“Get up, Elijah. You have a long journey ahead,” the angel says, putting food and water near him, ordering him to eat. Poor Elijah—exhausted and depressed after his flight into the desert, away from Jezebel’s henchmen. He has quickly forgotten what God accomplished through him just days before. Easy to forget when running for your life! We meet him sleeping under a broom tree, praying for death, defeated. He doesn’t want to go on. Have you ever felt that way, like you just don’t have the energy or the will to fight the good fight anymore? That it’s not worth the effort? If you have, then you know what Elijah is going through under that broom tree. You know the human experience of self-pity and despair. But if you’re paying attention to the story, notice how God responds. First, there is no judgment. In our human misery we are offered food and water. The nourishment can come in any form, but it will be something that gets our attention, brings a little comfort, offers a bit of sustenance and lifts our spirits just enough to get us going again. We are loved and we are needed. Without us, without Elijah, God cannot do the work of rectifying and resurrecting the world when humans go off the rails. Human to human contact is how we learn love, forgiveness, mercy and redemption. So God feeds Elijah with the fruits of the earth—tangible love, drinkable hope. There is more work to be done, work that can’t be accomplished without his willingness and energy.
Despite how frightened and tired he is, Elijah obeys. He eats the cakes, drinks the water, and walks the arduous road to Mt. Hebron. Finally he arrives and finds shelter in a cave only to have God question why he is there! Elijah doesn’t skip a beat. He launches into complaints against his people. They haven’t been faithful. They’ve torn down the altars and killed the prophets. Now they want to kill him, he tells God. He says he is the only one left who is truly faithful! Notice God doesn’t respond to his emotional outburst. Again, there is no judgment. God simply tells Elijah to go stand on the mountain, maybe hoping to get him out of his head and into his body. It’s almost as if God is saying, “let me help shift your focus, Elijah. This negativity isn’t helpful and you’re getting all wrapped up in your ego here. Let’s see if we can clear the debris. Go stand on the mountain, Elijah.”
So Elijah goes and God sends the wind, the earthquake and the fire—all purifying agents—attempting to clear Elijah’s senses, his heart and his mind. At the end of it all God whispers, checking. Is Elijah reachable yet? Has he dropped his defenses? Is the debris gone? Can they return to the mission at hand? To Elijah’s credit he is open enough to hear and recognize God’s presence in the tiny whisper. That’s why he covers his face before going to the cave’s entrance. But when God asks again, “why are you here, Elijah?” checking to see if Elijah is back in present time and receptive, the answer is no. He is still obsessed with negative thoughts and too riled up to be in this conversation with God. He is still overwhelmed and distracted, unable to meet God in the present moment.
What does God do? Just gives Elijah a task—doesn’t respond to the complaints, doesn’t reprimand or correct–just recognizes the emotional space Elijah is in without giving it energy. God sends Elijah back out on the road and tells him, ‘when you arrive, here’s what I want you to do. Elijah doesn’t argue. He simply goes. Despite all the complaining, all the “poor me-ing” God still respects him, has faith in him, knows, loves and understands this passionate, emotional man. God partners with those gifts Elijah brings to the world and gives him work that matches his thirst for a change of heart among his people.
We are all Elijah, each of us individually, our nation, our world, our community as a whole. And we have a long journey ahead. The work of the world is our work to do, in partnership with the Spirit of Life, the Spirit of Wisdom within us all. Jesus warns us to “stop our murmuring,” and pay attention to the small openings where the gifts we have to offer can be received for the benefit of others around us. We are needed to do the work of caring for each other, our planet, our kin of every species. We are the face and hands of God, the embodiment of Christ. This is what we mean when we stand at this table and say we are the Body of Christ.
It is far easier to complain that others aren’t listening and changing their ways than to recognize and face the fear and sorrow in our own hearts. It is easier to murmur among ourselves than to listen to those who threaten our beliefs and our values. Paul warns against the harsh words, bitterness and slander that is so tempting when we are angry, frightened or feeling hopeless about circumstances beyond our control. He tells us to be kind and compassionate—to forgive. He urges us “to walk in love.”
As we enter our 12th year as a community we still have work to do. We have been given a mission that is one tiny step in a cultural tsunami of change. The outcome is far beyond anything our generation will likely ever see, and all we know is we have been sent to this time and place to do THIS, to be with each other HERE. If God asks us today, “Why are you here, Sophia Christi?” We might answer, “Because you drew us together, and here we are, doing what you ask of us—being a welcoming, inclusive ‘feminine’ face in your church. Is there more you want us to do?”
The journey is a long one, longer than we’d hoped. What matters is we keep walking—supporting one another, living in hope, engaging others with kindness, courage and forgiveness as Paul asks us to do. All we need to do is continue walking the road Christ gives us to walk, allowing the Spirit to do her work through us for the life of the world.
Leave a Reply