Sunday, November 27, 2005

Luke 2:8-15 "From the Silence came Music"

This year, my advent series is incorporating the work of someone else, so I am not comfortable posting it as my own. Therefore I will be posting my sermons from Advent 2 years ago. This one is from November 30th, 2003.

Growing up I had a piano teacher who belonged to a musical society. I am not sure what the name of the group was that he belonged to, but they would make a point of listening for angel song on Christmas Eve. They believed that the angels rejoiced and celebrated each Christmas in honor of Christ… and so they would listen very closely at night on Christmas Eve. They would listen to the dogs bark. They would listen to the wind through the trees. I’m not sure they listened to the cars driving by, but they listened to the things going on around them in the world… in creation to see if they could hear angel song. What would this angel song sound like? It sounded perfect. They listened for harmony and perfect pitch in the sounds of nature…

It’s a strange thing to do, it’s kind of an odd way to spend Christmas Eve. But that’s what my piano teacher and his friends did… There’s a romantic notion to what they did. I wonder how many of them actually believed that angels were actually singing and how many of them were a part of the group because they just thought it would be neat if angels sang. How many of them believed and how many of them hoped?

The fact is that on the night of Jesus birth, where there was silence, music shot forth. Whether by angels or creation, you’ve got to believe that Jesus’ entering this world must be celebrated greatly. So, on Christmas Eve’s I listen, as my piano teacher did… to see if I hear music where I would not have expected to find it. I have not yet heard angels sing… but it is possible.

I. Silence

Here we are, during the first week of Advent. Christmas is upon us. We will be spending the next four weeks looking at how thankful we can be that Christ came into this world. We are going to look at what it is that the world was like without Christ and what the world can be like with Christ. This affects the whole world. Before Christ the world was a certain way… and when Christ entered it he changed it. But this also affects each of our lives. Before Christ we are a certain way… but when we ask Christ to enter our lives they are changed… and they are changed for the better.

So we’re going to be looking at music, light, hope and promise. Promise is important. So is hope. And Jesus is the light of the world. But music? Sure it’s nice, sure it’s pretty, but is it really that important? Is it really something worth spending a whole sermon talking about? Hopefully I’ll be able to show you that it is.

To understand music and how wonderful it is we need to begin without it… in silence. We need to be like the shepherds were, in their fields at night. Sitting around in silence… sure they were probably talking with each other… sure they might have even had the noises of the wilderness all around them. But they were just doing what they always did. They were just going about their business like they did every night. There was nothing special going on in their lives. They were trudging on in silence.

Silence can be boring, silence can be painful, silence can be deadly. Silence, bad silence, destroys us. It keeps us from moving forward. Silence in relationships kill them. When people don’t talk, they grow apart. This is true in relationships with friends, with families and with God.

But this doesn’t mean that all silence is bad. There is silence where we wait to hear from God. There is silence, sheer silence, where God speaks. This happens to Elijah in the Old Testament. There is silence where we wait on God and we don’t fill the world with our own noises. There is silence that is lack of noise for noise sake. People told me that one of the most difficult things about moving to Iowa would be the silence. I would not hear cars and ambulances driving by all night, and the silence would be overwhelming. In truth this has been a good thing for me. It is something that I have enjoyed much about Iowa, about Albert City. I don’t need the extra noises. I don’t need to talk just to hear a voice, though Lisa might disagree with that statement. I’m okay with silence in worship. For many it is uncomfortable, but for me it is enjoyable.

This good silence is all silence where one party quiets down to hear the other party speak. I think specifically of the earlier mentioned story of Elijah where he ran away to a mountain, being pursued by people who wanted to kill him. There, at the mountain he waited on the Lord. And a great thunderstorm came… and he was sure that he would hear God in the thunderstorm, but he didn’t. And a sheer silence came, and that was the place where God spoke. In the midst of the thunderstorm maybe God was speaking, but it was being drowned out by all the noise. We sometimes do this in our own lives… create our own thunderstorms so that we cannot hear God or others speak. Maybe this is the very reason that it was shepherds that the angels appeared to. Because they were not surrounded by noise like the rest of the world. For shepherds were not the most reliable people and tended not to be believed by those around them… so angels appearing to them is not the best way to make Jesus’ birth known. But, they were people who were used to silence, who were comfortable in it. They were people who knew how to listen.

II. One voice in the night

So, in the midst of the good silence, that which is waiting upon the Lord, listening for the Lord to speak, and the bad silence, that which destroys that which keeps people from communicating with each other… a voice comes out.

For the shepherds the voice began as many angel voices do… saying “Don’t be afraid.” I think sometimes that people who draw pictures of angels refuse to read their Bibles. When we look at nativity scenes we see angels that are beautiful and sweet. We see pictures of adorable cherubs floating around on wings that are too small for them. But every time an angel shows up to people in the Bible, when that angel is not disguised as a human, the angel’s first words are always “Don’t be afraid.” Now is this an angelic greeting? Is this the way that angels say “Hello” to each other? I don’t think so… instead, I think that angels are something fierce to behold. I think that we would probably be running in terror if we were to see them… if our legs would work to get us going.

