The Life of the Prophet Elijah, Also Known as Mar Elias the Living
The prophet Elijah appeared around 890 BC. He is one of the most famous prophets of the Old Testament; according to tradition he was of the tribe of Levi and the line of Aaron (see the First and Second Books of Kings).
He was known for his ascetic life and strict austerity, for a devotion entirely submitted to God’s will, and also for his boldness and fiery zeal for the house of God. That is why our fathers followed in his footsteps, combining the ascetic life with strength and courage to preserve faith and morals.
His story with Ahab, king of Israel, and his Canaanite wife Jezebel is famous. When the king went too far in provoking the Lord, the prophet was sent to him and said: “As the Lord the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” And so it was! The king, who had followed his wife’s religion and abandoned the true God, persecuted him. Elijah fled from place to place, working wonders, and settled east of the Jordan, where the Lord commanded the ravens to feed him.
When the drought went on and the brook dried up, he went at the Lord’s command to Zarephath of Sidon, where he stayed with a poor widow. He saved her and her son from hunger by the miracle of the jar of meal that did not run out and the jug of oil that did not fail, and he raised her son from the dead.
His life was a series of miracles, and his departure from this earth was also a wonder: a chariot of fire carried him away out of sight, away from his disciple, the prophet Elisha, so that the generations have considered him alive for ever.
Elijah is mentioned several times in the Gospels, especially at the Transfiguration of the Lord on Mount Tabor.
The prophet Elijah lives on in his zeal for the house of God and in his wonderful example… He is the model of one who is zealous for the worship of God, who stands against the ungodly and the oppressors, and who has compassion for the poor and the needy.
May his prayer be with us. Amen.
