The Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – First Reading – 08/09/2026

We have a classic Old Testament scene you’ve heard dozens of times, but not like you’re about to.  What’s wild about this passage is not what happens in the reading, it’s what happens before and after.

Transcript

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Howdy, and welcome to Bob the Lecture. I'm Bob. The purpose of this podcast is to inspire Catholic lectors to bring their proclamation of God's Word to life. This episode is for the August 9th, Sunday Mass's first reading. It's the nineteenth Sunday in ordinary time, year A. A reading from the first book of Kings. At the mountain of God, Horeb, Elijah came to a cave where he took shelter. Then the Lord said to him, Go outside and stand on the mountain before the Lord. The Lord will be passing by. A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains, and crushing rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound. When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance of the cave. The word of the Lord. Welcome to the 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time, y'all. We have a classic Old Testament scene you've heard dozens of times, but not like you're about to. What's wild about this passage is not what happens in the reading, it's what happens before and after. So let's get to it, shall we? How we start my own lecture practice with preparation, which is not the external proclamation, but the internal discernment of the message. What is God saying to us? What is his purpose? What is the meaning of this reading? Because if it doesn't mean anything to us, how can we as lectors make it mean anything to the congregation before us? Elijah was a prophet during the mid-ninth century BC, during the reign of King Ahab, who was married to Jezebel. What led Elijah to Mount Horeb? Well, roughly 40 days and 40 nights earlier, he was on top of Mount Carmel, engaged in a my God versus your God smackdown with 450 priests of Baal. See 1 Kings 18, verses 20 to 39. Or you can listen to the U.S.CCB Daily Readings podcast for June 10th, 2026. A quick summary. The prophets of Baal built their altar, calling on him from morning till noon to send lightning down to ignite their sacrifice. They hopped around the altar with no results. Elijah couldn't help himself. He taunted them. Call louder, for he is a god and may be meditating, or may have retired, or may be on a journey. Perhaps he is asleep and must be wakened. So they grew more agitated in their shouting and dancing and self-flagellation. Elijah eventually gets bored, but is not yet done having fun at Baal's expense. He turns to his sacrifice, and not wanting to make it too easy for God, he instructs that four jars of water be poured over his offering and the underlying wood. Then he does it a second time and again a third time. And of course, lightning strikes, and fire consumes Elijah's offering while Baal continues to snooze. Elijah calls on the people present to slay all four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, which they do. When King Ahab tells Jezebel what Elijah did, she sends a messenger to Elijah saying, May the gods do thus to me and more, if by this time tomorrow I have not done with your life what was done to each of them. See first Kings 19, verses 1 to 2. Elijah does what any halfway intelligent person would do. He runs for his life. He begs God to end his miserable existence, but instead God sends an angel to him with food and water, empowering Elijah to walk forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God Horeb, which is about 250 miles from Mount Carmel. Hmm. The number 40. Why does that sound familiar? Noah's forty days and forty nights of rain? Or maybe Moses wandering forty years in the desert? Or Jesus fasting for forty days and forty nights, then being tempted by Satan. Oh, not to mention Lent. But I digress. Now back to our reading. What do you learn from this passage? We begin. At the mountain of God, Horeb, Elijah came to a cave where he took shelter. Then the Lord said to him, Go outside and stand on the mountain before the Lord. The Lord will be passing by. The term Theophany refers to instances when God manifests himself to humankind. Moses' receiving of the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, called Mount Horeb in this reading, is one example. So God chooses the same place to contact Elijah. Fast forward to the New Testament, where both of these characters reappear with Jesus at his transfiguration on yet a different mountaintop. See Matthew 17 verses 1 to 9, Mark 9 verses 2 to 9, and Luke 9 verses 28 to 36. God meets Elijah and us in our weakness. Elijah was at the end of his rope. He even prayed for the Lord to take his life. He is exhausted, afraid, and alone. Use a tone and demeanor of weariness for this first sentence. Then use a factual tone for then the Lord said to him, use a bold tenor for go outside and stand on the mountain before the Lord. The Lord will be passing by. Highlight God outside and the third Lord. Read at the mountain of God Horeb, straight through, with no pause for the comma following God. Insert a full pause after the word shelter. Next we have a strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind. Read the portion that precedes the double dash with high energy and a bold tenor and demeanor. Read but the Lord was not in the wind. Slower, softly, and thoughtfully. Stress strong, heavy wind, rending mountains, crushing, but the second lord and not. Insert micropauses after heavy wind and mountains, and a full pause after the first Lord. Then we have after the wind there was an earthquake. But the Lord was not in the earthquake. Use the same high energy and bold tenor as before with after the wind there was an earthquake. Then use that slow, soft, and thoughtful demeanor for but the Lord was not in the earthquake. If you can do so authentically, shake your head slightly and make eye contact with a congregation when you say was not. For the second earthquake, use an upward lilt for earth and a downward one for quake. Stress the first earthquake, not and the second earthquake, insert a full pause after the first earthquake. Next up, after the earthquake it was a fire. But the Lord was not in the fire. So think about this. When Moses received the Ten Commandments on this very same mountain, Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke, because the Lord had come down upon it in fire. The smoke rose from it as though from a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled violently. See Exodus 19, verse 18. So God has appeared here first to Moses, then to Elijah. In the first Theophany, he is present in the earthquake and fire. In the next he is not. God keeps us on our toes. Use the same bold, high energy tenor for after the earthquake it was a fire. Then apply a sense of wonder for the balance of the sentence. If you can do so authentically, add a voice tremble when you proclaim, but the Lord. Highlight the first fire, not and the second fire. Insert a full pause after the first fire. We close with After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound. When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance of the cave. The lesson for us is that discernment calls for silence. Elijah hears God only after the noise and drama subsides. A whisper is personal and intimate. When God finally does approach Elijah, it's not with spectacular earth-shaking miracles, but with his presence. It said, No one can see the face of God and live. See Exodus thirty three verse twenty. So out of a sense of reverence and maybe self-preservation, Elijah hides his face in his cloak. Convert after the fire from a declarative statement to a question, followed by a full pause. Then with a slow and soft cadence, read there was a tiny whispering sound. Shift to a sense of awe and wonder when you read When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak. Speak with a gentle holiness when you finish with and went and stood at the entrance of the cave. Stress tiny whispering, heard, face, cloak, stood, entrance, and cave. Insert a full pause before after and following sound. Insert micropauses after tiny and cloak. So what message was so important that God played the Theophany card? It was that Elijah was to anoint two kings and a prophet. One of the kings was Jehu as King of Israel. Uh oh, Ahab, looks like your days are numbered. No surprise, Jehu kills Ahab and then goes to the palace in Jezreel and confronts Jezebel. What happens next is so graphically violent. It's excluded altogether from our mass readings. Not in year A, not in year B, and not in year C, because we like to keep our masses no worse than PG rated. See 2 Kings 9 verses 30 to 37 if you can handle R-rated gore. Well, that's all for now. Thanks for listening. My hope is these ideas will help you find your authentic voice, so your proclamation of God's word will transform your listeners, whether they're in pain and broken, or just going through the motions. Because the good news deserves great delivery. Visit us on the web at bobtelector.org and we'll see you at the Ambo. By the way, if you like what you hear and are so inclined, please give us five stars on Apple Podcasts and forward this podcast to your fellow lectors, your pastor, and your liturgy director. Thanks so much.