John the Baptist and Elijah

Today we hear Jesus compare John the Baptist to Elijah in our reading from the Gospel of Matthew.  This past Sunday we heard Luke’s perspective of John the Baptist.  Luke likens him to the Prophet Jeremiah.  So the early Church saw an intimate connection between John the Baptist and the prophets of Israel.  He has been described by many of the Fathers of the Church as the bridge that connects the Hebrew Scriptures with the Christian Scriptures.

Perhaps the most interesting, most widely acclaimed prophet of the Hebrew Scriptures, Elijah (Elias, Ilias) stands head and shoulders above all the other prophets. The stories surrounding this prophet are some of the most gripping and exciting. So integral to the history of Israel, he holds a place of honor in all of the Abrahamic faiths of the world: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

The prophet's name could very well be nothing more than a title as it means "Yahweh is my God." Elijah appears in Israel's history at a time when the worship of Baal began to win more followers than the worship of the Most High God of Israel so his name is also a statement about his faith. Elijah challenged the kings as well as the priests of Baal throughout his life. He left behind no writings, like the classical prophets of Israel (there is no book of the prophet Elijah); yet he is still regarded as the preeminent prophet.  Throughout the first and second Book of Kings and Chronicles, Elijah and his disciple Elisha are the featured personalities.  One of the classical prophets, the prophet Malachi, wrote about Elijah and led to the expectation that Elijah would return to announce the advent of the Messiah. This prophecy has cemented Elijah's place in all the faiths of the children of Abraham.

When the disciples question Jesus about Elijah, he points to the person of John the Baptizer as the embodiment of the prophecy of Malachi. John is certainly a major figure in our Advent Scriptures and stands as the one who points to Jesus. It is he who labels Jesus as the "Lamb of God." It is he who prepares the hearts of the people through repentance so that they will be open to God's Word.

References to Elijah abound throughout the Scriptures. He points the way to God. John the Baptizer does the same. These two men stand as examples of complete fidelity to God and God's Incarnate Son.

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator