Year C Proper 8 27 June 2010
2 Kings 2: 1-2, 6-14 Psalm 77: 1-2, 11-20 Galatians 5: 1, 13-25 Luke 9: 51-62
If we all have to leave this earth, and if we could state our preference in how that should happen, I would preferably like the experience of Enoch (who walked with God and God took him up), or Elijah. Elijah knew that God was going to take him that day and then God took him up in a whirlwind and separated him from his servant Elisha with what appeared to be chariots of fire.
The story of Elijah and Elisha always reminds me of when Jesus told his disciples that they would do the things that he did and even greater. It was Elijah that appeared with Moses and Jesus on the mountain, and yet if we read the stories Elisha certainly seemed to take part in some pretty amazing miracles. In this way we see that Elisha is a prophetic sign of the life of the Christian.... or at least a prophetic sign of what a Christian should be.
In our Gospel reading we hear Jesus talk about the cost of following him.
Luke 9: 61“Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family." 62Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."
I have known quite a few people over the years who wanted to become Christians but they were waiting first to get there life in order. It reminds me of the words of and old hymn, “if you tarry till you’re ready, you will never come at all.” In the case of the person speaking to Jesus he certainly desired to follow Jesus but it appears the old saying, “it’s the thought that counts”, just isn’t true.
Elisha is an interesting case as when Elijah called him to be his servant Elisha asked that he first go and say good bye to his family. Elisha did however go back, put his affairs in order and then go follow Elijah.
In our reading this week about Elijah being taken up to heaven, not only did Elijah and know that this was about to happen but so did the other prophets and Elisha. Elijah had told Elisha to remain behind but Elisha was determined to follow him wherever he went – and where did he go?
It seems strange to me that we read that God called Elijah to Gilgal and then Bethel and then the Jordan – all on that day that the Lord was going to take him in a whirlwind, so I look up some meanings. I found that the word Gilgal means “Whirl” or “wheel”. It is also the place where the Israelites were consecrated to God. Bethel means “House of God”. The Jordan river is the river that separated the Israelites from the 40 years in the wilderness and the promise land. Most people talk about the miracle of the Red sea parting but don’t often mention the miracle of the parting of the waters of the Jordan when the Israelites entered the Promised Land.
It appears that the places to which Elijah was called are prophetically announcing that he would leave the world in a whirl, in this he’ll enter God’s house, to do so he must cross the river separating life from death.
Because Elisha refused to stay behind and determined to follow Elijah, Elijah asks what he can do for him. Elisha requests a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. In this he was referring to the inheritance of the firstborn son, which is to be double that of other siblings. This is the kind of inheritance we talked about last week when we read in Galatians that we are all sons of God.
Elisha was not concerned about or trying to stop Elijah from being taken from him. Many times I see people follow (almost idolize) a Christian leader and not recognise that God has, in the community around them, all the gifts necessary for the Church’s health. Elisha was aware that the ministry needed to be continued, that if Elijah was to leave that those gifts for this ministry would be lacking and he knew that the ability to do the ministry was not in his own power. He needed the supernatural anointing of the Holy Spirit.
Are we as determined as Elisha to inherit the blessing of the firstborn son, such that we will follow Jesus everywhere? Will we enter the river of baptism- the Jordan- that signifies our union with Christ’s death so that we can enter the house of God and allow the whirlwind of God’s Spirit to take us places completely out of our control but totally in God’s power?
Elijah left behind his cloak – the prophet’s mantle. Elisha picked this up and stuck the waters of the Jordan again and as the waters separated he walked back to take up the ministry that was once Elijah’s. It seemed that the power of God’s Holy Spirit was with him in a mighty way. In the same way, we put on the mantle of Jesus and inherit this same blessing.... yet we are mostly ignorantly unaware of the gift we have.
From the website www.sermonnotebook.org “A.W. Tozer commented that without the ministry of the Holy Spirit, 95% of what the early church did would have ceased. He went on to say that if the Spirit were removed today, 95% of what we do in the modern church would continue unabated! “
This really doesn’t imply anything good about our modern church. It implies that our church life is habitual, contrived and not empowered by the life of God.
What does our modern church look like? More often than not what I witness is people creating problems where there shouldn’t be any. These people accuse others of not being “good enough” and undermine the ministry of others by spreading rumours, gossip and unfounded negative opinions. These things come from those who appear to be supposedly up-right and good standing Christians. It is to a community like this that the letter to the Galatians may have been addressed when Saint Paul wrote:
Galatians 5:13 “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. 14The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself."15If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.”
Those of you to whom I send this reflection are not these people who bit and devour ... but these people exist in the church and so we need to pray for each other, protect in prayer and support each other almost in the same way that Elisha was a servant to Elijah.... with courage and determination.
Elisha is a prophetic sign of how the Christian life should be. It is one that is so powerfully empowered by the Holy Spirit that it cannot be subdued, ignored or overlooked. The Church in the 21st century appears to be subdued, ignored and overlooked. We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We need to so seek this blessing from God that we will follow him in the same way that Elisha followed Elijah – with determined persistence!
