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 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.
1Kings 19:11-13
Of all the figures of the Old Testament, Elijah has always stood out for me. The most powerful of the prophets sent by God, he lived at a time of mass apostasy in the Kingdom of Israel. Under King Ahab and his Queen Jezebel, a daughter of the King of Sidon and a priestess of Baal, a great spirit of what many today would call ecumenicalism went forth, as Israel turned away from the stern God Yahweh, to the pleasure seeking ways of Baal. Elijah, his name means “Yahweh is my God”, would have none of it, and led the Traditionalists among the Yahweh worshipers who opposed the new spirit abroad in the land. The deeds of Elijah are well known, from the battle of the gods on Mount Carmel, to his being taken up to Heaven by a chariot of fire, but the most striking passage in his career is the incident of the still, small voice, set forth in today’s reading at Mass.
In this Vale of Tears we cry out for miracles on the scale of those performed by Elijah, so weak is our faith and so unwilling are we to accept that we are the instruments of God in this world, yet this passage underlines that God is ever near to us and is ever speaking to us, if only we would stop to hear and heed Him. Great miracles are wonderful to behold and are a comfort to us, but if we need them to shore up our faith we are poor Catholics indeed. Today, let us all stop and listen for a moment, and hearken to the message of love, repentance and amendment that God, in His grace, is ever telling us.
Elijah and Moses knew who they were, that is why When Jesus, Who knew WHO HE was, was transfigured, Elijah and Moses and Jesus had conversation. Did Moses or Elijah die or did they walk with God as Enoch walked with God.
Moses died; Elijah did not. See Taylor Marshall’s article on the subject, So at the Transfiguration, Enoch and Elijah represented not only the Law and the Prophets, but also the Living and the Dead.
Moses and Elijah appeared during the Transfiguration. Moses represented the Law, and Elijah the Prophets. Elijah was taken up in the fiery chariot. Moses spent time on the mountaintop with God at Mt. Sinai receiving the Law. After his sessions with God his face shone with the Glory of the Shekinah of the Lord, similar to the Transfiguration of Christ. Christ was able to control His Glory of the Shekinah, but Moses had to cover his face with a veil. To me the Transfiguration harkens back to the time Moses spent on Mt. Sinai. Christ is considered to be the new Moses bringing a New Covenant and a New Exodus.
The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.
~ Numbers 6:24-26