Sirach 48:1-16: a reflection

1Then Elijah arose, the prophet like fire. His word burned like a torch. 2He brought a famine upon them, and by his zeal made them few in number. 3By the word of the Lord he shut up the heavens. He brought down fire three times. 4How you were glorified, O Elijah, in your wondrous deeds! Whose glory is like yours? 5You raised up a dead man from death, from Hades, by the word of the Most High. 6You brought down kings to destruction, and honorable men from their sickbeds. 7You heard rebuke in Sinai, and judgments of vengeance in Horeb. 8You anointed kings for retribution, and prophets to succeed after you. 9You were taken up in a tempest of fire, in a chariot of fiery horses. 10You were recorded for reproofs in their seasons, to pacify anger, before it broke out into wrath, to turn the heart of the father to the son, and to restore the tribes of Jacob. 11Blessed are those who saw you, and those who have been beautified with love; for we also shall surely live. 12Elijah was wrapped in a whirlwind. Elisha was filled with his spirit. In his days he was not moved by the fear of any ruler, and no one brought him into subjection. 13Nothing was too hard for him. When he was buried, his body prophesied. 14As in his life he did wonders, so his works were also marvelous in death. 15For all this the people didn’t repent. They didn’t depart from their sins, until they were carried away as a plunder from their land, and were scattered through all the earth. The people were left very few in number, but with a ruler from the house of David. 16Some of them did that which was right, but some multiplied sins.

Sirach remembers the prophet Elijah in vivid terms: Then Elijah arose, the prophet like fire. His word burned like a torch. Elijah was a man whose zeal for God burned like fire, whose word was a flame, who stood boldly for God against kings and false worship, unafraid and unyielding. His whole life was marked by a burning zeal for God, a heart on fire, a devotion that did not smolder but blazed. He is remembered as the prophet like fire, consumed with zeal for the God he served, bold and burning where others were cold.

Notice the image of Elijah: the prophet like fire, his word a burning torch. His zeal for God was not a faint or occasional thing; it burned, like fire, warming and consuming, bold and bright. He stood for God with a heart on fire, unafraid of kings, unyielding against false worship, his word blazing like a torch. The zeal that marked him was a burning one, a devotion aflame, not a lukewarm or half-hearted thing. He was remembered not for a mild or measured religion but for a heart on fire for God, a zeal that burned bright and bold. The fire of his devotion was what set him apart.

That is worth taking to heart, for we too are called to a heart that burns with zeal for God, not a lukewarm devotion. Our devotion to God can grow faint, lukewarm, smoldering rather than blazing, a mild religion that stirs little; but Elijah is remembered as the prophet like fire, his heart burning with zeal for God. There is a call to a devotion that burns, a heart on fire for God, not merely a faint or measured religion. Do not settle for a lukewarm, smoldering devotion; let your heart burn with zeal for God, as Elijah was the prophet like fire. Let your heart burn with zeal for God, aflame with devotion rather than lukewarm and smoldering, as Elijah is remembered as the prophet like fire whose word burned like a torch; for God is worthy of a heart on fire, and we are called not to a faint and measured religion but to a burning zeal for the God we serve.

Lord, Sirach remembers the prophet Elijah in vivid terms: then Elijah arose, the prophet like fire; his word burned like a torch. Elijah was a man whose zeal for you burned like fire, whose word was a flame, who stood boldly for you against kings and false worship, unafraid and unyielding. His whole life was marked by a burning zeal for you, a heart on fire, a devotion that did not smolder but blazed. Show me the image of Elijah: the prophet like fire, his word a burning torch. His zeal for you was not a faint or occasional thing; it burned, like fire, bold and bright. He stood for you with a heart on fire, unafraid of kings, unyielding against false worship. The zeal that marked him was a burning one, a devotion aflame, not a lukewarm or half-hearted thing. He was remembered not for a mild religion but for a heart on fire for you. Take that to my heart, for I too am called to a heart that burns with zeal for you, not a lukewarm devotion. My devotion to you can grow faint, lukewarm, smoldering rather than blazing, a mild religion that stirs little; but Elijah is remembered as the prophet like fire, his heart burning with zeal for you. There is a call to a devotion that burns, a heart on fire for you. Keep me from settling for a lukewarm, smoldering devotion; let my heart burn with zeal for you, Lord, as Elijah was the prophet like fire. Help me be aflame with devotion rather than lukewarm and smoldering, for you are worthy of a heart on fire.