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.
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