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2/11/2024 0 Comments February 11, 2024: What's Next? Old Testament Reading: 2 Kings 2:1-12
Gospel: Mark 9:2-9 Let’s take a walk through the scriptures for today. We begin with Elisha and Elijah heading from Gilgal to Bethel. Elijah and all the prophets know that today is the day when God will take Elijah up to Heaven but Elisha is struggling with letting go and wondering what his role will be once his master is gone. As Elijah tries to dismiss Elisha, he clings on saying, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” When they get to Bethel, the prophets there want to be sure that Elisha is aware of what today is all about. “Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?” they say to which Elisha replies, “Yes, I know; keep silent” as if to say, “of course, I am a prophet too, but let me just have this last bit of time with him.” This same pattern - Elijah trying to dismiss Elisha, Elisha refusing and the prophets at the next place reminding Elisha of what is about to happen - repeats in Jericho and partially at the Jordan River. Each time, Elisha refuses to leave Elijah. Finally, after Elijah, like Moses, parts the river, and they cross, Elijah asks Elisha what he can do for him before he leaves. Elisha was likely nervous at Elijah’s very imminent departure but it feels like he oversteps a bit when he asks for a “double share” of Elijah’s spirit. Except maybe Elisha knew that he was not Elijah and, therefore, he would need a double dose of what Elijah had in order to continue God’s work there when Elijah was gone. Elijah notes that this is a hard one but tells Elisha matter-of-factly, “if you see me as I am being taken from you it will be granted you; if not, it will not.” As Elijah is taken up in the chariot of fire shortly after this, Elisha remembers this and watches calling out, “Father, father, the chariots of Israel and its horseman!” but is devastated when he cannot see Elijah anymore and feels like he has failed, tearing his clothes in despair. Moving onto the Gospel reading today, Peter, James, and John, like Elisha with Elijah, are hanging onto Jesus’ every word and action as they climb up the mountain. They are blown away to see him transfigured into clothes that are dazzling white and to see him then having a conversation with Moses and Elijah. They are not sure what they are supposed to do in response to this. Knowing this is a sacred moment to be remembered but also terrified by it, Peter suggests building a temple to each of them. Before Jesus can even respond, God speaks from a cloud saying, “This is my son, the Beloved, listen to him.” One can imagine if they were terrified before, this was even more overwhelming. No one suggests building anything else and the suggestion goes unanswered, which is an answer in and of itself: no temples needed. Like Elisha, Peter, James and John are likely wondering, What’s next? Elisha soon found out. Rather than remaining in despair, Elisha decided to try to find out what’s next. 2 Kings 2: 13-14 state, “He picked up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 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.” God answered Elisha not giving him a double share of what Elijah had but instead similar prophetic powers and abilities. God was with Elisha all along. Elisha just needed to ask and listen for the answer, which for him came in the form of action. “Listen to Jesus” was God’s command to James, Peter, and John. Ironically, the first thing Jesus tells them to do is be quiet about what they just saw until after he has risen from the dead. They were already struggling to understand the magnitude of everything they just saw and now they are told not to talk about it. That, in itself, may have been a relief for them because, who would believe them anyway? The second part of the command, “until the son of man has risen from the dead” was as challenging as dealing with what they had just seen because they did not yet understand what Jesus would have to undergo. The command from God was clear though: Listen to Jesus. The days of stopping to make temples were over; God needed them to keep learning so they could continue Jesus’ work after he was gone. The only way they were going to get there was to listen to him and learn from him - even and especially when they did not completely understand what was happening or what was said. These are old stories and most of us are not going to see chariots of fire or a dazzling Jesus chatting with Moses and Elijah, but we can follow God’s advice and listen because God is still speaking. By the way, I really wonder what Jesus, Moses and Elijah were talking about. I imagine it could have been something like Jesus saying, “I am really working to get these three to hear and understand me.” Elijah would respond, “ I understand, Elisha was glued to my side as I was getting ready to leave but still not really getting it.” Moses could chime in, “at least your disciples were with you in order to learn. When I went