[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:08] Speaker B: Welcome to the collective table, where we celebrate the intersections of Jesus, justice, and joy. This podcast is brought to you by Oceanside Sanctuary Church. Each week we bring our listeners a recording of our weekly Sunday teaching at Oceanside Sanctuary, which ties scripture into the larger conversations happening in our community, congregation, and even the podcast. So we're glad you're here and thanks for listening.
[00:00:44] Speaker A: Good morning.
My name is Janelle Coker, and I am the other co lead minister here.
And Jason always brings coffee, so I thought, oh, maybe I'll try some tea.
So I am so excited. We are going to continue our series on prophetic imagination and talk about the prophets in scripture. And today is no different. We're going to be talking about Elijah. But before we begin, I know that I could use a little grounding. So will you pray with me and for me, God, who walks with us, thank you for being with us here, with us at work, with us at home.
Grow our imagination for all the people you love, all the places you desire to see us laughing and living in joy.
Grow our imagination for our own prophetic hearts. This morning, through your scripture, in your beautiful name we pray. Amen.
So a couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of visiting a congregant in her home. And for about, gee, I want to say, almost two hours, she and I were able to wonder together how we might keep peace and joy in the midst of turmoil, much like Leanne was just talking about.
And so looking at what I was going to talk about and what profit, we all got to kind of pick our prophets, I was going to pick. I decided to go back to the story of Elijah. And if you are a listener of the podcast and you were one of the 10 people who listened to all 20 of my advent Reflections, this story is going to sound familiar to you. But don't worry, we're going to get deeper into the story. So don't turn off your brain and think, oh, I've already heard that. She's already said that.
Because I think that it has some really good resonance with where we find balance.
So before we begin with this legendary story of Elijah, I'd like to ask, by a show of hands, who has either read a superhero novel or watched a superhero film or TV show?
Okay, a few of you didn't want to admit it, but I think it was all of you. If you're watching at home, I would imagine that you all are saying, yep, yep, I've seen a film, I've read a book, I've seen multiple. Because I think if you live in the United States. You can't get away from what, what, the DC universe, the Marvel universe, all of those superhero films.
So the thing about this passage is I would like for you to take off your literary lenses and put on your literary lenses as I tell this story.
Rachel Held Evans, a late Christian author and I think prophet herself, said this. It is no more beneath God to speak to us using poetry, proverb, letters and legend than it is for a mother to read storybooks to her daughter at bedtime.
So engross ourselves in this story.
And I'm we're going to read chapters 19 or 1st Kings 19:1 through 13. But before you all put that up, I know like they want to put up right now, we have to go back and talk a little bit about verse 18 so you know where we are.
So we are in verse 18 and we have our superhero, Prophet Elijah. For those of you who wonder what is a prophet, a prophet is just really someone who spoke truth to the powers of Israel. In scripture. We have, I think modern day prophets as well. So it's someone who's going to speak an opposite, like, hey, what you're doing is not really according to God's plan here. I think we saw Bishop Buddy do that beautifully. So that's what a prophet is. So here we have prophet Elijah. And being a prophet was a dangerous situation in a violent time. So a lot of prophets had not so great things happen to them. So God tells Elijah in chapter 18 of First Kings to go to King Ahab and tell King Ahab that he is not doing it right, that he and the queen are not leading Israel into good things. They were worshiping another God, baal, which is just really a word for all the gods. And they had famine in the land.
Historical things will say that, that the worshipers of BAAL were practicing human sacrifice. There was all kinds of nasty things going on and God's people, Israel was participating and being led into that. So God says, elijah, go and talk to King Ahab. So Elijah shows up and they're on a mountain and he tells K Ahab that they're doing it wrong. And King Ahab calls all of his prophet magicians. There's 450 of them who are going to call down and show that the gods of BAAL are the better gods, better than one prophet Elijah's God. And so they're divinating and they're trying to get God, their God to show up and nothing's happening. And you have Elijah going like, ha ha ha, what's your God doing? Do you need to speak a little louder? Maybe your God is sleeping. Na na na na na. And then when those 450 prophets couldn't get Baal, their God, to show up, Elijah builds an altar, throws a bunch of water on the altar just to show that he's not a magician, and he asks God to consume the altar, and fire rains down and destroys the altar. Then there's an epic battle, as with all good superhero films, and all of the 450 prophets of Baal are gone. And King Ahab says, whoa. Okay, I'm going to go talk to Queen Jezebel.
Okay. Okay. This is. We're not going in the right direction. All right, so that's where we are. You see why you're wearing your literary lenses? Okay, so now we are going to read First Kings 19, starting in verse one. And we're reading 13 verses, so just settle in.
Now, Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he killed all the prophets by the sword. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, may the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.
Elijah was afraid, and he ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba and Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush tree, sat under it, and prayed that he might die.
