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“RUNNING INTO ELIJAH"
June 19, 2016
Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Joseph Andrew Slane
Southminster Presbyterian Church
I Kings 19:1-15a Psalm 42 Galatians 3:23-29 Luke 8:26-39
Stop. Identify yourself. You are not a servant of Queen Jezebel? All right. I believe you. Be at ease. Let me explain.
Elijah. That's my name. "The Lord is my God." That's what my name means. They call me a prophet. But if I can be a prophet, anyone qualifies. All you have to do is be scared to death. Then run. And keep running … until you run into God running toward you.
What happened? Sure. The day I found God running toward me I had to run away. Surprised myself. I had been so bold, brazen, and courageous standing up for the Lord and speaking against King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. They devised a treacherous scheme to obtain Naboth's vineyard. Even though Ahab was king of Israel, he apparently forgot all about the meaning of the Holy Land. He had completely forsaken the Lord God. Sure, his wife, Jezebel, influenced him. But that's no excuse for turning away from God's people. Well, based on my errant behavior today, who am I to judge others now?
But I really was brave speaking against King Ahab and Jezebel until … well, I'm embarrassed to tell you what happened. Queen Jezebel sent a messenger to say by the next day she would have me killed - as she did Nabob. That's when I ran away. I was scared for my life. And I also felt like God had forsaken me.
What about you? Have you ever been so scared you wanted to get away? Sometimes taking a break is the best thing to do. But I wanted to run away. I was tired of God asking me to stand up for the faith. I wanted to sit down for a change. But I had to get away from Jezebel and God. I wanted to die. So I ran.
After my feet began to ache I finally stopped. I sat down under a lonely broom tree. I fell asleep. At first I thought it was a dream. An angel touched me on the shoulder and said, "Get up and eat." But I really was awake. And there, on the hot stones, was baked bread and a jar of water. Then it happened again. Rested and nourished you would think my courage would have returned. But no, I was still sacred. I took off running again, even faster this time.
I finally made my way to what seemed like a safe place - a cool, dark cave in the mountains. I felt secure, protected. But no sooner than I stopped, I heard the Lord ask me what I was doing. I told God a shorter version of what I've said to you.
I expected the Lord to say, "You are blessed, dear servant. Be at ease. I'll protect you." No. Instead I was told to go out and stand on the mountain and the Lord would come to me. Now I was sacred, not only of Jezebel, but scared of God. I had reason to be afraid. There was a wind so powerful it split rocks. That didn't seem like the Lord to me. After the wind, an earthquake. I thought I was going to fall through the mountain. I held on to a tree. The ground trembled and surged. Didn't seem like the Lord to me. And after the earthquake, a fire. Maybe a holy fire, I thought. But no, it was just a blazing hot fire. It wasn't the Lord.
Then at last it happened. Of all things, the only way I know to describe it is a sound of full silence. The air was heavy with holiness, bountiful with beauty. It was so quiet … and yet a very loud silence. Then I finally stopped. I rested long enough to meet God running toward me.
I had no more excuses. God saw me just as I am: Afraid, worried, feeling like a failure. In that loud silence I wrapped this mantle around my face and stood at the entrance of the cave. I had been so overwhelmed by fear. But God was saying, "Be still. Be still."
I thought that would be it. After all, I felt deeply, blissfully blessed. But God wasn't through with me. Do you know what the Lord told me out of that silence? "Get back to work. Get out of the wilderness. Hit the road to Damascus. Speak my word." That's what the Lord ran to tell me.
So back to Damascus is where I'm headed now. Oh, I'm still afraid. But now I believe God will give me strength to face any and every situation. God will do that for you, too. Have you ever been afraid? Have you ever wanted to run away? I understand. Stop. Be still. Sometimes you can get where you need to be by not working so hard. Accept a difficult situation and go through it instead of fighting against it.
There's one more important step. Get back to work. Now that you know God is with you, you can face anything.
You know, out here in the wilderness I've been thinking about the day when the great prophet - the Messiah - will come. People will probably try to kill him too. They may even succeed. But I believe God will raise the Messiah up and get him going. I'm sure of it! God always wants to pick us up, pull us out of a cave, and give us new life.
I have an idea! Since our meeting today seems so providential, here's an invitation. Will you consider this? Yes, you'll be afraid. But remember, faith is stronger than fear. Here's my invitation: Go back with me on the road to Damascus. There's work for you, too. Like I said, if I can be a prophet, anyone qualifies. Being a prophet means trying to live for God. It doesn't mean we're always successful. It just means being open to God. It's what my life and what your life is meant to be.
When you run away from life, even when you run away from God, you won't go too far before you meet God running toward you.
Sources for this message include:
The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary, Editor Paul J. Achtemeier, 1996 edition, pages 280-281.
Everyone in the Bible, William P. Barker, Fleming H. Revell Company, 1966, page 92.
Frederick Buechner, Peculiar Treasures, HarperCollins Publishers, 1979, pages 32-34.
Feasting on the Word: Year C, Volume 3, Westminster/John Knox Press, 2010, pages 146-151.