up the mountain to talk to God, Aaron told my people to build a golden calf because I took too long!” Listening for God takes both patience and practice but it is necessary to help us figure out the “what’s next” in our lives. As we prepare to enter Lent this week, it seems a perfect time to practice listening for God in our lives. What might that look like? It might be reading a few scripture verses and pondering them as we move about our day, looking for connections into our lives. It might be spending time in prayers of wonder - Wow, God! In prayers of Thanks, Thanks God for the sunshine or the smile you just received or a good day. Or in prayers for Help for yourself if needed but also for all those hurting in the world. Prayer does not have to be at a set time of day, in a set posture, or in a set place. I love my 10-second walking prayers too. “Wow, God, that sunrise took my breath away, thank you! Or “My friend lost her spouse and she is really struggling God, please fill her with your healing love” or even “God, I’m confused, I don’t even know what to ask for or say right now, will you just walk with me?” When you watch the news and your heart feels like it could break in despair at all of the hate and pain in the world, bring that to God in prayer and listen for God’s answer - God just might show you something, no matter how small, that you can do to make a difference to someone somewhere. Listen. That is the challenge I am giving all of us this Lent - to listen. Let’s listen for what God wants us to do. God may guide us to slow down, to contemplate more, to be less judgmental of ourselves and others or to help better understand or meet the needs of our community, nation, and world. When we listen for God, we find ways to “hear” God with our whole bodies. God might speak to us through an overwhelming desire to learn more about something. God might speak to us through a feeling of comfort or joy that comes to us as we listen to music, particularly Terry’s beautiful music that certainly makes me feel closer to God. God might speak to us through a feeling that we need to get out in nature more to clear our heads. God might speak to us through a friend who seems to know just what we need at that moment. God might speak to us through a feeling that we are being nudged to do something that is a bit out of our comfort zones. God might speak to us through a need that shows up that we know we have the ability to fill. God certainly speaks to us through the model Jesus Christ provided on how to treat others. God does not need to show up in fire or luminescence to get our attention. The prophets and disciples needed to learn to listen for God and so do we. We just need to remember to make space and time and listen to the still-speaking God. Imagine what would happen if the leaders at war paused and listened for what God wanted them to do? Imagine what would happen if people who had extra time or treasure listened to what God would tell them to do with it? Imagine what would happen to people who were in pain if they listened for God’s words of comfort? Imagine a world where we paused long enough to let God be heard through us. Let’s make time and listen. Amen Pastor Michelle Fountain
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2/4/2024 1 Comment Feb. 4, 2024: Serving Gratitude Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 40: 21-31
Gospel: Mark 1: 29-39 Sermon: Serving Gratitude I have to admit, the feminist in me struggles with the fact that Simon/Peter’s mother-in-law is healed by Jesus, then immediately gets up and serves them. One could get the idea that they needed someone to make lunch so that is why Simon and Andrew told Jesus about her being in bed with a fever as soon as he walked in. But then I thought about it some more. What would I do if I had been sick in bed and Jesus cured me? I would jump up to serve Jesus as well. I would be so full of gratitude at feeling better, well, and so thrilled that Jesus came for lunch, that I would be happy to cook and serve. When I think about it, that is often how I show my love – in service — and I get as much pleasure out of it as I give, as I am sure many of you do as well. And this service that Simon/Peter’s mother-in-law gave Jesus was truly a gift because it was a very brief respite for Jesus in between teaching and healing. At sunset that very same evening, the scripture says, “they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons” and it goes on to say “the whole city was gathered around the door.” Wow! How overwhelming! Jesus healed many, quieted and cast out many demons or mental illnesses and was likely exhausted. I can imagine that the gift of service that he received from Simon/Peter’s mother-in-law was greatly appreciated as it sustained him for all of this work. In fact, Jesus needed to recharge his batteries even more, so he got up early the next morning, while it was still dark, and went out to a deserted place to pray. I do not know about you but I take comfort in knowing that Jesus modeled