June 19, 2022 Sermon
Sermon title: "The Still Small Voice"
Scripture: I Kings 19:1-15
(Other lectionary choices include Psalm 42, Galatians 3:23-29, and Luke 8:26-39.)
1 Kings 19:1-15
Elijah Flees from Jezebel
1Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow." 3Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah; he left his servant there. 4But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: "It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors." 5Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, "Get up and eat." 6He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. 7The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him, and said, "Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you." 8He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. 9At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there. Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" 10He answered, "I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away."
Elijah Meets God at Horeb
11He said, "Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by." Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; 12and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. 13When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" 14He answered, "I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away." 15Then the Lord said to him, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram.
Today is Father’s Day, and perhaps I'll say a few things about my father later on. First, though, I want to comment on this Scripture reading from I Kings. I really like it because for the first time - perhaps - we see God speaking in a new way. Instead of speaking through "the earthquake, wind, and fire", as the hymn written by John Greenleaf Whittier says, we hear God speaking in a still, small, voice.....or at least it seems that way.
Something else: Elijah the prophet is a big deal in Judaism. Even at Passover observances today in the Jewish community, the man of the house or the woman of the house goes to the door at sometime during the Passover ceremony to see if Elijah has arrived. On the lighter side, Harlane's father, whom I never met, came up with the idea that Elijah was the guy who turned the light out in the refrigerator when you closed the door! Seriously, Elijah is a big deal in Christianity, too. Remember the Transfiguration, the time when Jesus heads up to the top of a mountain with Peter, James, and John? While there, Jesus talks to Moses and Elijah. (Moses represents the Law, and Elijah represents the prophets.) So, Elijah is a big figure in both religions.
In today's reading, Elijah is running because he is scared out of his wits! Why? Because Elijah has just killed all the priests of Baal, the Canaanite god, and the evil queen Jezebel is determined to take revenge. By the way, the reason Jezebel is thought to be evil is that she and her husband Ahab have allowed Canaanite religion to get mixed in with the religion of Israel, and that was such a no-no! And keep in mind that Ahab and Jezebel are Hebrews. They are Israelites, and they should have known better. Can you remember the first commandment? "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." Not "Do not Kill". Not "Do Not Commit Adultery". But "Thou shalt have no other gods but me." Ahab and Jezebel violated that first commandment, and so the author or authors of I Kings consider them so very evil.
I mentioned a moment ago that Elijah was a big deal in both Judaism and Christianity. But he - just like you and me - was not perfect. In fact, he was so exhausted, he was hoping he would die sleeping under that broom tree. Have you ever felt that way? So exhausted and maybe depressed that you hoped you wouldn't wake up the next day? Well, you weren't the first to have that thought! Elijah beat you to it! And Elijah wasn't the only one who hoped he'd die: remember Jonah? God commanded him to go preach repentance to the people of Nineveh, ARCH enemies of the Israelites, by the way, and he didn't want to do it! And HE lay down to sleep under some tree, but we are told that God sent some worm to eat the tree so that he wouldn't sleep! So, if you feel at the end of your rope and you want to lie down and die, join the club! You are not alone! But guess what: God still may have other work for you to do, as he did for both Jonah and Elijah.
As long as we're talking about Jonah and Elijah, let's add the prophet Jeremiah to the conversation. Jeremiah laments a LOT about his state in life, and we even have an Old Testament book called the LAMENTATIONS of Jeremiah, or simply Lamentations. But they are the complaints, the laments, of Jeremiah. I will say that Jeremiah had a tough life, and he whines a lot. The reason I mention Jeremiah whining is that Elijah does a little whining, too! In Jeremiah's case, God isn't very sympathetic. In fact, God says, "Jeremiah, you are complaining because you are running against humans. What are you going to do when you are racing against HORSES?" Get it? God is saying, "You think it's tough now. Wait until later when it's going to be REALLY tough!" In a way, the same thing happens to Elijah in today's reading. Elijah is seeking some comfort, but what he gets from God is THIS question: "Why are you here, Elijah?" What God seems to be saying is, "Stop feeling sorry for yourself, Elijah. I have work for you to do," As we heard at the end of today's lesson, God says, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus." And....if we read on.....we'd see that that is exactly what Elijah does: he was obedient to God.
One thing Elijah DID get right in today's Scripture lesson is the realization that he needs rest AND he needs SILENCE. Remember that verse from the Psalms? "Be still and know that I am God." Elijah is seeking communion with God, silence with God, the same way Jesus would do later on. In my memory of the Gospels, Jesus always seems to be getting away from the disciples so that he can have some time alone with his Heavenly Father. Even in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was seeking time with God before he was arrested and taken off to be crucified. So, time with God is important. Elijah knew that, and so did Jesus.
And let me say that we also need time alone with God and time with God in silence. In our busy days, it's hard - I know - to get some time to ourselves. But we really NEED that quiet time to nourish our souls. Television and radio and our favorite music are wonderful conveniences. And they can soothe us when we need some soothing! But they can also tempt us to FORGET about time and silence alone with God. We NEED that time to replenish our spiritual computers. I love that verse from the 23rd Psalm: "He restoreth my soul." Boy, does he ever! But we need to make the effort. As the lingo goes these days, we need to be INTENTIONAL about seeking time alone with God! There is of course no PERFECT time. YOU decide when the right time is.
In my college days, I tried to pray at night, but I would often fall asleep while I was praying. So, a better time for me is the early morning hours. You decide when the best time is for you. And see if you can discern that "still small voice" that Elijah discovered. Amen.
Pastor Skip
