Fire from the heavens changes, burns into us a new way of living, loving
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Father Perry D. Leiker, pastor.
By Father Perry D. Leiker, pastor
A reflection on the daily readings, for Saturday of the Second Week of Advent, by Father Perry.
+ “Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.”
Such an interesting phrase, since the Jews believed if you ever saw the face of God you would die.
God was just too great, and too big, and too powerful. We could never withstand even taking a glance.
But, perhaps the psalm is saying we need to see you God to really believe you and to really let you come into our lives.
After all, did they accept Elijah? Not really. His very words were “as a flaming furnace.”
“Three times he brought down fire” and he sought to bring God’s word and justice and to even “turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons.”
Elijah was sent by God to change hearts — a task that even to this day is tough in most circumstances and seemingly impossible in others.
+ And Jesus, too, decries the fact that even Elijah seemed powerless when it came to changing hearts.
People just could not or would not see, hear, understand.
In fact, Jesus’s reference (as the disciples would quickly see) was a reference to a “new Elijah” — the one and only John the Baptist, who would suffer and be put to death.
A fate that Jesus himself was to have. A fate which all of us share in when we truly listen to, hear, and understand what Jesus is saying.
Because what Jesus is saying has to do with change of hearts that are so profound that attitudes, ways of thinking and speaking and being are transformed.
It is as if Elijah was speaking and the words were coming out as if a “fiery furnace,” and that Elijah was bringing down fire from the heavens to change and burn into us a new way of living and loving!
+ “Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.”
Father Perry D. Leiker is the 13th pastor of St. Bernard Catholic Church. Reach him at (323) 255-6142. Email Father Perry at pleiker@stbernard-church.com. Follow Father Perry on Twitter: @MrDeano76.
