In Eliam prophetam

On the Prophet Elijah, a Sermon. 1. Formerly the people of the Jews took pride in their possession of the prophets, and the prophetic field was their cultivation; but now even this boast has been taken from them by the Church. For behold, among us are even the bodies of the prophets. For it was not fitting that a barren people should have prophetic cultivators; it was not suitable for those who crucified the one prophesied through them to retain the prophets, instead of the dead whom he raised among them, instead of the blind whom he gave sight to among them, instead of the hungry whom he fed among them, instead of the violence which the Lord God of all brought upon the blessed Elijah on their account, forcing the prophet to revoke the sentence against them. For the preceding teacher leads me to Elijah. The blessed Elijah, seeing the people of the Jews growing insolent against the philanthropy of God, and God continually enduring their war against God, while they were always being trained by his forbearance into negligence, devises something of this sort against God's goodness toward them: he pronounces a sentence against them. Then, knowing that God is moved by the zeal of the righteous, and wishing to punish the Jews, yet fearing the divine kindness which is quickly appeased by small tears, he pronounces a punishment against them and binds the punishment with an oath, so that God, moved by the oath, might not revoke the sentence against them. "God," he says, "is good toward them, and is appeased by small tears from them, and this trains them into idolatry. As the Lord lives," he says, "there will be no dew and rain in these years.

Then, as though God were speaking in reply to him: "What then, if I am flattered by them through repentance, Elijah, if I see them offering tears, if they repent of their transgressions, shall I not immediately give rain? No, by the Lord, unless through my mouth. No, by the Lord. They," he says, "are attached to idols, but I swear by your divinity. Show me the oath that is powerful against you, so that through this they may learn the weakness of the idols. No, by the Lord," he says, "there will be no dew and rain in these years, unless through the word of my mouth. Not," he says, "when it seems good to you will you lift the punishment (for it always seems good to you to be benevolent), but when I entreat on their behalf, when I have judged, when they have shown sufficient repentance of soul." God respected the prophetic declaration, honored the oath made to him. So the Master of all was constrained, both respecting the prophet and pitying the people punished by famine. What then does he do? He punishes the prophet together with the people, so that, constrained himself by the punishment of famine, he might devise something humane concerning the sworn declaration. And he punishes the prophet together with the people, but lightens the punishment for the prophet, not even making the path of benevolence without wisdom. For he feeds the prophet through birds that hate their own young; for the raven is a parent that hates its young, not feeding what it begets. This indeed the prophet David hinted at when he said: "And to the nestlings of the ravens that call upon him.

For since the nestlings of ravens—or rather, all nestlings—are weak in gathering their own food, and have their parents feeding them, but the nestlings of ravens are deprived of this, yet the race of ravens endures though not nurtured by their parents, David, showing God's love for humanity, attributes their sustenance to God. For the nestlings of ravens, gaping into the air and not being fed by their parents, have certain small animals sent by divine providence to serve them, and thus, receiving those from the air, they are nourished to growth. Therefore he says: "To the nestlings of ravens that call upon him." Since, then, Elijah assumed a hatred of children toward the Jews as useless children, God intercedes with him through fathers who hate their own children, virtually crying out silently to Elijah: "Is your hatred of children toward the Jews so great as that of the ravens toward their own nestlings? But now see the ravens transformed; see their love for humanity, O Elijah: those who are inhuman toward their own nestlings become your generous hosts. It is absurd, O Elijah, that ravens become mediators to you of my love for humanity, but you do not become a mediator to the Jews of my punishment against them. Be ashamed of the transformation of the ravens, and become kind toward the Jews; for I honor your decision, yet I pity them being punished.

When God saw that Elijah was not giving in, He again withdrew the provision of food through the ravens, forcing him toward reconciliation, so that, compelled by hunger, he might at least through himself dissolve the decree. But even when the ravens were withdrawn, he endured it: "I will starve," he said, "only let me see the impious punished; let my body perish with them, punished by hunger." So when the food through the ravens failed, and much time had passed, Elijah, again constrained, moved to another place, and, oppressed by hunger, departed and became a suppliant of a Gentile woman, and that a widow and a poor one. And God, wishing to make him more compassionate—since at that time it was forbidden for Jews to associate with Gentiles—anticipating, foretells what would happen: "Arise," He says, "from here, and go to Sarepta of Sidon, and there I will command a Gentile widow woman to support you," so that, hearing the word "Gentile," he might abhor the food and entreat God to provide the rains. But he was not softened even by this word, but ran to the sustenance from the Gentile woman; and what is more, God arranged that the widow immediately spoke harsh words to him while he was hungry, driving him from all sides toward gentleness.

