Persistence

Elijah was the voice of God until the time when God called him home. His successor, Elisha, had already been chosen by God.

Ahab died from a mortal wound he received in a battle with the Arameans. His chariot was taken back and washed at a pool in Samaria and the dogs licked up his blood as the word of the Lord declared.

So it was that Elisha began his apprenticeship with his mentor Elijah. Elijah and Elisha were on their way toward Gilgal when Elijah told him to stay behind because the Lord was sending him on to Bethel. But Elisha refused to stay behind and insisted that he continue on with Elijah on this his last journey.

Elisha knew this was the last hours he would be spending with his mentor and friend…and he didn’t want to miss out on any of it. As persistent as Elijah was that he stay behind Elisha was just as persistent that he wouldn’t leave him.

And so, they traveled on toward that place where the fiery chariot and whirlwind would take Elijah away.

Have you ever had to take over someone else’s job? Have you ever followed someone who was very good at what they did and wondered if you could really do it as well?

I suppose Elisha might have been experiencing those same feelings, having those same doubts about his ability to do what God asked Elijah to do. 

There were other prophets, disciples of Elijah’s who followed along at a distance. Elijah and Elisha walked from Gilgal, to Bethel, to Jericho, to the Jordan River. At each place more prophets joined the troop and followed them at a distance.

This group that followed was quiet and respectful. They just wanted to see what would happen. The air must have been electric with anticipation.

When the two reached the Jordan Elijah rolled up his cloak and struck the river. Just like what happened with Moses and his staff, when the cloak touched the water the flow ceased and they were able to walk across the river. When their feet touched the other bank the flow resumed.

The two men, the older and wiser one talking and teaching the younger less experienced one, walked on. The younger one not sure if he’d have what was needed to confront kings and queens as Elijah had. Elisha had to be afraid. Especially, since he’d heard all about Jezebel and her threats to kill Elijah.

But God had protected and cared for Elijah and therefore Elisha should have known that God would look after him too.

Elisha had known for quite some time that he would be Elijah’s successor. So, when Elijah asked him what he could give him he asked for double the power Elijah had.

Elijah’s response was that if he watched and saw him go home to God then his request would be granted.

Sound easy? Have you ever tried keeping your focus on just one thing? Have you ever stared so long at something that your eyes almost crossed? Don’t you kind of wonder how long Elisha had to persist in keeping his focus on Elijah?

And then, in the blink of an eye, all at once, there it was the chariot of fire pulled by fiery horses. Elijah was taken into the chariot and it ascended into the sky in a whirlwind and then…he was gone. 

There was stillness. There was quiet. Not even the birds were singing. Elisha saw it all, the flashing hooves, the dust, and then Elijah was gone. All that was left was his cloak.

Elisha received double the power that Elijah had. He also received his cloak which he picked up and began the walk back to the river. When he arrived at the banks of the river you know the prophets on the other side were watching to see what he’d do.

He rolled up the cloak, struck the water with it and said, “Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” The water stopped flowing and he crossed over.

All who were witnesses knew there was a new prophet in Samaria.  They knew the Spirit of the Lord that had rested on Elijah now rested on Elisha because he had been persistent in staying with his mentor to the end.

No longer was Elisha’s job to plow the fields. He had a new job with new challenges and everything that went with being the voice of the Lord in Samaria.

          And so, Elisha followed in the footprints of Elijah prophesying s and queens just like Elijah. 

We're Guilty

          We hear the story of Ahab and Naboth; we listen to how Jezebel coerced leaders to lie about Naboth. We hear how the corrupt leaders and noblemen of Samaria were so quick to do the bidding of Jezebel. And we think that couldn’t or wouldn’t ever happen to me…or happen here!

          Ahab wasn’t guilty of the actual lies or the stoning of Naboth but he didn’t say anything when Jezebel told him, “Naboth is dead. You can have his garden now.” He didn’t ask how Naboth died. He didn’t ask anything about Naboth, because he knew that his wife had done something underhanded so he could have his garden. He just didn’t care!

          So he went to the garden and began to make it his own, planting and cultivating it as if he were the rightful, legal owner.