So an angel appears to the shepherds and calms them down… The angel tells them that there is good news for them… Jesus, the savior is born. The angel, the messenger, delivers the message. That is the actual definition of angel. It is not “heavenly being” but rather “messenger of God” This is not to say that the angels were not heavenly beings… of course not… but they have a mission… they have a purpose… and whenever we encounter them, it is because they are fulfilling their purpose to be messengers of God.

And what joyous news this messenger brought. A Savior, from the house of David… born in David’s hometown.

But here is a somewhat unique place in the Bible. For the angels usually give their message and then go on their way. They do their duty and they move on. Perhaps they are very busy. Perhaps they are just work oriented. But here, on the night of the incarnation, at the point of the Messiah being born, the angel lingers, and the angel brings friends… and these friends sing and praise and glorify God… these friends bring music!

III. Many voices singing

You wouldn’t know it turning on the radio, but praising of God is what music is for. Am I saying that it’s wrong to listen to a love song… am I saying that it’s wrong to listen to music that isn’t about God? No. Secular music, in its many forms is not necessarily evil. Some of my favorite music is Irish and Scottish folk music; jigs and reels and ballads. This music is fun. It is exciting. It is secular… But music has a way of entering our hearts… entering our souls. This is one of the reasons that it is such a powerful way of communicating with God. So, be careful about the music you are listening to. Does it work to put things in your heart that shouldn’t be there? If so, you need to be careful.

In the Bible we come in contact with music in a number of different areas. We are treated in Ezekiel to a glimpse of heaven with angels worshiping God and singing God’s praises. In the Psalms we are introduced to a number of songs. Some are joyous, some are laments… but they were songs that were directed to God. We are introduced in the Bible to the Song of Solomon… a song that is secular, showing what love can be… describing our love for each other as well as showing a type of what our love for God is about. In the New Testament we are told of people praising God to such a point when Jesus comes to Jerusalem that Jesus is asked to silence his followers… they’re making too much of a racket. Jesus responds… and here’s what causes me to buy my piano teacher’s way of spending Christmas Eve… Jesus responds that if the people were silent, the rocks and trees would sing to God. Really? Really!

We are told that the early church liked to praise and worship God with music. When Paul was imprisoned, he sang and praised God. When the church gathered together they sang and praised God. And when Revelation describes the end times, it describes people around the throne of God, singing and praising God.

So… in the Bible we see people sing, we see them dance and we see them praise God. We also see people sing for other reasons. We see the possibility of the rocks, trees and mountains singing, clapping their hands and dancing. This is actually described and prophesied about in a couple places in the Bible. And we see angels in heaven, singing and praising God. But here, at Jesus’ birth, we see something unique, we see angels on earth singing and praising God. And their song is one of glory and it is a song of peace. Christmas is known throughout the world as a celebration of peace. Whether people are Christian or not, they think of peace when they think of Christmas… they think of the hope for peace and they think of the possibility of peace. Where does peace come into the Christmas story? Here. With the angel’s song.

Where there was silence there is now music. Where people were waiting, they are now rejoicing. Where they were listening, now they are singing.

Music is, in many ways about beauty. In harmony, in unity, in joy and in sadness, music is about beauty. One can listen to a song that is a song of lament, that brings down the spirit… and be enraptured by the beauty of the song. One can listen to a song that is full of joy… full of promise and excitement… and be moved forward by the beauty of the song.

The angels, fierce angels who cause people to run in terror, brought beauty to the world in their song as they glorified God with their praises upon Jesus’ birth. Jesus himself brought beauty to this world by coming down to be among us… to be incarnate… to be one of us. Let us revel in that beauty.

This holiday season I invite you to avoid the dangerous silence. I encourage you to talk with those who you haven’t talked with. I pray for you to reconcile with those who you have silence between.

This holiday season I invite you to seek the silence that listens to others and for God. I encourage you to not build up a thunderstorm around yourself that keeps you from hearing others or God.

This holiday season I invite you to join in with all of creation in the song of joy, in the song of peace, in the song of glory… as we come together celebrating Christ’s coming into this world 2000 years ago. Bringing his teachings to us. Bringing his love to us… and sacrificing himself for us. But we also sing in anticipation, for we know that Christ will return… so let us sing to him asking him to come back. To come to us in our need, to come to us in our pain, to bring his glory and peace to our lives and to this whole world.

