God Speaks to Elijah, a reflection on 1 Kings 19:1-18

It's hard to scare some people--Jezebel, for example.

The king saw Elijah eliminate the prophets of Baal. He experienced the heavy rain that Elijah told him was coming. But, when Ahab reported all this to Jezebel, she didn't back down at all. Instead she sent threats to him, "So let what happened to those prophets happen to me if I don't kill you first."

Elijah, unlike Jezebel, knew when the situation was scary. When he heard the threat, he fled for his life.

Leaving his servant behind, Elijah went a day's journey into the wilderness. Sitting alone under a solitary broom tree, he prayed to the Lord to take his life.

I'm trying to imagine what changed for him--he had been willing to take on a challenge against the priests of Baal, then he had been willing to try to run away from the queen's threat, and how he has given up. Did he think that the Lord had accomplished all possible? Did he think that Jezebel was so much stronger than all the prophets put together that she could win a contest with the Lord? Or, was he just tired of running, of being in conflict? [1-5]

Whatever the reason he had for giving up, the Lord wasn't ready for him to die. An angel came to Elijah, showed him food and water. The refreshments did not refresh him enough to get him back on his journey. The angel returned to him and gave him more encouragement.

Elijah was able to journey for forty days and forty nights coming to Mount Horeb where he spent the night in a cave.

Fear. Despair. Lethargy. Renewed energy. Wilderness trek. Sleep.

Then the word of the Lord came to him asking him what he was doing there.

His response sounds rather confrontational to me, "I've supported you, but nobody else is. They're trying to kill me."
Elijah feels very alone. He is still afraid.
But, now, Elijah is in despair. He had done everything that God wanted; yet, his enemies want to kill him. He ready to give up, to die.

God comes to him in his despair.

Comes to him in an unexpected way. Comes to him in silence.

The commentary in The New Interpreter's Study Bible points out what a contrast this is from earlier theophanies which were accompanied by fire, wind, thunder, lightning, and earthquakes, such as in Judges 5:4-5; Psalms 18:7-15; 68:7-8; Habakkuk 3:15.

In an unexpected way, but Elijah is able to recognize God's voice anyway. [6-12]

When Elijah heard God's voice, he listened. And he did something else. He spoke. He spoke of his discontent. "I've done everything you told me to do, and the result is that they want to kill me. I'm the only one left."

What did Elijah expect God to say? What response do we expect when we lay our lamentations out? Remember, he's not just making this up--he really has been obedient, and people really are out to get him.

God tells him to anoint new kings for Aram and Israel and to anoint a new prophet, Elisha, to succeed him.

God is telling him, "I've haven't abandoned you, but you aren't to abandon your mission, either." Here's how Allen & Williamson put it in Preaching the Old Testament:

Responding to the call and claim of God is a risky busines, and defeat and despondency are often the companions of those who do so. We should not wallow in such feelings, although Elijah did just that, but be open to the God who ever call us forward as Elijah, in spite of himself, was called. God's adamant love gets us through the hard times. [13-18]

Purpose of the Temple, a reflection on John 2:19-21

King Solomon had intended for the temple to be a holy place, a home of the Lord. Now, a few centuries later, Jesus comes to the temple and is appalled. 

When they saw him driving out the money changers and heard him castigating them, the disciples remembered the line from the Psalms, "Zeal for your house will consume me." Jesus was willing to challenge those who were using for their own benefit what was to be a place to worship. 

Jesus said, "If you destroy this temple, in three days I will raise it up."

By the time that John's gospel was written, this temple had been destroyed by the Romans in retribution for a Jewish insurrection.

Christians began to understand Jesus' words as telling them that he, his living presence, would be the temple for them.

Question for us today: What purpose for us is the sanctuary in our churches? 

Building the Temple, a Reflection on 1 Kings 5:1-5; 8:1-13

When David had become king, he looked at his palace and was aware that God's chest was resting in a tent. However, God spoke to the prophet Nathan that not David, but one of David's sons was to build a temple for the Lord (2 Samuel 7:1-17).

When his son Solomon became king, he began plans for building that temple. Enemies had been defeated. Israel was at peace. The project took seven years, contribution from an ally, and over 100,000 workers.