          God spoke to Elijah, we don’t know exactly how the communication happened, about where to find Ahab and what he, and Jezebel, had done. God gave Elijah some pretty harsh words to relay to Ahab. God said, “In the place where dogs licked up Naboth’s blood, dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!” There was no doubt that Ahab wasn’t going to enjoy the fruits of this garden, and it sounds fair to us because it wasn’t really his.

          How does this story apply to us, today? We haven’t taken anyone’s land. We haven’t had someone killed so we could waltz in and take it over. We’re good guys.

          But wait, what about all that happened to the Native Americans? What about what happened to the Japanese Americans during World War II? What about the land foreclosures during the Great Depression? Sure the banks loaned the money but was it ethical to take the farm, sell it, and keep enough from the proceeds to pay what was owed? What about what’s happening in our Senate and House in Washington right now? Who’s paying the price for the mismanagement of finances in our federal government? You know who it is. It’s those who have no voice, no leverage, no super pacs to lobby for them. They’re the ones who are paying. The Food Stamp program is one those programs that may be cut or reduced. Who will feed these folks if they no longer can get food stamps?

          Injustices are still happening today, people taking advantage of someone else in order to accumulate more wealth; not caring what happens to the other guy as long as they get what they want, more land, more money, more prestige.

          It’s not just individuals, corporations and countries are doing it too. Leveraging the competitor until they cave in and their business…and customers…become part of the conglomerate.

          Wars, most times are about one country trying to get more land, more people, more natural resources. In the process, children and families pay the price…and most of us turn and look the other way. It’s not in our back yard. It’s on the other side of the world, it’s easy to ignore…and forget about.

          Friends, we’re all guilty. We’re guilty when we don’t speak out over injustices we see happening all around us. We’re guilty when we pass along rumors when we haven’t even asked if there’s any truth to them. You know what I’m talking about.

          We’re guilty when we don’t try to do something to right the wrongs done to those who have very little to start with. We’re just guilty.

          So, what are we to do? How do we stop the process?  I think first we have to admit that some of the blame does indeed belong on our shoulders. And then we need to ask God to forgive us, and show us, allow us, to begin to right some of the wrongs. 

Finding God

This is adapted or tweaked using ideas from Spill the Beans, Issue 8. The first part is my thoughts on "Finding God" and the end is from the liturgy material from Issue 8.  May God add his blessing to it; may it speak to your soul.

How do we find God? Or maybe the question should be how does God find us? Maybe it takes both, us looking for God and God finding us.

          I’m certain God knows where we’re at. If God wants us he can find us. The psalmist said there was no where he could go that God wasn’t already there ahead of him.

          But, if we want to find God how do we? Maybe we should really get this into the simplest form we can. Let’s say we’ve misplaced something we use every day, like the keys to the front door. We always have them in our pockets or we leave them hanging on a hook, the same place all the time.

          But this morning when we went to get them they weren’t there. How do we find them? Most of us would rush around looking in the most likely places we might have put them down. Usually that doesn’t work for me. They’re never where I think they should be.

          So, when I’ve become so exasperated that I don’t know what else to do I sit down, sometimes I put my head in my hands, and I talk with God. I tell him I’ve looked everywhere and I don’t know where else to turn. And then I sit and quietly wait…in silence. I make myself still. I listen. I sit and look around me…and wait.

          You might think it odd; you might think it would never work for you but too many times what I think I’ve lost forever is found again…right where I left it but could not for the life of me remember that I’d put it there.

          So, if we were looking for God don’t you think the same practice might work? So many times when we’re looking for God we think we can only find him in the sanctuary at church, when, if we’d stop and think, he’s as close to us as our hearts.

          I find God in the early morning, riding my bike out past Leo and Gayle Stuart’s place. I find God in the song of the red wing blackbird and the meadowlark. I find God in the wind turbines as they are propelled by that unseen force we call wind. I find God in the stillness just before the robins wake and begin singing their praise to the Creator of everything.

          God can be found everywhere, in our everyday lives, in our breath, in our passions, in our anger, in silence.

          We are able to find God in our every breath, in those murmurs that provide inspiration. God comes to us like those rumors we hear at coffee with just a whisper and somehow we know it’s actually God’s voice we hear.