Sunday, November 20, 2005

1 Kings 3:3-15 "What You Ask For"

As I’ve mentioned before, right before we came here in August of 2003 Lisa and I spent a week in the Pacific Northwest sailing with her sister and her husband. In preparation for the trip my brother-in-law, Mark made himself flashcards with nautical terms on them as he re-acquainted himself with what he felt he needed for the trip. Occasionally, I would receive an email from Mark asking me for clarification on whether the waters we would be sailing in were governed by Col Regs or not. I would frantically look up on my computer what in the world a Col Reg was, find it, and email him back in a non-chalant way, “Of course, the inland rules don’t apply in the islands” as if I knew exactly what he was talking about. I actually had known the Col Regs, my dad had gone over them with me as I sailed with him as a child, but I had never known what they were called.

On our vacation I discovered this was true about a number of things. Mark knew the terminology, he was book-smart in the ways of sailing, but I was the one who had spent over a week on the water almost every year of my childhood. There is a wisdom that comes with experience.

My dad skippered for a living. He has been and continues to be an expert when it comes to safety and navigation on the water. And I learned a lot sailing with him as a child. I have experience on a boat. Nothing you can learn in a class will prepare you for actually being out in the water. And, since Lisa and I made it out here okay at the end of that August, it seems my experience paid off, after all, we both survived, we didn’t sink the boat, and neither of us went overboard.

But what happens when someone is put into a position where they have no experience? What happens when someone is given a job, given a responsibility that they are not ready for? Do we put forward a brave face and pretend we know what we’re doing or, like Solomon, do we turn to God and ask for wisdom? Nothing is a substitute for experience, but even experience is not a substitute for the wisdom that is from God.

I. Beginning a Tough Reign

In today’s reading we see Solomon at the beginning of his career. Let me help set it up for you: his father, David, has given him the kingship and he has put down an uprising by his half-brother, Adonijah. Solomon began his reign in desperation, having to fight for it. Solomon began as king having to grasp at the kingship, it was anything but a smooth transition. Here we have the first hereditary transition from father to son in Israel’s history, and those around Solomon don’t want it to go smoothly, and they wonder whether he has what it takes, and they work to sabotage him. Not a great beginning.

Then he receives a genie with not three wishes, but one. God appears to Solomon and asks what it is that Solomon would like to receive. Solomon could ask that his power be centralized; he could ask that God make sure he lives his whole life as king. He could ask that he live and rule for a long time. And it even seems that God is expecting the answer to be one of these.

But Solomon surprises us (and God?) by thinking beyond himself and asking for… and you know the story here… he asks for wisdom. Well, not exactly. Let’s look at what it is that Solomon does ask for.

Solomon first reminds God what it is that he has done for David. He acknowledges that it is God who put him on the throne, and then asks God for an understanding mind to rule God’s people. He asks to be able to discern between good and evil.

Basically, what Solomon is asking for are the skills he needs to be a good king. He is not asking for generic wisdom nor is he asking to be a philosopher. I’ve heard the difference between being smart and being wise described as follows: Being smart is knowing the truth about something. Being wise is applying that so that it affects the way you live. Solomon was asking for knowledge. The knowledge he was asking for was knowledge between good and evil. But it is not enough just to know what is right and what is wrong. To truly live in wisdom, this needs to change the way he lives. But again, it’s more than this that he is asking for.

Let’s look at the way he asks for it… and this is my irreverent paraphrase, “God, you made my dad king and now you’ve decided I should be king. I don’t know what in the world I’m doing here, so if you want me to be king you’d better zap me with something to give me the skills I need to be a good king.”

Now, often I hear of Solomon’s humility. I hear about Solomon being wise beyond his years just in his choice for a request from God. I personally believe that it is something more basic than this that is happening here. I believe that Solomon realizes the responsibility he has before him and he is afraid that he is not up to it.

I kind of know how Solomon feels. It is odd being one of the youngest adults in the church and being the pastor of that same church. Experience, which is so important on the sea, is something that most everyone here has spades more of than me. Now I’m not trying to get down on myself in any way, but rather am trying to acknowledge doubts that sometimes cross my mind. The honest truth is that we all have these moments of doubt where we wonder if we are truly prepared for the things that God has set before us. These questions arise and we have multiple options.

II. Superman and the Cowardly Lion

One option would be to ignore them completely and imagine that we are well able to handle anything this world has to throw at us. I would like to call this the Superman approach. Now I know, much to your loss, most of you don’t read comics, but we all know a little about Superman: He’s strong, he’s fast, he can fly, and every time he encounters an opponent or a crisis, he powers his way through. Superman knows what his strengths are and he uses them… again and again.

Now, unfortunately, this approach doesn’t work as well for us as it does for Superman. First, we can’t outrun a speeding bullet or leap over a tall building. Second, when someone just uses their strengths again and again, they never grow, and they don’t discover new strengths and gifts. Mostly, going it alone makes one cocky and will lead in the end to failure.

