Observe how in the first reading God’s action is intimate. He speaks softly, in ordinary happenings. He adapts his call to the character, the needs of each one.
Then there is Jesus’ words in the Gospel about marriage. What a beautiful fit these two readings are for us today in a world where the concept of marriage is denied, in a Church where some agree with the world.
Most are called to the married state; all are called to purity. Purity implies prudence; prudence implies renunciation, which leads each one to the lone cave to hear God’s soft voice calling or confirming one’s state in life, one’s vocation.
Jesus gives no command without giving the ability to fulfill it. A man and his wife can rest assured that each day the Lord can strengthen their love for one another; same for the committed celibate, and for the one who seeks God’s will. “The Elijah Option” tells us how: find him in the ordinary, in the quiet of the cave.