Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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 Theological education to strengthen faith

1Kings.18:17-40
“The Lord is God; the Lord alone is God”(vs.39)

Elijah is the epitome of the prophetic ministry in Israel. Prophets were the spokespersons of God and also the counsellors of Kings. Jewish people in Jesus’ time had the faith that Elijah would come again. At one point we see even Jesus endorses that tradition(Mtt.11:15).

The given text underscores the living God over against the idolatry of Baal. Let us ponder on two thoughts from the text:

One-Affirmation of the God of life.
Elijah’s ministry was always with the living God. King Ahab brands him as a “trouble maker”! Yes ,genuine prophetic ministry is always troublesome to the hegemonic powers. Elijah had the daring mind to speak the truth to the power even at the risk of his life. We have a similar example in India in Fr. Stan Swamy. He had to pay a heavy price for his unwavering stances for the tribals and their human rights. This is the cutting edge of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. What we need is this prophetic tradition in our church and society.

Two: Negation of idolatry in our times.
The way Elijah challenges the idols of Baal is as follows: ”Pray louder! He is god! May be he is day-dreaming or relieving himself !Or perhaps, he is gone on a journey! Or may be he is sleeping, and you have to wake him up! (Vs.27-28) The question here is how can we witness to the living God in a context of pluralism. What is to be emphasized is this :An idol is that which blocks our ultimate loyalty to God. It could be a person, a socio-political system, an ideology or even one’s family and not necessarily people of other faiths.
 
Prayer
Lord, enable us to be your witnesses amidst the forces of death. Amen.
 
Thought for the day
We stand in need of prophetic ministry in our times.
 
Rev. Dr. K. A. Abraham

Christian Education Forum, Diocese of NAE of the Mar Thoma Church

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