A second option in the face of doubt about our abilities would be the option of not trying the new thing at all. This I would like to refer to as the Cowardly Lion approach. This is simply the point where you let your fears and anxieties rule you. In The Wizard of Oz the Cowardly Lion automatically responded in fear to everything. If something happened to him, his default response was to be scared of it. He let his fears define him. This is not healthy. Living by your fears keeps you in the same job for years when you long for something different. Living by your fears keeps you from discovering new skills that you didn’t know you had. Living by your fears means that you make decisions based on what could go wrong instead of trusting God to work in your life. In the end, when you let your anxieties dictate to you what you are not willing to do, you will not grow, you will not experience God or life to the fullest, you will spend your life longing for something more and wondering why you are never truly happy.

So, you can try to be Superman and do it yourself, saving the day again and again until you are finally beaten by the foe that is too great for you. Or you can be the Cowardly Lion and live a life that is defined by your fears. As you can imagine, neither of these options appeals to me so I say go with option three, do what Solomon did: Acknowledge your anxieties and fears, there probably is some reason for them, but then lay them before God and ask God in his power to give you the gifts you need as you step forward in faith.

Solomon was aware of his shortcomings. He knew about the learning curve ahead of him. He did not ignore these, nor did he allow them to stop him in his tracks.

Instead he gave these up to God and asked for help. And God answered.

Solomon asked to be a good ruler and God offered him good judgment and wisdom. God also gave Solomon all the things he could have asked for but didn’t. God not only promised wisdom that was adequate for Solomon, he offered deep wisdom for Solomon.

III. Genie in the Bottle

Now earlier, I referred to Solomon’s genie, and sometimes I fear that that is how we like to think of God. We pray for a good parking spot at Walmart so we don’t have to walk too far or we pray to win the lottery. You turn on the television and see people preaching that if you follow God you will never have a problem or trial in your life. You will live comfortably and never have to work or want for anything. It can sound good, but when you really think about it you know that God doesn’t call for us to be lazy and expect to have everything handed to us.

In the beginning of this passage God asks, “What should I give you?” God is in no way offering to cater to Solomon’s every whim. God didn’t even promise that he would grant Solomon what he asked. When you read the old legends about genies, not only do they offer whatever you ask, but it always goes wrong. The genies are mischievous and find a loophole in what you ask that keeps you from really enjoying it. They stick to the letter of your request and don’t offer anything more.

God, on the other hand, wanted to hear Solomon’s request before promising to fulfill it. He specifically states in verses 11 and 12 that it is because of what Solomon requested that he will honor it. “Because you asked for this and not worldly things, I will grant it to you,” he says. And then God does something that no genie has ever been known to do. He gives Solomon more than he asked for.

Now Solomon, like the rest of us, finds a way to mess it all up later in life and the kingdom is split when his son takes over. This is the way we are, even the wisest of us can mess up and I wouldn’t be surprised if Solomon began to think that he deserved the gifts that he had received from God. I know he got to the point where he felt that he didn’t need God anymore. As Solomon got more experience later in life, he forgot where it all came from. I do know that he relied on treaties with countries that he had sealed with marriages to keep him out of trouble instead of relying on God.

On that same sailing trip with Lisa, her sister and her husband, I spent the first couple days getting my crew and myself comfortable with my leadership. After a couple days I had made some really good decisions that were proven to be wise and then I pulled off an incredibly perfect docking against a difficult current at Friday Harbor. Things were going well and I got cocky. I laughed at the boat that came in next to us, on the other side of the dock, because they missed their first approach and had to try again. They should be more careful, like me. As we were preparing to leave Friday Harbor the next morning I watched a power boat that didn’t really know what he was doing. He pulled out and almost hit the boat behind him. People came to the dock and helped push him out so he could get going. No damage was done, but I laughed at the fact that this guy didn’t really know what he was doing. You’ve got to understand, sailor’s automatically look down on power boaters. We tend to think they try to power their way through everything without really paying attention to the surroundings. I rolled my eyes, thinking “power boaters” and figured I’d show everyone how it’s really done.

Well, you can imagine what came next: my majestic departure! Well at least I can say that I didn’t do anything that would cost any damage to my crew, my boat or others, but my departure was completely sloppy and the only thing that got us out was, you got it, people pushing our bow out for us. I had gotten cocky and thankfully, the only thing it cost us was our pride.

The rest of the trip, you found me being much more careful and taking things much more seriously, and it showed. When we forget ourselves and start to believe that the gifts are rights; that we’ve earned all we’ve been given, there is when we fail.

As a young man, Solomon asked God to help him and to guide him because he knew he couldn’t do it himself. Later in life, when he had more experience, he began to get cocky and think that he had earned all the wisdom he had. This, unfortunately, is a mistake we all tend to make.

Maybe this is part of what Jesus meant when he told us we are all to respond to him with a faith and faithfulness like children. As children we are willing to trust in someone else. As children, we haven’t deceived ourselves into thinking we can handle everything on our own yet. As children, we are willing to ask for help when we need it.