When the temple was complete, Solomon has the ark brought into Jerusalem to be set in place. The priests carried the ark into the holiest part of this holy place. As they came out, a cloud filled the temple--a cloud, the visible sign of the glory of the Lord.

(His ancestors had been led by the cloud through the wilderness on their journey from slavery to promised land.)

Need for a Change, a reflection on 1 Samuel 16:1-13

The Lord has regretted the choice of Saul as king and has informs Samuel it's time to anoint a new king. Samuel is afraid but does what God wants anyway.  Samuel misunderstands at first what is important in a leader. He thinks the one with he best appearance will do the best job. But, God tells him not to judge by outward appearance. The Spirit of the Lord comes upon David at the point of being anointed by Samuel.

Questions that arose in my mind as I thought about Samuel and David:
Who takes the role of prophet in our contemporary congregations?

Considering how many evil acts have taken place by someone using the name of the Lord, do we want to retire permanently the role of prophet?

Are our modern-day ordinations in any way similar to the anointing of a human being by a prophet?

Hearing a Hard Message, Reflection on 1 Samuel 3:11-20

How are we to read verse 19? Do we lean entirely on the easy interpretation, "What God wants, God gets"? Is that what "the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground" means?

Or, should we be influenced by the context of this memory? Eli heard the hard word from God transmitted through the young Samuel. And Eli accepted the word. "Don't hide anything from me," he commanded Samuel. So Samuel did what Eli was willing to have done.

What would have happened to God's word if Eli had told Samuel to be quiet, quit running into his room, and go back to sleep?

Can you imagine being Eli?

When the Word of the Lord Calls, Reflection on 1 Samuel 3:6-10

Samuel heard God's voice but did recognize that whose voice it was.

Eli knew God, but it didn't occur to him that God would want to talk to Samuel.

It took three tries, but Eli finally caught on.

Would Samuel have ever known that God was intruding on his life if Eli hadn't told him?

When we are Samuel, we need Eli.

When we are Eli, we need to help Samuel.

One of These Days, a Reflection on 1 Samuel 3:1-5

"The word of the Lord was rare in those days...."

Had God really withdrawn from Israel? Historians can stack up the reasons why God might well have decided to ignore those people at that time. They certainly were not behaving in a way that indicated that they had been listening anyway.

Or, had God continued to be reaching out, and they just were too busy listening to their own voices and desires to pay attention?

When we feel lonely, abandoned, stuck in a situation without solution, can we hear God's voice? Or, when we feel complete, secure, satisfied, do we bother to listen?

The food that gives life, a Reflection on John 6:51

The feeding of the five thousand in John 6 may read to us an echo of the manna provided for a hungry people (Exodus 16). After all, Jesus reminded them to look back--to remember all that God has done in the past--and to look forward--to be assured that God will continue to find ways to provide all that is needed.

And we can remember both passages as we celebrate the Eucharist. As we step toward the altar and accept the gift of bread and wine (or juice, of course, in the UMC), we enter a changed life. Christ is in us. We are in Christ.

And as good as the rolls will be at Sunday dinner, this bread is even better.

The Journey and the Complaining about It Continue, Reflection on Exodus 16:1-18

Have you ever known anyone like the people in Exodus 16? God has brought them out of slavery, protected them from an attacking army, and provided them with water. Their response is to complain. "Oh, why did you bring us here? Things were so much better in Egypt."

What is the usual human response? How different have we human beings become over the millenia? Often, even when we can remember our deliverance, we still complain.

What is the usual divine response? When we cry out in despair, what does God do? What can we expect if we cry out in disgust with our situation?

God talks to Moses. Moses talks to Aaron. Moses and Aaron talk to the people. Moses tells Aaron to talk to them. Aaron does. Then, as Aaron is speaking, the Lord appears to the people. Or, was the Lord there all along, and the people finally woke up to the presence?

As a typical American, I think I'm hungry if it's supper time and I haven't eaten since lunch. What if I were a Puerto Rican this week? Or, someone from Houston suffering from flooding after Hurricane Harvey or somebody from Florida after Irma?

How does God send help to people in need? In Exodus, the food came down from the sky. Sometimes, God sends it through the hands of other humans. Sometimes, we are slow to help; sometimes, not.  For example,  read about UMCOR 's response to Irma and Harvey and to Maria UMCOR.