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Springs of Carmel THE SPRINGS OF CARMEL Phase I Formation Lesson 9 Required Reading By Peter Slattery Elijah Carmelites see themselves as sons and daughters of the prophet Elijah. Because they were hermit-pilgrims living a life of silence and prayer on Mount Carmel, they felt a close association with Elijah. They did not just pluck this association out of the air. The desert fathers always saw John the Baptist and Elijah as models for hermits and monks. However, Mount Carmel was a holy place because Elijah, the Tishbite, had done great things for God there. It is not surprising then that the Latin hermits who settled on Mount Carmel took Elijah as a model to imitate. Jacques de Vitry, the Bishop of Acre from 1216-1228, described, “the hermits on Mount Carmel as leading solitary lives in imitation of the holy anchorite, Elijah, where like bees of the Lord, they laid up sweet spiritual honey in little comb-like cells.” The Fathers of the Church saw religious life as a response to a Gospel call. Since they reasoned that the New Testament is foreshadowed in the Old Testament, therefore, there should be types of the monastic life in the Old Testament. Thus, the Fathers saw Elijah as such a type. Some of the early Fathers, for example Justin and Irenaeus, offer Elijah as a model for the perfect life. Origen cites Elijah as a proof of the efficacy of prayer, while Athanasius, in his Life of Anthony, recalls the saying of the Father of religious life that all who make profession of the solitary life must take the great Elijah as their model and see in his life what their lives must be. The monastic movement of the fourth century took Elijah as the model for the monk, emphasizing his celibacy, his poverty, his dwelling in the desert, his prayer and fasting. Jerome refers to the tradition which sees the prophet Elijah as the first monk to inhabit the desert. It was on this patristic basis that the early Carmelite authors based the order’s connection with Elijah. This, and the fact that they settled on the holy Mount Carmel, brought them into contact with the Old and New Testament traditions concerning Elijah. Today’s Carmelites would want to stress Elijah’s role as a champion of the people, and the embodiment of the faith of the community of the anawim (the remnant of the People of God). When the Carmelites took Elijah as a patron of their Order, they followed the spirituality of the time and saw him as a model of the eremitical life. Throughout the history of the Order, Carmelite authors have seen Elijah as model of prayerful contemplation and prophetic action. This chapter will take a brief look at the biblical evidence and will show how this interpretation came into the Carmelite tradition; then Elijah as a figure who protects the poor and the alienated; how Carmelites are called to take an option for the poor; and, finally, how Elijah is an archetype for all believers in general and Carmelites in particular. Elijah in the Bible1 The Elijah saga-cycle is to be found in that part of Scripture starting from his sudden appearance in 1 Kings 17:1 and ending with his being taken up to heaven in the fiery chariot in 2 Kings 2:13. The background of the Book of Kings is the effort to show how the monarchy was a failure. The context of the Elijah stories is the 1 This section (pp. 24-27) owes a debt of gratitude to the research of Chalmers, J., O.Carm, “The Prophetic Model of Religious Life: The Role of the Prophet Elijah in Carmelite Spirituality,” in Nubecula 36 (1985), No. 1. Peter Slattery, The Springs of Carmel, pp, 23‐52 –1– struggle between the true religion and pagan influences. Yahweh was the God of the Israelites, who had brought them out of Egypt and given them a Promised Land. The God of the Hebrews was not one to look for elbow room on an Olympus with a lot of other gods. “You shall have no Gods except me” (Dt 5:7). At the time of Elijah, the pagan customs of the neighboring Canaanites had become strongly embedded among the common people in Israel. There was a strong possibility that adherence to the God of the Exodus would be wiped out. Elijah appeared on the scene at a very critical moment in this struggle. Ahab, the King of Israel, married Jezebel, princess of Tyre. Her religion was called Baalism, which was based on the idea that humans must relate to and appease the mysterious powers that surround and support them. This was done through ritual, and these powers were often personified and made into gods—Baalism. Jezebel was allowed, together with her servants, to continue to practice her religion in Israel. A temple of Baal was built for her in Samaria (1 K 6:32 f.). However, Jezebel maintained 450 prophets of Baal, and 400 prophets of Asherah. Jezebel and her court actively campaigned to convert the Israelites to her religion. She was determined to wipe out faith in the God of the Israelites, and to substitute Baal for Yahweh. Jezebel remained in the memory of the people of Israel as the one who had invited the King to sin against Yahweh. Ahab’s acceptance of his wife’s religion and culture had political overtones. He saw this as a means to unify the Israelites and Canaanites. In doing so he was carrying on the policy of his father, King Omri. The marriage of Ahab and Jezebel was a move in the attempt to unify the kingdom. However, the prophet Elijah was the leader of the opposition to this betrayal of Yahweh. The scriptural stories of Elijah show a prophet who was actively involved in the problems of his times as the mouthpiece of Yahweh, upholding the true religion of Israel. The main reason for the Elijah cycle being included in the Deuteronomic history was that Elijah was the instrument used by God to preserve the true religion in Israel—a truly critical moment in the history of God’s people. Elijah, as God’s prophet, was both contemplative and active in his response to God’s call. He was a person who was totally at God’s disposal. He stood before Yahweh like a servant waiting instruction (1 K 7:1; 18:15, 36).This implied Elijah was in a constant state of prayer. He, like all the prophets, was dominated by the Word of God. The subject of the Elijah saga was not the prophet himself but Yahweh, whose Word was not simply something to reflect on in solitude and silence, but a fire to burn evil out of the hearts of people. Total openness to God’s word led Elijah to live a very special style of life. He was a visible sign of Israel; a sign which challenged the whole people. He did not live like others but stood out as a criticism of their lives and values. The prophet could be a sign to others only because first of all he himself had been grasped by the Word of God. Elijah was a person of mystery. He was famous for his sudden appearances and disappearances (cf. 1 K 8:12). His final disappearance in the fiery chariot left a lasting impression on God’s people. Two characteristics of Elijah stood out—his faithfulness and his creativity. He was faithful to the true religious tradition of Israel, being the champion of covenant fidelity in a day when the covenant nearly disappeared. He refused to allow anyone to take away his religion. God alone was the Lord of Israel and Elijah would take no interference in Yahweh’s domain by the Baals of Jezebel. On the other hand, Elijah was not afraid to be creative in religious matters. As the people settled in Israel, they began to forget the God who had seemed to fit in well with their experiences in the desert, but did not seem to have much to say to their new life in the Promised Land. The Israelites tended to adopt the worship of Baal who was more useful to farmers as he was the supposed master of the rain and the sunshine and lord of fertility. The image of their God Yahweh was in serious need of “modernization.” If he was the true God Peter Slattery, The Springs of Carmel, pp, 23‐52 –2– of every situation in which Israel might find herself, it was Elijah who succeeded in transforming the image of Yahweh who commanded the rain, who sent fire from heaven; it was Yahweh who was the one and only God of Israel and not Baal. Elijah and Carmelite Spirituality So far we have seen Elijah as he was in the biblical tradition, now we shall see what effect he has on Carmelite spirituality. The order sees Elijah as patron and spiritual father. The characteristics of the prophet—fidelity to tradition and creativity are basic to understanding Carmel in the past and present. Joseph Chalmers says that every Christian is called to be perfect (Mt 5:48). However, this perfection cannot be reached in a day; it requires constant growth. The Christian life is a continuous becoming with many stages striving towards maturity in Christ. In Hebrew Scriptures we see how Yahweh taught Israel with great patience and over a long period of time. In the Christian Scriptures we see a gradual deepening of faith. The Christian cannot stand still, but must strive for a fullness of life in Christ.
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