Are we ready to ask for God to make us the best we can be at what we are doing? Are we ready to allow God to bestow those gifts in a way that does not puff us up? Are we ready to turn to God for wisdom instead of the world?

It’s not just about us as individuals. We need to come to God as a church, as a congregation. As Solomon prayed and asked God to make him the best king he could be, we need to come before God and ask God to make us the best church we can be: a church that can make a difference to those around it; a church that will welcome those who don’t know God and teach them about him; a church that is a light in the darkness. A church where people are growing in their faith and a church that reaches out to bring people into new faith in Christ.

Let us pray for God to make us these things. He just may surprise us and answer the unspoken prayers as well. There are churches that pray to be big and they are. There are churches that pray to have money, and they do. But it’s the church that prays for God to make it a good, wise and faithful church that God wants… and God will answer this prayer for us. Amen.

Sunday, November 13, 2005

2 Kings 2:1-18 "Chariot of Fire"

In the midst of the glut of over-the-top reality T.V. shows there is “The Apprentice” This year it has grown into two shows, one continuing as contestants compete to get a job working for Donald Trump, a new one showing contestants competing to work for Martha Stewart. Contestants are broken into teams and are given tasks that will hopefully show their skills and their faults so that they can be weeded out until there is only one left, the apprentice. Through these shows one gets the opportunity to see what it takes to make it as a multi-billion dollar business person, and one learns a little about what it is that drives a lifestyle that I just cannot identify with.

Donald has shared with us that of utmost importance to him is loyalty. Even when you don’t like the way those above you are doing things, even if you think you could do it better, even if they are taking the ship down with them, you need to stand by your superiors, show them that you are loyal, and that way when you are in need, they will stand by you. If someone is unloyal, they are untrustworthy and not worth hiring.

Martha believes that women need to be particularly strong in the business world. She will not allow a person to cry in the conference room. Crying is a weakness that cannot be shown. Martha reminds her contestants of all she has done and been through, even her months in jail, and said that there was no room in the midst of those for tears.

Both Donald and Martha make good points, though I believe that they overstate their cases a fair amount. I think that loyalty doesn’t always mean following your leader off a cliff, and though I believe that strength is needed, I don’t necessarily believe that tears are always a sign of weakness. But the concept of the Apprentice goes back much earlier than these television shows. There is an early edition of “The Apprentice” found in 1st and 2nd Kings when we watch Elijah and Elisha and we see Elijah has taught Elisha what it means to be a prophet of God, he teaches him the sacrifices that need to be made, he teaches him the pain and the joy he will find. Elisha shows great loyalty to Elijah and he sheds a tear when Elijah is taken from him. But what makes him a great apprentice is that he does follow in Elijah’s footsteps and carry on his legacy in his own way. He continues the ministry that Elijah had started, and great things happen.

I. A Fiery Life

Elijah lived a life that seemed to constantly come in contact with fire. You could go as far as saying he was a man of fire. Last week we remembered the story of him standing on Mount Carmel calling down fire from heaven to prove that God was God and there is no other. After this mighty victory for Elijah and for God, life did not become easier, and he fled and ran away from the King of Israel and his wife, who were out to kill him. When Elijah ran away he came in contact with a great wind, ruah, he then experienced an earthquake, then a great fire, and then that still silence where God spoke to him. Again with the fire.

In 2 Kings 1 we hear about the king of Samaria, Ahaziah, who falls and is bed-ridden. And he sends his men to consult with the priests of a foreign god. Elijah is sent to tell him that he has made a mistake by consulting with foreign gods instead of consulting with the one true God. So Ahaziah sends three captains to Elijah along with 50 men each, to bring Elijah to the king. The first two approach Elijah and order him to come with them. Fire comes down from heaven to burns them and their men up. The third comes before Elijah with humility, and Elijah goes with him. More fire from heaven.

And then here, in our reading this morning, again we see fire, but we are seeing more than just fire, we also see a great wind, a whirlwind that takes Elijah up into heaven. This is a fitting end for this great prophet. For Elijah’s life and ministry was a whirlwind and his spirit was of fire. He struggled against a country that had fallen completely away from their God, and he was trying to pull them back. And he needed a fiery disposition to handle the ministry that he faced. And he was constantly moving from place to place, to go where God sent him and to stay away from those out to kill him. And here also, he left a successor, Elisha, who would carry on in ministry after him.

But before we really get into this scripture, we need to wipe away what we have learned in Sunday School and go directly back to what the Bible says. That’s right, I’m telling you to wipe away what you learned in Sunday School and instead look closely at what the Bible says. You see, we all learn this story of how Elijah is carried off by a fiery chariot into heaven and therefore is one of the few people in the Bible who never died. Well, all the parts are there, but they aren’t all in their right places. Let’s read exactly what did happen. It begins in chapter 11. As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.” We’ve got the chariot of fire and we’ve got a whirlwind. Later in the passage it is made clear that Elijah was taken up to heaven, not just blown away to the land of Oz or some other part of the country. But it doesn’t say anywhere that the chariot of fire was what Elijah rode up to heaven. So, noting this difference between what we think we know and what the scripture actually says, let us look closely at the end of Elijah’s life here on earth to see what we can learn from it.

