God in the silence.

Our Old Testament lesson today is a continuation of the story where Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal, and killed them all.  The problem is that those were the prophets favored by Queen Jezebel and she took exception to their deaths.  So she sent the army after Elijah and that's where our lesson picks up today.  

Word gets back to Elijah that Jezebel wants him dead and he takes off – he runs away – and he’s so distraught that he asks God to take his life – not to let him suffer at the hand of Jezebel’s followers.  Elijah lays down under the tree and goes to sleep.  An angel of the Lord comes to him and wakes him up and makes him eat – food and water have miraculously appeared.  He eats and goes back to sleep.  The angel comes a second time and Elijah wakes up and eats again and then he gets up and travels 40 days and nights without food (does this sound familiar?) until he comes to Mount Horeb.  There he finds a cave and spends the night.

When he wakes up, the Lord asks him what he is doing there.  Elijah complains that he is the only one of the prophets of God left  in the land and now Jezebel want to take his life.  The Lord tells him to go stand on the mountain and wait for God to pass by – and we know this part of the story.

A great wind comes – stronger than any other – but God is not in the wind.  Next there is an earthquake, but God is not in the earthquake.  Then there is a fire, but God is not in the fire.  And at last, there is the sound, it says, of sheer silence – and Elijah knew that God was in the silence and he stepped out on the mountain to meet God.   

I think this says something to us.  Our world today is so full of noise – natural and artificial – that it’s hard to find that place of silence.  People seem to think that if there isn’t some kind of noise going on that there’s something wrong.  A few people will drive to work in the mornings using this silence as a time to pray or plan their day – but most people have the radio going – listening to music or to a talk show - or these days maybe talking on the phone.  Radio stations learn to keep that sound going at all times – if a disk jockey or radio commentator allows what is called “dead air” they are most likely fired, because people will change stations.  

I walk in the mornings, everyday except Sunday - I’m a little busy on Sunday.  I started out walking in silence, then I remembered that I had some nice earphones for my cell phone so I started listening to music as I walked - always classical - I can think with a classical music backdrop.  And then it was a great boon to discover that our local library had an app that allows you to download free books to read - or listen to.  So I started listening to books, mystery books mostly.  Then I got tired of the mystery books and wanted something with a little more meat in it - so I started looking at what else they had.  

I found, not a book but a recorded presentation by Brené Brown called “Rising Strong as a Spiritual Practice.”  Brene is the chair of the the graduate school of Social Work at the University of Houston.  She has been described as a Researcer-Story teller. Rising Strong is Brené’s lastest book.  This was excellent, so I listened to it twice - and plan to listen to it a third time because although she is not a religious leader, God speaks very strongly through her.  She is an Episcopalian and has even preached at the Washington National Cathedral.   But in this talk, she recommended “The Book of Forgiving” by Desmond Tutu.  So I downloaded and am listening to it.  I should finish it on my walk tomorrow.”  So while I’m no longer walking in silence, the things I am listening to speak of God, and God’s desire for us.  I have laughed, and cried and pondered so much as I have walked these past couple of months.  I feel like God has been speaking to me in a powerful way through Brené and through Bishop Tutu.  I can’t wait to see what He has to teach me next.  So what I am saying is that silence is sometimes most helpful when it extends out of conversation - as with Elijah, conversation with God.  

I think this lesson also says something else to us.  When we have so called “natural disasters” strike and some city or area is devastated – some media, religious, or political personalities immediately start finding all the reasons why God destroyed that sinful place.  But this scripture says very plainly, God is not in the wind, or the earthquake, or the fire.  Listen for him in the silence – not the cacophony.  God is there, but you will not find him in the noise.  You will find him in that quiet place that can surround you and cushion you and help protect you – even in the midst of turmoil.  

Look at our gospel lesson – this man in the tombs – he sees Jesus and he comes out yelling – it says that he “shouted at the top of his voice.”  Noise – noise can overpower the silence – can drive away the sound of God.  Jesus spoke softly, but with authority – “What is your name?”  “Legion - my name is Legion – for we are many.”  This name brought up the image of the Roman Legions that had over run the land – it reminded the people of the destruction that followed in their wake.  It brought fear to the hearers.

Legion begged to not be sent back to the abyss, but to be allowed to go and Jesus said, “Go.”  This legion had driven the man mad – the many voices telling him to do different things – fighting and arguing in his head.  And once the noise was gone – in the silence that followed – the man was healed of all that troubled him and he became a normal person once again.

When we allow those voices to take over our lives – allow the demons of addiction or self-gratification or self-pity or self-glorification to become the rulers of our life – then we no longer have control, or silence, or any place where God can come in and abide in us.  

But when we allow the silence to overcome those voices – to silence them, then God is there and he can be heard and our lives can be made whole.  Open up your heart and mind to the silence and hear the voice of God for your own self.  I’m going to ask you to sit in silence for a time – and listen – and abide – be still and know that God is here and that he can be found in those quiet moments that occasionally steal into our lives.

 

Beyond the vision

The Last Sunday in Epiphany is always the story of the Transfiguration.  This year is Mark's version of the story.  They are all very similar differing only in minor details.  So I quite often like to go to the Old Testament lesson which is always different.  If you were here last year for the last Sunday in Epiphany, you heard me talk about a theophany, that is, a vision of God.  Years A and C both center around Moses up on the mountaintop.  Theophanies are not uncommon in the Old Testament.  You might remember things like Moses and the Burning Bush, Jacob's ladder to heaven, the Valley of the dry bones coming to life, the pillars of fire and smoke that led the Israelites out of Egypt.  The Old Testament is filled with these images of God.  This year we get Elijah being taken up in the "Chariot of Fire."  