          In an instant God comes with a rush, a gasp, and in a breath God passes by us.

          God make his presence known to us in our passions. God’s like a fire burning inside us, intense pain, a feeling of heat and desire, a zealous intensity that’s like an obsession, rapturous, almost a crazed feeling, in passion God passes by us.

          Is God present when we’re angry? If he’s with us in everything else he must be in those places when we are filled with madness, livid with indignation over wrongs done, exasperated, incensed, provoked beyond our endurance…God passes by in anger.

          But it’s in the silence, the hushed quiet, the still, muffled, suppressed quiet, when we’re at peace, calm, placid, cool, unruffled...in silence God passes by.

          To find God listen, look, see, and behold: in the everyday of life are the everyday theophanies, those dramatic appearances of God who passes by and calls us on the way.

          Can you hear it, the Silence? Listen, for it holds deep certainties. Not those that come whirling in like truth tornados, whipping up storms, their eyes on doubts leaving the heart’s landscape littered with broken hopes. Not those that come in earth-moving, land-shaking, ground-churning spectacles to cast cracks like gaping wounds through carefully constructed dreams. Not those that come with cackling, crackling glee, their greedy glow and unquenchable appetite blazing a destructive trail to cauterize the very roots of charred visions.

          Can you hear it, the silence? Listen. And know for certain that within it lies a truth worth hearing. Listen. Wrap yourself within its folds, let it lead you to an open door and know you go in peace.

          Thanks be to God. Amen.

What's God Think?

          Do you ever wonder what God thinks about what we’re doing? How do you think He feels about how we do church, how we worship, how we love and serve each other, our community and the greater world community? How do you think God feels or thinks about how we’re doing following the examples Jesus gave us, about how to pray, how to love, and how to serve?

          Do you suppose he’s amused by our attempts at doing worship in different ways? Does he laugh out loud at our attempts to grow His church? Does he laugh when he sees our television evangelists trying to impress their audience, their attempts to one-up each other, seemingly oblivious to the real Power…the power that doesn’t need a song or a dance to make it authentic, a power that commands the whole universe, a power that’s omnipotent? What do you think?

          When you listen to the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal how does it convict your heart? Do you hear the story and think, “We don’t have to worry; our pastor has it all taken care of? No problems here.” Or are you a little worried by the story and wonder if maybe we’re missing something? Maybe we don’t have this God relationship all figured out after all.

          Notice how there’s only one prophet for God and there are innumerable prophets for Baal. How many prophets does God have today? How many prophets does the world have today? Who’s more powerful, God or the world?

          When Elijah was prophesying for God there was a drought in the land, no rain had fallen for three years. Did you think that last year with no rain that maybe God had turned of the spigot? Did you think that maybe He was trying to get our attention?

          If that was the case what about this year with floods and tornadoes and tropical storms? Is He still trying to get our attention?

          Are the world’s prophets so loud and boisterous that we can’t hear God’s prophets? Or do we just have blinders on and we don’t see what’s happening on the periphery? How close are we to being like the people of Israel in Elijah’s day? Which prophets are we listening to, which religion do we follow?

          Do the gods we pay homage to listen to our petitions? Do they hear our prayers? Do they answer us? Or are they like Baal? Are they asleep or away or have they un-friended us? You don’t pray to Baal. Are you praying to the Lord? Or, aren’t you praying to any god?

          Is your church your god? Is your religion your God? Is your denomination your God? What god or gods are we worshiping?

          How do we show or demonstrate we believe in God? Is it possible for other people to observe any evidence that we believe in God? What would they see?

          Friends, the lesson for us today is about what we believe and how we live out what we believe. Are we different than those who worshiped Baal or do we just have a different ‘Baal?’

          Do we need a demonstration of God’s power to bring us back to worshiping him, and only him? What do we need?

          In Elijah's time God went to extreme measures to get the people of Israel's attention. When he sent his Son he went to extreme measures to get the people's attention, to demonstrate his love for all humanity. Is God done with his extreme demonstrations?                  