What then does the pagan woman say to him? "The Lord your God lives." And how did the pagan woman come to say, "The Lord your God lives"? God had previously shown the prophet to the widow in a vision; for this is what God was crying out to the prophet: "I will command a widow woman there to nourish you." God had previously shown the woman the prophet's appearance, his form, his age, and the request he would make. Hence, after the prophet presented himself, the widow was reminded of the vision; she saw him such as he had appeared to her in the vision. From this, then, knowing that the revelation was divine, immediately when the prophet arrived [she cried out] and asked for food, she cried out: "The Lord your God lives; I have no hearth-cake, but only a handful of meal in the jar, and a little oil in the flask; and going in, I will make this for myself and my children, and we will eat and we will die." These are words of despair or of giving. "I have no hearth-cake, but only a handful of meal; going in, I will make this for myself and my children, and we will eat and we will die." "Nothing else remains for us," she says, "when the handful is consumed, but death." Elijah began to be affected by her words. "She," he says, "wrestles with a greater hunger than I; I at least hunger alone, but she with her children starves. Let me not become the cause of death for my hostess." What then? As I said, he is softened by her words, and begins to entertain within himself a consideration of philanthropy: "The flask of oil will not fail," he says, "nor the jar of meal, until the Lord gives rain upon the earth." Already a little of the rains

He suggests a gift. Before being subdued by the famine, he did not entrust to God the benevolence concerning the rains, but said: "There will be no dew or rain upon the earth in these years, except through the word of my mouth." Now he entrusts it, and already dictates the prelude of the release, but he dictated it, yet did not yet present the request. What then does the fountain of benevolence do? Again it brings forward a third device of benevolence to him; for it commands the soul of the widow's child to depart from the body. For while honoring the prophet, it did not dissolve the blessing, nor did it cause the jar to run out, so as to drive him by necessity to benevolence. For it would have been an insult to the prophet if the things of the blessing from him were overturned; and this would also have damaged the faith of the pagan widow, as if the blessing had succeeded by chance only a little. For this reason God does not overturn the blessing, but brings a third device to the prophet; for he causes the widow's child to die, pushing the prophet into the necessity of petitioning him. For the widow, with her child dead, surrounded the prophet with tears. "Would that," she says, "I had perished from famine before, and had died before your blessing, or that I had become a spectator of my son dead." The prophet was ashamed at what had happened. "Are these," he says to the widow, "the rewards of your hospitality toward me? Before my reception, you had a good child; after my reception, lamentation concerning the child dear to her.

Ashamed at what had happened, Elijah, turning the matter over in his mind, perceived that the event was a device of the Master of all; he perceived the divine artifice. And what does he say? "Woe is me, O Lord, the witness of the widow with whom I dwell, with her!" What does he mean to say? "From you," he says, "comes the testimony concerning the woman to me; you," he says, "said: 'I will command a widow woman to nourish you,' surely testifying to the woman's pious intention. You transferred me from those places to her, and she whom you honored with your testimony—have you now put her son to death as a punishment? Woe is me, O Lord, the witness of the widow with whom I dwell, with her—you have killed her son!" "It is not," he says, "the death of nature that has occurred; what has happened is of your artifice, contriving against me a necessity for compassion, so that when I say to you, 'Lord, have mercy on the dead son of the widow,' you also will reply to me: 'Have mercy on my son Israel.' You drive me to compassion; I perceive your devices, O Master, so that when I say to you, 'Save the dead son of the widow,' you yourself will reply to me: 'Take pity on Israel, dead from famine.' You ask a favor of me; ask a favor in return: annul the decree of famine, and I annul the sentence of death." So when God saw Elijah, softened by many things and become more compassionate, then at last he brings the words of compassion more clearly to him, since he no longer considered the release from punishment an insult. "Go," he says.

sses of God to the servant are words; God himself intercedes with the servant concerning philanthropy. Go, he says. Since you have become, he says, more philanthropic, receive also my words of philanthropy; since you have known me to be constrained by the pangs of philanthropy, now hear me more plainly. I am in labor for the release from punishment, I hasten to the provision of reconciliations, I am ashamed of the tears of those being punished. All sinners, O prophet, hold a promissory note of my philanthropy; do not make me appear a liar before them. Hear also the words of the document, which you yourself know: I do not desire the death of the sinner, as much as his return and living. Elijah inclined his ears, he submitted his soul to the words spoken by God. Go, he says, and appear to Ahab. I am not reconciled without you; I am reconciled. You provide grace to those being punished. I am secretly interceded to you on their behalf; you become the visible provider of reconciliations. Go, and appear to Ahab, and I will give rain upon the earth. You announce the reconciliations, you declare the provision of showers; I subscribe to your declarations. So Elijah ran, both unwilling and willing, and proclaimed the good news of the rains; but again, seeing their impiety, he meditated some painful sentence of punishment against them. What then does God? Seeing him not advancing to philanthropy toward the erring, he separates Elijah from dwelling with the sinners. I, he says, O Elijah, know your zeal, I am abashed at your way of life.

I also have mercy on sinners, whenever they are punished beyond measure; but you are a terrible avenger of piety, while the race of humans continually errs. Therefore I separate you from dwelling with one another. Ascend as if to heaven, since you cannot bear sinners; I will sojourn on the earth. If you remain long with sinners, he says, that race of humans will be worn away, being continually punished by you. What then? Remove yourself as if to the heavens, O Elijah; for fire cannot dwell with straw. I give you sinless co-dwellers; I settle you among the choirs of angels. Remove yourself to heaven; I will dwell among sinners, I who can bear the wandering sheep on my shoulders, I who say to all sinners: Come to me, all who labor, I will not punish you, but I will give you rest. Glory to him for ever and ever. Amen.