There’s a story told by the Rev. Dr. Samuel Wells (a professor at Duke University) about a famous preacher who was a bit of a fraud, because the sermons were great but no one ever realized that in fact they’d all been written by the staff assistant. Finally the assistant’s patience ran out, and one day the preacher was speaking to thousands of expectant listeners and at the bottom of page two read the stirring words, "And this, my friends, takes us to the very heart of the book of Habakkuk, which is…" only to turn to page three and see nothing but the dreaded words, "You’re on your own now."

"You’re on your own now." Just what Elisha felt the day Elijah departed to heaven. Just what the disciples felt at Jesus’ ascension. "You’re on your own now." In England they say, "That makes me feel somewhat uncomfortable." In the US you are more likely to hear, "Yikes."  And our Old Testament lesson says that Elisha tore his garments.

Today's lesson shows Elijah and his disciple (apprentice) Elisha on a journey .  They travel from Gilgal, to Bethel, to Jericho and on to the Jordan.  And as they start out on each leg of the journey, and as a test, Elijah tells Elisha to stay there, but each time Elisha answers, "As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you."  They continue on until they reach the Jordan river.  To cross over, Elijah takes his mantle (like a coat or cape) folds it up and hits the water.  And lo and behold, the water parts and they walk across on dry land.  And what does that remind you of?  The Red Sea and the flight from Egypt.  The water parting is the sign of the presence of God.

Elisha asks for a favor - to receive double (twice) the spirit of Elijah.  He wants the elder son’s portion of the inheritance.  But there was a condition on his receiving his desire - he must see Elijah being taken up.  The answer is like saying, "Don't fall asleep, because if you miss it, you lose everything."  Now our lesson ends saying that Elisha tore his clothes.  In that time, tearing your clothes was a sign of great anguish.  But the story goes on... 

    13  Elisha picked up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14  He took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, saying, "Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?" When he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over.    15  When the company of prophets who were at Jericho saw him at a distance, they declared, "The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha." They came to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.

Elijah's mantle fell back to earth and Elisha picks it up.  He uses it to part the water of the Jordan to cross back over.  Again, this is a sign of the Lord's presence and that Elisha has indeed inherited Elijah's spirit.  This is a grand story about the transfer of power from one prophet to the next.  The fifty prophets who followed them to the Jordan can now attest that Elisha is now the prophet in Israel.

The New Testament doesn't have as many examples of a theophany.  But the gospels themselves present a kind of theophany.  If we believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God; that he is God incarnate, then the whole story about Jesus is an extended theophany.  We get this vision of who God is and what God is like.  We see his interactions with the people around him.  The things he says are often confusing, but the things we see him do are powerful, inspiring. 

So, here we are, 6 days after Peter blurts out that Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah.  Gosh, I love Peter, because he’s usually sticking his foot in his mouth and saying something stupid.  I figure if he can get it wrong as many times as he does and still be accepted as the rock on which the kingdom is built, then surely my mistakes can be forgiven, also.  

They are up on the mountain, and when Peter sees this transfiguration, and Elijah and Moses with Jesus, he blurts out, "Let's stay here and build 3 dwellings."  It says that he didn't know what to say because he was scared.  How many times do we get scared and start babbling to cover up our fear, or our lack of understanding?  

A cloud overshadows them - I can remember being on top of a mountain in Switzerland and there was a cloud forming over Lake Lucerne down below us.  It began to rise up until it enveloped us, and it was very hard to see the person in front of you as we were traveling along a narrow path to the top of the mountain, and after a few minutes, it had risen above us.  That can definitely make you nervous.  And a voice came out of the cloud - "This is my son, my beloved.  Listen to him."  And then the cloud was gone and they were left standing alone with Jesus.

This was the second affirmation in Mark's gospel concerning Jesus' divinity.  The first time (at his baptism) - only Jesus heard the voice.  Now his disciples also hear the voice.  What we are to take away from this has to do with Jesus, his image and his divinity.  

Our lesson from 2nd Corinthians says that "Christ is the image of God."  I would take that a step further and say that Christ is the only perfect image of God.  We are also made in the image of God, but being human we are imperfect.  That is why Christ died on the cross for us - to complete us by making that sacrifice; to pay the price for our imperfection, for our sin, and only that makes us worthy to stand before God.  

So, what are we to do with this vision of Jesus?  The disciples didn’t really understand any of it.  Following this encounter, they returned to the valley and the city below.  They had this monumental experience and immediately they were met by a man who is looking for healing for his son who is possessed by an evil spirit.  It’s back to business as usual, nothing is changed in the world around them.  Only them.  This is just one of the many things that helps them put together the puzzle of the incredible life they are living as they follow Jesus.  After he is raised from the dead, they remember all these miraculous things they have seen and finally begin to understand their significance. 

God makes his light to shine on us and in us and through us so that all might see his glory and come to the shining of his light.  Therefore, it is up to us to carry that light out into the world, so that others, when they encounter us, will know there is a God alive and active in the world today.

Amen.