          Friends, if we take nothing else away from the lessons today we should understand how very much God loves us. God cares enough for us to go to extremes for us. And all he asks is that we believe in his Son, our Lord, Jesus.

          Thanks be to God for his forgiving grace. Amen.

Thanks to Spill the Beans for their thought provoking questions.

Major League Grace

     This is from In the Grip of Grace by Max Lucado and and was called "Major League Grace." I put it in my own words. It was a great message for our Saturday evening service.     

     Think back to 1995 major league baseball season. Remember what baseball was like that year? That was the year the players all went on strike, major and minor league players.

          The owners were set on going ahead with the season so they invited anyone who knew anything about the game and could perform all the basic plays with energy and excitement to come and play.

          It was a different year. Batters hustled to the plate, some questionable calls were made but they went uncontested; umpires were actually being thanked after the game and fans returned the foul balls they caught.

          These guys weren't in condition and they huffed and puffed as they chased fly balls and ran the bases. But, boy did they have fun. They were playing ball because they loved playing ball.

          I read that in Cincinnati the general manager stepped out on the field to thank the fans for coming out to the game. The Phillies gave away free hotdogs and sodas. And the Cleveland Indians gave 5 players to the Cincinnati Reds for free!

          They weren't the most exciting games to watch but it was neat to see men playing for the sheer joy of playing a game they loved. They were living a dream, a life they didn't deserve. It was pure luck they were able to be there. They were chosen because they had a particular skill; they were picked because they were willing to play. And they knew it!

          Never did we read about any of them arguing over the poor pay they received. They wasn't any grossing over the fact their names weren't stitched on their jerseys. No strikes were threatened. No one was trying to get someone else's position. They were all just happy to be on the team.

          Now, in light of the passage we heard read from Romans, do we deserve to be here? No, but we don't want to trade the privilege for something else either. God's grace has given us a place on the “dream” team.

          Because of God's grace we've also received blessings. Blessings of peace, hope, joy, and love. Paul said, “Since we have been made right with God by our faith, we have peace with God.”

          Peace with God...just because we have faith! Imagine that! This isn't just peace with our neighbors or our family or even other countries, this is real peace...peace with God. Salvation brings peace...with God.

          Max Lucado told a story about a monk and his young apprentice traveled from their abbey to a nearby village. They parted for the evening and met again the next morning.

          The apprentice was unusually quiet the next morning so the monk asked if anything was wrong. The response was short and snappy, “What business is it of your?”

          The monk could tell that his brother was troubled but he held his tongue and continued the walk back to the abbey. The distance between them grew  greater and greater as the apprentice walked slower and slower. When the monk arrived at the gates of the abbey he stopped and waited for the apprentice to arrive.  He asked him, “Tell me, my son, what troubles your soul?”

          The boy started to snap back but stopped when he saw the warmth and compassion in the monks eyes.  “I have sinned greatly. Last night I stayed with a woman and abandoned my vows.” “I'm not worthy to enter the abbey at your side.”

          The teacher put his arm around the student and said, “We will enter the abbey together. And we will enter the cathedral together. And together we will confess your sin. No one but god will know which of the two of us fell.”

          Isn't that a good description of what God has done for us. We keep our sins silent. We withdraw from God. We see him as our enemy. We try to avoid being in his presence.

          But when we confess our sins, lay our faults at his feet, our perception is changed. God isn't our foe anymore, he's our friend. We are at peace with him. He did so much more than the monk did for his friend. He didn't just share in our sin, he was crushed for the evil we did. He accepted the shame. He leads us into the presence of God.

          Because of what God did for us through Jesus we have a place with God. Jesus has brought us into that blessing of God's grace that we now enjoy. In the Greek that is translated as being ushered into the presence of royalty.

          In Ephesians Paul said, “It is through Christ that all of us are able to come into the presence of the Father. Now we can come fearlessly right into God's presence...

          Christ meets us outside and takes our hand and walks right in with us into the presence of God. That's where we encounter pure grace, no condemnation, no punishment, just mercy. We wouldn't have been able to gain an audience with God with Jesus being by our side.