Today’s scripture begins by acknowledging the fact that this is the end of Elijah’s life and ministry on this earth. The narrator knows it, Elijah knows it, Elisha knows it, even various prophets they run into know it. Elijah’s time is up. But Elisha is not ready to let go yet. Now you need to understand Elijah and Elisha. They are not father and son, rather they are more like a man and his apprentice. Elijah is Elisha’s teacher and his mentor. He has taken Elisha from working the fields and has trained him up in the ways of the Lord. And now there is a big elephant in the room and nobody wants to acknowledge it. Elijah is going away and Elisha is going to be on his own.

II. The Games we Play

So today’s scripture begins with everyone knowing what is coming and nobody willing to talk about it. They both decide to play games with the truth. They both decide to pretend that everything is fine even though it is not. Elijah doesn’t want to deal with the fact that he will be leaving Elisha so he makes up an excuse. “God has called me to go to Bethel. Stay here.” But Elisha isn’t ready to let go. “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” Then a group of prophets come up speaking the truth to Elisha and asking him if he knows that Elijah is going to be leaving him today. Elisha’s response: “I know, shhhhh!” Elisha knew that this was the end of his mentor, his master, his friend, but he didn’t want to talk about it, he didn’t want to admit it. He wanted everybody to pretend everything was fine and go on as if nothing was wrong. Bet you didn’t know that Elisha was Swedish. He was upset about what he faced, he knew that Elijah had reached his end, but it was better to keep it inside. It was better to keep it quiet. It was better to pretend that nothing was wrong, even though everybody knew that something was wrong. He thought that if he acted like everything was fine, then everything would be fine. He thought that if he pretended the world was okay, then life would go on the same way it had.

And so the games continued. We discover that at Bethel Elijah tries again to ditch Elisha. “Stay here, I’m going to Jericho.” Again Elisha refuses. And again, prophets come up to Elisha to talk with him about what is coming and he quiets them, “Shhh”. So Elijah tries a third time to get rid of Elisha. “I’m going to the Jordan.” And a third time Elisha refuses to leave his master. So they come to the Jordan River and we see a miracle. Elijah takes off his hairy cloak, or his mantle, and he roles it up and strikes the water with it. The water parts and Elijah and Elisha cross the Jordan on dry land. They do this like Israel crossed dry land as they came out of Egypt. They do this like Israel crossed the Jordan as they entered the Promised Land.

And now, since the end is near, since they’ve crossed the Jordan, they break out of their games. Elijah acknowledges the elephant in the room. He asks Elisha what he can do for him before he is taken from him. “I am going to be leaving you now, how can I say goodbye, what can I give you?”

Elisha’s response sounds odd to our 21st century ears. “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit.” It’s not what it sounds like, though. You see, Elisha isn’t asking to be twice the prophet that Elijah was. He isn’t asking to be twice as great or twice as miraculous. Instead he is asking for something much more personal, and much more powerful.

The double portion is what the eldest son would inherit from his father. A father in that day who had three children would divide their inheritance up in four portions. The first son would get two and the other two would each get one. If a father had four children, the inheritance would be divided in fifths, with the eldest getting two fifths and the others receiving one fifth. You get the idea. Elisha was asking to be the inheritor of Elijah’s gifts. He was asking to become more than just an apprentice. He was asking to be a son to Elijah, and not any son but his eldest son. Elisha sees more in this relationship than just a business or trade relationship. Elijah has become his father and he wants to continue Elijah’s legacy after he has gone. Elijah’s response, “If you stick with me until the very end then you will be my son.” And Elisha does.

Then we come to the fiery chariot, which separates the two of them. Then Elijah is taken up to heaven in a whirlwind. I cannot even imagine such a thing… later in the scripture, in verses 16 through 18 we see that neither do the prophets who waited for Elisha on the other side of the Jordan. They wanted to go search for Elijah around the mountains, thinking that maybe the whirlwind deposited him somewhere. Elisha knew better. He knew that Elijah was with God. He knew that God had brought his great prophet up to his heavens, into his presence. But even in this wonder of Elijah’s ascent to heaven, Elisha is saddened. He cries out and he tears his garments in half in his grief. Here Elijah has been one of the few in this world who was able to escape death. Elisha didn’t have to deal with watching his master die, instead he saw as clearly as possible that Elijah was being taken to heaven. When a loved one dies for us, we accept in faith that they are now with God. Elisha didn’t need to accept this in faith, he saw his loved one ascend as clear as day. But he was filled with tears just the same. He grieved at his loss, even though he knew the wonders of what Elijah looked forward to. And he cried out, “My father! My father!” acknowledging that he had indeed received the double portion, acknowledging that he was Elijah’s spiritual son.

