From today’s Scripture: “Seeing this, all the people fell prostrate and said, ‘The LORD is God! The LORD is God!’”—1 Kg 18:39

Everyone today seems to want to be an ‘influencer.’ I was in the gym, minding my own business, trying not to play the fool with all those weight machines. Next to me this young man was looking into the mirror, ‘growling,’ holding his phone, and filming LIVE for his social media page. He was flexing his muscles and pumping weights for the camera for his millions of viewers online.

Thanks be to God, the next day, the gym had signs posted that live recordings were banned. So much for the exercise influencers.

For Christians, the main influencing we should be concerned about is influencing others to believe more deeply in God.

I don’t think we can have a better story of a proto influencer than that of Elijah encountering the Prophets of Baal in the first reading today.

Elijah really puts on a show, including ‘shorts’ setting up the altar of wood, ‘memes’ mocking the false prophets, and ‘hot takes’ calling people to conversion. The ending is miraculous: fire from heaven consumes water-drenched wood. Everyone hits the like button, falling flat on the ground, prostrate, now believing in God.

Hopefully, his video gets a billion views.

Let us pray: Jesus, help me to influence others to more deeply love and follow you.

Today’s author is Father Aaron Wessman, first vice president of Glenmary and author of The Church’s Mission in a Polarized World.

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