Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A
Reflecting on I Kings 19:9a-13a
We don’t live in the time of the ancient Jews, living in a Canaanite society, who would have heard that reading about Elijah in the cave (1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13a). But if we did, we might find ourselves snickering, poking, and laughing out loud as we heard all the places Elijah sought to hear God’s voice. Here’s why.
First, this happens on the mountain of Horeb (Sinai), the very place where Moses received the Ten Commandments twenty generations before. So, as Elijah takes shelter from the Canaanites who are searching to kill him, the Lord tells Elijah to leave his place of safety and to go out in plain sight to wait, for “the Lord will be passing by.”
That’s the first AHA moment for our Jewish audience, because they remember that when Moses himself stood on that very mountain (Exodus 33 and 34), the Lord passed by and revealed to him that God is compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, and full of great love and forgiveness.
God shows love to thousands of generations, but…ahem… also does not let the guilty go unpunished. Our Jewish audience roars, because they know that terrible things happened to the Canaanite prophets who confronted Elijah. Yes! The guilty were punished, but Elijah was cared for! What a comfort to a Hebrew community who were oppressed by the Canaanites at every turn.
But here’s the funny part that the writer surely put in the story to give the Jews strength. God can’t be found in the heavy and strong wind, nor the earthquake, nor the fire. Why? Because wind, earthquake and fire are all Canaanite gods! And you’ll never find the true God there.
What places do we look for God today that can never satisfy?
Kathy McGovern ©2026