What a blessing to have such a powerful message in Second Kings to meditate on. In this reading loyalty is personified by Elisha when he tells Elijah he will not leave Elijah to journey alone on his way to heaven. Rather, Elisha intends to stay with him and to stand by his side to the very end and watches Elijah go to heaven aboard a fiery chariot. To bring this beautiful image into our real world one only has to think of our parents or friends who have passed on. Were we there at their side as the dutiful daughter/son or as the loyal friend to aid them on their journey? Did we make time to adjust our busy schedule to visit our loved ones in hospice before their journey to heaven?
And the message in 2 Kings gets even better. Elijah is humbled by the loyal support and turns to Elisha and asks him what he would like as a reward for loyalty. Does Elisha ask for his cattle, gold or land? No, he asks “May I receive a double portion of your spirit”…..for a faith in God above as strong as Elijah’s. Would we have made the same request if our dying loved one asked us to choose something of theirs for us to keep? Would we say how grateful we would be to wear their gold ring as a remembrance or would our choice be what is really important - a faith and belief that is as strong as theirs as they await heaven?
We can take the time to reflect on the wonderful qualities that Elisha displayed in this reading and see if we too can find ways that we can demonstrate our loyalty to those near and dear to us and to learn to value not what is temporal but to value the gift we cherish above all others—true faith.
Steve Scholer
I came to Creighton to attend law school in 1976 and following 5 years of private practice I started what I thought would be a 4 year job to help Fr. James Hoff, S.J. raise funds for the Campaign for Creighton. Little did I know that the many wonderful people I would soon meet, both here on campus and across the entire country, over the next few years would lead me to stay and continue to support the mission of this University. My wife is a Creighton graduate and our son, Frank, is a Xavier undergraduate and Creighton law graduate. Our daughter, Paige, has both her undergraduate and master’s degree from Creighton.
I do not participate in social media websites so posting my personal interpretation about what the readings mean to me is a novel experience for me. However, being required to put pen to paper forced me to become more reflective about what God is really trying to say to me and this has helped me in my daily prayer life - to slow down and let the Word of God dwell within me instead of racing through the daily devotions.
