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From: 1 Kings 19:16b, 19-21
Elijah’s encounter with God
The call of Elisha
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Commentary:
15-18. It is important to note that the “anointing” given to the prophet Elisha is
on a par with that given to the kings and that there is already a reference here
to the remnant of Israel (cf. Is 4:3).
19-21. Elisha’s response to Elijah’s call is quite exemplary: he leaves everything
behind and puts himself at the disposal of the prophet. That will be how the apos-
tles respond to Christ (cf. Mt 4:20, 22; etc.), and it should be how anyone re-
sponds when the Lord calls him or her to a mission which involves leaving every-
thing. But the call issued by Jesus is more pressing than Elijah’s, as can be
seen from the Gospel passage where Jesus, in response to someone who says,
“I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home,” replies,
“No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of
God” (Lk 9:61-62). Obedience to a call involves a radical self-surrender: “Detach
yourself from people and things until you are stripped of them. For, says Pope
St. Gregory, the devil has nothing of his own in this world, and naked he comes
to battle. If you go clothed to fight him, you will soon be pulled to the ground: for
he will have something to catch you by” (St. J. Escriva, The Way, 149).
The name “Elisha” means “My God saves” and it epitomizes this prophet, just
as the name “Elijah” catches the essence of that prophet’s message: “My God
is the Lord.”
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.