roniel Duenas
Series: Scripture Reflections
At the time for offering sacrifice, the prophet Elijah came forward and said, “LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things by your command. Answer me, LORD! Answer me, that this people may know that you, LORD, are God and that you have brought them back to their senses.”
I had a cynical teacher in theology who always allowed us to see things in different perspectives. He spoke with sarcasm and one time asked: “Why do you believe in God? Did you not know that kings and the powerful created gods as crowd control to elicit fear among the mob? If we read the scriptures, there were indeed kings and queens who espoused their own gods if only to manipulate the vulnerability of the people. They hired sorcerers, wizards, illusionists to trick people by their mysterious enchantments.
But, the God that Prophet Elijah proclaimed is the one true God, not a fiction, not created in the mind, as of Ahab’s pseudo-prophets and magicians. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. He is the living God who revealed and established a relationship with His people. He is all-present; He hears our supplications and accompanies us in our journey - never deaf, never lame.
David, the greatest king of Israel, calls out to God like His faithful father, friend, and companion. He wrote his prayers of thanksgiving and supplication in psalms. And we understand how intimate is this God to His servants and how awe-inspiring are His works. The great King David, valiant in warrior, one who subdued the most feared Goliath, in the presence of God stood humbled and obedient before His mighty deeds and clung to Him as a refuge like no other.
Our God is there, not as a puppet of the powerful; but truly as one who is Greater and Higher than anybody else. He has the will, and He commands. His desire for us is none other than to follow his paths because He guides us to the truth; He leads us to the light.
Let this be our prayer today: “Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope. You will show me the path to life, fullness of joys in your presence, the delights at your right hand forever.”