          When Jesus takes our hand and walks with us into God's presence it's a little bit like one our children walking in with a friend we've never met. We welcome them because our child has their hand. They're okay since they're with our child. If they just showed up at our door and wanted to come in for supper or to play we might not be so quick to let them in.

          When we become friends with Jesus we're able to gain access to God.  Because we're his friends we have access to the throne room in heaven.

          This isn't just a one time event but a permanent “access by faith into this grace by which we now stand.”

          This is where we're different than those baseball players. Their time playing on the field was only temporary where our privilege will last as long as God is faithful, and his faithfulness has never been questioned. Paul told Timothy, “If we aren't faithful, he will still be faithful, because he cannot be false to himself” (2 Tim. 2:13).  David said that the Lord's faithfulness “reaches to the heavens” (Ps. 36:5).

          Notice the sequence of these blessings. One is in the past; we have peace with God because he's forgiven our past errors. And the second deals with our present. We have a place with God because Jesus presents us to the Father.

          And the next blessing is our future. “We are happy because of the hope we have of sharing God's glory.”

          We were washed up but now we are called up and put in. How do we share in God's glory you ask. Friends, that will have to wait for another time.

          God loves you my friends and so do I. Thanks be to God for his grace. Amen.

The Holy Spirit

          Jesus ascended to heaven. Before he went home to his Father he gave the disciples one last command. That was to, "...go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

          They didn’t get right too it until after this day that we heard read about today from Acts. They didn’t begin until they’d received and been empowered by the Holy Spirit.

          After they’d received the Holy Spirit many God-fearing Jews became believers in Jesus the Christ, the Messiah. If we’d have read further in the chapter we’d have discovered that about 3,000 were added to their number that day. Can you imagine 3,000 people came to believe in Jesus as the Christ?

          Let me ask you a question, “Did the disciples accomplish this all by themselves?” No, it only happened after they’d received the Holy Spirit.

          So, if the command that Jesus gave the disciples was also meant for us then shouldn’t it also mean that before we are able to make disciples and baptize people in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit we would need to receive the Holy Spirit?

          The point I want to make is this, we aren’t able to bring people to know Jesus as the Christ without help from the Holy Spirit. There’s just no way that we can accomplish this through our own willpower.

          But some of us think that’s what we’re to be about, leading people to Jesus so that they can be baptized, saved, and assured of eternal life. We don’t want anyone left behind so we want to make sure that all our friends and family are saved.

          That’s a good thing but sometimes we fail to talk with God about it. We fail to take the time to ask the Holy Spirit to guide us in this endeavor.

          When we forget that God is the one with the plan and that we are his servants, his workers, then what we’re trying to do could become a little chaotic because we’re trying to do it all on our own.

          I’m not saying that leading people to Jesus is wrong. What’s wrong is trying to do it without letting God be the One to lead the work of bringing salvation to people.

          When we don’t let God be the one in control it could become something like what happened at Babel, a whole lot of confusion and chaos. And who do we think we are anyway that we do this all by ourselves?

          Sometimes, I think, God just lets us go on our way and then he puts his finger into it and kind of stirs the pot in a different direction. And sometimes, Jesus, himself, gets involved. And then we begin to squirm and wiggle and are a little embarrassed because we didn’t leave room for that kind of thing, the excitement, the unpredictability.

          We think we’re in control but this is something we can’t control or manage. When God gets involved in the mix he threatens to overthrow everything we’ve worked so hard on. We don’t like it when our plans get changed or turned around or upset kind of like the merchants tables in the Temple.

          We’re afraid we could lose something if Jesus shows up because he reveals what we’re really worth. Face it we put a fence around this house of prayer sometimes and we narrow the field trying to keep the Holy Spirit within the bounds of our faith.

          We don’t like the risk. But that’s what Jesus asks us to do, take the risk to trust him and let him be the guide for this work of making disciples.

          We want order and God keeps messing it up by asking the Spirit to remind us again and again what Jesus taught. It was all about love and peace…and grace. Love of God, love all his children, and be open to receiving God’s abundant grace.

          All of that is risky stuff and it scares the pants off us. Friends, the lesson for us today is to be talking with God all the time and be open and aware of the working of God’s Spirit in and around us. The Spirit will provide just what we need at just the right time with the right folks.

