Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B

Reflecting on 1 Kings. 19: 4-8

The one experience I’ve had of being hungry, thirsty, exhausted, and miles away from home was a boiling hot summer day in 1993. EKKLESIA, the Christian music group from Denver, was singing at the World Youth Day event in Cherry Creek State Park. We walked into the park, singing the psalms all the way. We were energized, and thrilled to be part of the historic event.

Coming out several hours later, I was sunburned, thirsty, hungry, and in pain. Hundreds of thousands were in the park, all jostling for the same resources. My endlessly merciful husband Ben carried me out of the park and gave me nearly all his water. Like Elijah, I “came to” and made the rest of the journey on my own.

Last week, my sister and brother-in-law were hiking in one-hundred-degree heat in Yosemite. Short on water, they somehow became separated, and both of their phones were nearly dead. Nearly unconscious from the heat, Mollie was miraculously noticed by a passerby, who took her to the lodge where she was staying. She and John were reunited soon after. Married for 55 years, this was the closest they’d ever come to something terrible happening. After water and food, they “came to” and continued their vacation.

I’ve written before about the heavenly strangers who saw 19-year-old Ben, lying in the desert heat next to his bike. At first, they drove by, but then, worried, returned. They lifted him into their station wagon and drove to the nearest Catholic Church, where the bishop’s housekeeper nourished him back from sunstroke.

That angel who revived Elijah for his long walk ahead has certainly been active in my life, too.

What angels have met you in the deserts of your life?

Kathy McGovern ©2024

Ordinary Time - Cycle B