III. Carry on

Elisha went back to the Jordan River and crossed over it in the same way that he had with Elijah earlier in the day. Now he knew that he was to carry on the mission and ministry of Elijah. He was able to see, and so were the other prophets, that God was with him in the same way that God had been with his master, his father.

Now Elisha did not have the same ministry that Elijah had. For one thing, he didn’t seem to be into fire in the same way Elijah was. Elisha was a great prophet, and he obviously followed Elijah. But his ministry was his own. He didn’t do the same things Elijah did and he had his own message for the people of Israel.

Sometimes we see someone great and we feel lacking because we aren’t them. We think that we could be a great speaker if only we could speak like Billy Graham. We see someone teach and wish we could teach like them. We see someone farm and wish we could farm like them. We watch someone who dedicates their life to mission work, and we feel like we are lacking because we are not as brave as them, not as trusting in God to care for us so far outside our comfort zones.

But God isn’t calling us all to be Elijah. He only called two people to be Elijah. Elijah himself, and then John the Baptist, who was Elijah returned, preparing the way of the coming Lord. The rest of us have our own role to fill. The rest of us have our own place in this world.

This isn’t an excuse to be mediocre. No, we are called to give it our all. God wants us to offer our best, our first fruits, to him. We can be inspired by those we never think we’ll live up to. We can take their lives and use them to inspire our lives, but then we must realize that we have our own marks to make. Elisha didn’t become Elijah, though he carried on his ministry. No, Elisha used the gifts that God gave him, not the gifts that God gave someone else. And his ministry was also a great one. We can do the same. We can allow God to use us and we can trust that God will give us all we need to do what he calls us to do. We can allow those who go before us to inspire us and we can then be comfortable with what God does use us for.

Paul talks about this in his first letter to the Corinthians. He tells us that we are all parts of the body of Christ, but we are not all the same part. “Now if the foot should say, ‘because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, ‘because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body” (1 Cor 12:15-19). Let us find our gifts that God has given us. Let us be inspired by that hand or that eye or that ear that we are not. But let us not think that we are limited in what we are or what we can do by what we are not. Instead, let us use the gifts that God gives us and follow the path that God has set before us. Amen.

Sunday, November 06, 2005

1 Kings 18:20-39 "Fire from Heaven"

I know today’s Bible reading very well. The school where I went (a private Christian school) had their fifth grade act out this story each year for chapel. Our chapel services were K through 5th grade, with the sixth graders doing things with the Junior High classes. And normally, our chapel services happened in the assembly room, but every now and then, like when we acted out the story of Mount Carmel, we got to have chapel in the gym. So, growing up, I would watch the big fifth graders act this out and I got to know it well. By the time I reached fifth grade and was able to be in it, I knew all the parts and looked forward to it. And so, in fifth grade I began my regular habit of playing villains in school plays and played one of the priests of Baal. It was a lot of fun. I got to dance around a pile of stones in the gym, probably the only time dancing was allowed in that gym, by the way, and call out and act all crazy and watch as nothing happened to the stones in front of me. Oddly enough, I don’t remember much about Elijah’s part or what happened next, except that at the end the people of Israel went around and grabbed all of us priests and took us to the side of the gym and pretended to kill us. Like I said, the beginning of a long career throughout school of playing the bad guy.

I think, because I grew up knowing this story so well, it has always held a place close in my heart. Here is a place where someone prays for God to do something and it happens. Here is a place where someone publicly puts God to the test and God proves that he is God and there is no other. Here is a place where someone asks God to show himself and God does as clear as can be.

I sometimes wish life were this easy, this obvious, today. I sometimes wish that we could pray as calmly and as full of faith as Elijah did. I sometimes wish it were that easy to show people that the Lord is God and there is no other. But if it were that easy, we would have a tame God, a God who isn’t in control of himself but rather allows us to control him, and in the end we’d be no better than the worshippers of Baal.

I. A Powerless God

Much like the people of Israel in Elijah’s day, we sometimes choose to serve a God without any power. I mean, we believe that our God created this world and everything in it. We believe that our God sent his Son who, when he was crucified, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. We believe that God worked miracles throughout the history of the world. And yet, in so many areas of our lives, we act as if there was no God at all. We live normal lives and do normal things and watch as the world passes us by. We forget the power that our God has. We forget what God is capable of.