          Friends, the disciples didn’t really know what to expect on that day that probably began like so many others and I’m sure that we aren’t too sure ourselves. The disciples waited… until God was ready and that’s what we should do to.

          God loves you my friends. Thanks be to God for his grace. Amen.

A New Thing, Love Everyone

          Take a minute to look around the sanctuary. How many different shoe sizes do you think there are? How many different shades of hair color do you see? How would you group the different ages represented here? Look around at the clothes we’re all wearing. How many different styles do you see? How many different colors?

          There’s quite a bit of variety here this morning, different colors, different ages, different shapes and sizes, a lot of diversity. Yet, we’re all here to worship our God…and he doesn’t discriminate because we’re different. He loves us one and all because we’re his creation, his children.

          It hasn’t always been like this…and it’s still not where it should be. Look back in time to the Civil War that divided this country…and remember the racism of the 50’s and 60’s. Remember when women didn’t have the privilege to cast votes. Remember when women were first elected elders.  Remember the first women ordained as Ministers of the Word and Sacrament. And what about the discussions today, about same sex marriage and the civil rights associated with those…discussions that have and are dividing churches and denominations and families. And racism has it been totally eradicated? What about those coming across the borders looking for work so they can support their families back home? Is our nation making them welcome here?

          How does our reading from Acts speak to us now? Are we living the gospel we heard read today? Or…are our hearts convicted by these lessons?

          Changing our paradigms isn’t easy. Look how long it’s taken us to get where we are today and we aren’t anywhere close to where Jesus asked us to be.

          So, how do we get from where we’re at today to that place Jesus spoke of, that world where we all love each other, that place where everyone is accepted just the way they are?

          God sent a vision and an angel to Peter and Cornelius…and they listened and believed. Jesus spoke directly, face to face, to his disciples instructing them to love each other as he loved them. For the most part I think they did that. So, what’s happened?

          Where’s the love today? Where can we find examples of this total inclusion God showed to Peter?

          I believe there are people working to bring an end to racism, genocide, and prejudice and bigotry but doesn’t it seem to you like they’re fighting a losing battle? Why?

          Friends, we need to look within for the answers. We need to ask ourselves, “What am I doing to spread the love of God in the world?” What am I doing to end racism, prejudice, and injustice in my community, in my church? How am I supporting those who are in the frontlines of this battle?

          Friends, it’s no longer “us and them.”  If we truly believe what we say we do then it’s all of us together, one people, one church, working to share God’s love with the world no longer believing that these folks are where they’re at because that’s what they deserve.

          They deserve our love. They deserve a place here in our sanctuary. They deserve a place at our table.

          Christ died for them…and us. We’re all his children and we don’t deserve such love yet he loved us anyway. He loves us anyway. That’s grace.

          We’re asked by Jesus to love one another as he loved us. We’re asked to share the grace of Jesus Christ with everyone, not just those we think have earned it. No one can earn God’s grace.

          That’s really what these scriptures are about, grace, God’s grace. And we’re so miserly we can hardly part with even a little bit of it. Yet God still loves us.

          God’s love doesn’t have any fences around it. He doesn’t have any laws that prevent us from receiving his love so why do we think some don’t deserve it?

          Just think where we’d be today if the old laws were still in place, the Law that God gave Moses. That’s not a pretty picture. The priests would be busy full-time, 24-7, offering sacrifices for our sins.

          Jesus said that his yoke was easy. Isn’t it easier to love one another than to try and keep all the commandments? Yet, when I listen to the news apparently it isn’t.

          Friends, if the world is ever going to be a better place to live then it begins right here in this place today with you and me. If not us, then who?

          I beg you right now this very minute make a commitment that you will love every one you encounter this week, everyone. Even the ones who are like sandburs in your sock. Love them unconditionally. We can with God’s help. We can with Jesus. The Holy Spirit reminds us all the time what Jesus said, “Love one another as I’ve loved you.”

          If there was a law against being a Christian would there be enough evidence to convict any of us? This day, this week, let’s begin to change the world beginning right here in our church, in our community.

          God loves you my friends. Thanks be to God for his grace. Amen.