self-care: a quiet time away from others to center oneself on God, to offer prayers of gratitude, and to gain the strength to do God’s work. Jesus certainly needed that strength because even as he was taking this centering time, the disciples were as the scriptures say “hunting” for him. There was just so much work to do. From there he tells the disciples, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came to do.” And he went forth teaching and healing throughout Galilee. Jesus was fulfilling the scripture from Isaiah “he gives power to the faint and strengthens the powerless…(allowing them to) renew their strength.” But even though the Isaiah scripture says the Creator “does not faint or grow weary” which God doesn’t, Jesus, God in human form, was modeling for us, showing us both that we need to serve others in love and gratitude but also that we need to take time for ourselves: time to rest, pray, and recharge so that we too can do God’s work. We all need time to reflect on what we are grateful for, what we need, and what God is calling us to do. Gratitude is the title of a very short but powerful book by Oliver Sacks, a neurologist, naturalist and writer. You may have heard of his treatment of a group of survivors of the 1920s sleeping sickness encephalitis lethargica that allowed them to move on their own for the first time in decades. It was captured in his book and the movie Awakenings. As Sacks neared the end of his life, he wrote, “I cannot pretend that I am without fear. But my predominant feeling is one of gratitude. I have loved and been loved; I have been given much and given something in return; I have read and traveled and thought and written...above all I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and adventure.” That collection of his final essays was published posthumously under that name; it is a quick read, which I highly recommend. Raised as an Orthodox Jew in England, Sacks split from his faith at 18 when he admitted an attraction to men and his mother called him an “abomination” likely quoting Leviticus on this subject. I wish she could have instead followed Jesus’ model of loving all people and accepting them all just as God created them. Luckily, Sacks did find acceptance from his relatives later in life. Yet, even without faith, in his final essay “Sabbath” he writes of “the peace of Sabbath, of a stopped world, a time outside time” that his cousin Robert John Aumann, who received a Nobel Prize for his fundamental work in economics, followed religiously calling the Sabbath “extremely beautiful” and noting he would have turned down the Nobel Prize if he had to travel on a Saturday. In the end, Sacks felt some nostalgia for the Orthodox Sabbaths of his youth that were just time for prayer and family and a break from the chores of life. He wrote, “I find my thoughts drifting to the Sabbath, the day of rest, the seventh day of the week, and perhaps the seventh day of one’s life as well, when one can feel that one’s work is done, and one may, in good conscience, rest.” In planning for his final rest, Sacks wanted to see the night sky unobscured by the lights of man. Using Milton’s words, he liked seeing the sky “powdered with stars” and told this to friends who promised to get him outside to see that sky when the time neared. This idea recalls our Isaiah scripture where the Holy One says, “Lift up your eyes and see: Who created these? He who brings out their host and numbers them, calling them by name.” I hope that when it is my time to leave this earth, I can have Oliver Sacks’ sense of gratitude coupled with the faith that allows me to thank God for it. A sense of gratitude in the face of adversity is really the ultimate weapon, the ultimate cure. It allows us to focus on the positives - what we have or have experienced – rather than on the negatives, some of which are outside our control. But gratitude is not just for times of adversity, times of sickness, or at the end of life. What if we could harness the feeling of gratitude on a daily basis? According to UCLA Health, “Research shows that practicing gratitude — 15 minutes a day, five days a week — for at least six weeks can enhance mental wellness and possibly promote a lasting change in perspective. Gratitude and its mental health benefits can also positively affect your physical health.” Studies show practicing gratitude in this way lessens depression, anxiety, stress and even heart problems. When we practice gratitude, we feel better and when we feel better, we have the ability to help or serve others. The practice of gratitude has the power to have a ripple effect, like a rock thrown in a pond, those ripples can extend in concentric circles around God’s creation helping God’s people: all people. So let’s start serving gratitude regularly, whether that involves going to a quiet place to reflect and pray, writing or teaching about it, serving others - or all three. We, too, can make ripples. Amen. Pastor Michelle Fountain |
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