The people of Israel in the time of Elijah had forgotten what God was capable of. They had discovered a new god that that they wanted to worship. Their new god was Baal, the god of fertility, the god of life, the god of the fields and the harvest. Their god was not mysterious like the one true God. Life was quite simple for them. They gave certain sacrifices, they participated in certain rights, and Baal would guarantee a good harvest. Wouldn’t that be nice? Wouldn’t it be easy if I could stand up here and tell you that if you gave a certain amount to the church then I could guarantee that next year’s crop would be amazing? Would you like that? Well, that is not the way that God works. Our God doesn’t make life that easy, he doesn’t set up such a simple process that guarantees wealth and riches to his followers. Our God is not tame; he is wild and unpredictable. But this does not mean that he is powerless.

Unfortunately, the people of Israel had decided that God was powerless so they had begun worshiping a god who they thought would meet their needs. Again, this is something that we need to be careful of, for it is something that we do ourselves. Oh, we don’t have idols of Baal in our houses and we don’t necessarily worship other gods to meet our needs, but we have found other types of idols to worship. We have found other ways to meet our needs without even considering relying on God. We may not put our trust in Baal, but we might be putting our trust in other things instead of God. Perhaps it is our bank account that we rely on. Perhaps it is our job. Perhaps we spend all our energy and focus trying to find a way to earn our daily bread that we forget that we are called to turn to God and ask him to give us our daily bread.

But God doesn’t like it when you put your trust in something other than him. Israel did this and God’s response was to cause a drought. This was particularly harsh, but quite fitting because they thought Baal would guarantee them the rain they needed, so God took away the very thing that they relied on Baal for. And then, in the midst of this drought we have the great power struggle on Mount Carmel.

Here we have God making himself known to his people as clear as you can. The setup is quite simple. There is going to be a contest between the gods. Baal’s priests are going to set up an altar and pray that Baal can start it on fire. Then Elijah is going to set up an altar and pray for God to start it on fire. Whoever’s God can start the fire is the true God worthy of Israel’s worship.

Baal’s priests get to go first. And they make a big deal about asking Baal to come down with fire and prove that he is the one with power. They dance, they cut themselves, they scream themselves horse for a full day. Nothing happens. We skipped over some of the taunts that Elijah comes up with while they are praying, “Shout louder!” he calls to them, “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” Of course, nothing happens. Maybe the problem isn’t that Baal is sleeping. Maybe the problem is that Baal doesn’t exist at all. Maybe the reason that Baal is so predictable and so easy to tame is that he is a figment of their imagination.

And so we come to Elijah and his altar.

II. Fire From Heaven

Now Elijah has a point to make to the people of Israel. He needs to show them clearly which God has power. He has put a choice before them, who are they going to worship, and now he needs to make it clear to them that there is only one God worthy of worship. So when it is Elijah’s turn, when the priests of Baal have danced themselves to a standstill, when they have cut themselves, when they have exhausted themselves completely, Elijah has water dumped on the altar three times, to the point where there is a trench around the altar and it is full of water. Then Elijah calmly speaks a prayer, no dancing around, no cutting himself, no working himself into a frenzy. Instead, he prays a simple prayer to God.

“Lord, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”

Elijah prays, not for things to get better for him, not for his own name to be great. He prays that God might turn the people of Israel back to God by showing them this sign.

Elijah isn’t standing in front of these people, testing God, so that his world might become a better world. He isn’t doing it to get something out of it. He isn’t trying to harness God’s power for his own ends. Rather he is asking that God use God’s power to touch God’s people and bring them back into relationship with God.

Elijah isn’t just worshipping God, he is following him. He doesn’t just trust in God, he obeys him. He isn’t trying to tame God, rather he is allowing God to lead him.

“Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, ‘The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!’”

The people had seen God’s power and they made their choice.

III. Choices

God is big into choices. On Wednesday night we were looking at an ancient writing, the Didache, which is an early writing of the church. Probably written within twenty years of the end of the Bible. In it, God’s followers, the Christians are told that they can choose one of two ways to live. There is the way of life and there is the way of death. The way of life is to love the God who made you and love your neighbor as yourself. They way of death is to live a life of sin, a life that puts yourself and your needs above all else. Here, in today’s scripture, the people of Israel are given a choice as well. They can choose whether to follow God or they can choose to worship Baal. If they follow God, they cannot guarantee that God will always do exactly what they want. They will be following a wild, untamed God. They will not be in charge, rather they will be the followers. Or they can worship Baal. With Baal, they don’t necessarily need to be followers. They get to be the ones in control. They set the rules and they choose what it is they want from this make-believe god. But then there’s the problem. Their god is a make-believe god who really has no power at all.

And so, I wonder how we respond to the choice put before us. Are we willing to follow the way of life? Are we ready to serve the wild God who will not always answer you the way you want him to? Are we anxious to follow God faithfully though it may mean that our simple lives will not remain simple? Or do we want the simple deception and false promise that the rest of the world lives by? Do we simply trust that this world will take care of us? I know that I have chosen the wild God that sends fire from heaven and speaks in whispers. I know that I have chosen to follow the God of power instead of having the illusion that I am in control. Let us all choose to follow God today and throughout our lives. Amen.