Anyone who says the
bible is boring might want to go back and give it another try. I’ll admit if
there was ever a guy who needed a good editor, it was probably St Paul. But if
you think the bible is dry and boring, just think about the two stories we
heard this morning.
The
one we just heard, well, there’s a little of everything in there. You’ve got a
naked chain-breaking crazy man, demons galore – so many their name is Legion – and
a hillside full of pigs. As if that’s not enough, there’s an exorcism. The pigs
decide to do a Mauna Loa dive off a cliff, and when the pig herders see what’s
happened they panic and go running off to town. This is Survivor, Desperate
Housewives, and Pro Wrestling all
wrapped up into one episode.
That’s
just the Gospel for today. If that’s not enough for you, try the Old Testament,
the Hebrew Scripture. There are death threats by a wicked queen, a trip to the
wilderness, miraculous cake baking, wind, earthquake, fire, and silence. It sounds
like Masterpiece Theatre, Wild Kingdom, The Cooking Channel, and The
Weather Channel all rolled into one.
So
I think, with so much adventure from which to choose, we’d best stick to one
story today. How about the Prophet Elijah? Elijah, who understandably seems to
have lost track of his purpose and instead immersed himself in fear. I’m pretty
sure Elijah thought he was in control, fleeing for his life, but it is clear
God had a lot to do with the destination.
Elijah
starts off into the wilderness, and only gets a day’s walk from Beersheba
before his fear gets to him again. He tells God he just wants to die. God has
something else in mind, however, and that’s when The Cooking Channel steps in. You never know with whom or what God
will choose to speak to you, and in Elijah’s case God starts with a freshly baked
cake. It’s as if God is saying, “Okay, Elijah. You’ve lost your purpose, but I
still know what it is. Get up, eat, and keep moving.”
Elijah
takes refuge in a cave next, still full of fear. I think God must have been a
little impatient with Elijah at that point. It seems to me there’s a bit of an
edge to the question God asks Elijah in the cave, “What are you doing here,
Elijah?” Elijah replies, but he whines, and if there’s one thing I know about
God, while it’s okay to whine, God will only let you keep it up so long. So
Elijah whines how he’s been zealous for God and he’s the only one left that is,
and furthermore the wicked people and their queen want to kill him.
What does God say
in return? I don’t hear much sympathy. I hear the same thing God said to Elijah
a day’s walk from Beersheba. “Get up. Get over yourself.” It’s actually, “Go
out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass
by.”
Elijah
is still afraid though, and this time he stays put. He hunkers down in that
cave while the mountains move and the rocks rock and the earthquake quakes and
the fire flames. Elijah doesn’t get up the guts to follow God’s orders until
there’s silence. You can’t really blame the poor guy. Which of us would want to
stand out there amid all that chaos?
You
know what? Once Elijah gets out there, God asks Elijah the same question. “What
are you doing here, Elijah?” And once more Elijah whines out the same answer.
Now I think at this point God loses patience and simply gives a directive. I
mean if Masterpiece Theatre, Wild Kingdom, The Weather Channel, and The
Cooking Channel didn’t get your attention, what will?
Yet the scripture
says God was neither in the sound nor the silence. What happened is the silence
stilled Elijah’s fear long enough for him to venture out to hear God say, “Go!”
God tells Elijah to go because Elijah can’t fulfill God’s purpose unless he’s
where God needs him to be.
God
asked Elijah, “What are you doing here?” And, when Elijah can’t do anything but
whine, God says, “Go.”
What about us? Is
God asking us, “What are you doing
here?” Are we going to whine about it? Or are we going to choose action over
fear and go where we need to go to fulfill God’s purpose? Will we hear God in
the silence saying, “Go?” “Go where I need you to be. Do what I need you to do.
Fulfill the purpose I have for you.” AMEN.
The
Rev Nicolette Papanek
©2016
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