I've had enough, Lord, he said, take my life. I'm no better than my ancestors. Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. At once an angel touched him and said, get up and eat. He looked around, and there by his head was some bread. Some translations say cake. I kind of like it better. Some cake. Over hot coals in a jar of water, he ate and drank and lay down again. The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you. So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by the food, he traveled 40 days and 40 nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the Word of the Lord came to him. What are you doing here, Elijah? And he replied, I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too. The Lord said, go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind.
After the wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after that came a gentle whisper, or the sound of sheer silence, as some say. And when Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face, went out, and stood at the mouth of the cave.
So that I don't read the entire chapter of First Kings to you this morning, I will say that the story continues.
And again, Elijah pours out his heart to God.
And then God and Elijah make a plan together.
So I don't know what you're seeing about this story. I can say that in every good superhero story, we should always come away not thinking scientifically, could he really fly?
But more, wow, I think that said something about crime and punishment. Or perhaps that said something to me about good and evil.
I think I saw a little of myself in that one character.
Wow. That superhero was more human than other superheroes I've learned about in the past.
So one of the things that I'm seeing in this superhero story of Elijah is that speaking truth to power, even when the fire of God is present, does not mean that the oppressive powers will relent so easily.
In Elijah's story, we see that instead of repenting, Queen Jezebel gives him a death threat.
Elijah runs for his life. This is where we see, I think, Elijah.
This is where we see Elijah in chapter 18, standing like a superhero, feeling very powerful.
And then in one chapter, it all changes.
He's running for his life. If I can add a little imagination to the text, with his tail between his legs, maybe super embarrassed. It all looked like it was going so well, but now, where was God to protect him?
I wonder if you've ever felt like Elijah.
Maybe you were at work and said something to a boss. Hey, you're not treating the employees ethically.
And instead of your boss saying, oh, well, let me do that, all of a sudden, you turned into the one who was being chased out of your position.
Maybe you have said to a family member, hey, I think we need to work this out. I don't feel like you're speaking to me in a way that's appropriate. And instead of that person saying, oh, my gosh, I'm so sorry, you're no longer invited to family meals, I think we have all spoken truth to power in one way or another in our lives, only to feel that we were running for the wilderness.
I understand running to the wilderness. For Elijah, that wilderness would have been the desert, the typography of the desert. I think this landscape is like none other. It shows harshness, barrenness, emotional loneliness.
Really better than anything I can imagine.
We have a picture of a broom bush tree, which is really just a juniper tree. This picture was taken very closely to where we would imagine the story of Elijah being this lonely tree, casting a shadow in the relenting desert.
I think by its very existence told Elijah's story with no words required.
This was now for Elijah a second altar.
First the altar of fire that came down in his superhero place, and now the lonely tree where he speaks to God and shows that he just wants death because nothing is working out.
God could have easily said to Elijah, I brought down fire for you.
What are you running around about? Why are you being a coward?
But God did not respond in that way with a rebuke. God responded by sending an angel to feed him. Twice Elijah was given food and water because the journey was too much for him. I think in this action of sustaining grace, we see God mothering Elijah, making sure that her child is eating and sleeping.
God's response to Elijah reminds us that rest is not a failure. It's a necessity to know another side of God, to know the sustaining presence of a divine nurturer.
So now we see our superhero, Elijah, our prophet, build his strength.
But then he wanders or walks for 40 days and 40 nights, which if you've read some of the Bible, you'll know that that 40 days or 40 nights is throughout the Bible with great people.
And then he finds himself at Mount Horeb, or another name is Mount Sinai, which is where Moses encounters God. Jason talked about that last week or a couple weeks ago. And I think this really shows Elijah's desperation. He doesn't know what he's doing. He's wandering, looking for a place to find God. So he goes back to the altar, a third altar, where his forefathers, his forefather had been.
In this longing for purpose, he's looking for God.
And he hears God say, what are you doing here, Elijah?
When I'm in a liminal space, when I don't know what to do next, I often hear that still small voice inside myself saying, what are you doing?
What is next?
Is there any purpose?
And there again we see God meet Elijah.
Elijah is not met with the wind, is not met with the earthquake and is not met with the fire, but is met with a gentle whisper, a moment of quiet.
This is really unexpected in the scripture, in the Hebrew scripture at this time, because throughout Israel's history, God often appears in thunder, in mighty acts, in fire. We just saw. We know Elijah experienced God in the fire, but I think at this point, God knew that Elijah did not need more signs and wonders. He needed rest and intimacy. He needed to know that God was there with him. And again, because this is a legendary story, I really enjoy some imagination to this text.
So when I imagine Elijah coming out of the mountain in this whispering silence of God, I imagine God rocking Elijah back and forth, patting Elijah's back.
There, there.
I'm with you. It's okay. I love you. I know you're in the wilderness. I see you take a minute, and then we're going to make a plan together, which they do.
In her book, she, who is Elizabeth A. Johnson, says this. This feminine energy imagery reminds us that God is not only a consuming fire, but also a presence of tender nearness.
I don't think Elijah could stay in the desert on Mount Sinai forever.
God was going to send Elijah back. And we see later in this text that they do make a plan and Elijah has a new purpose.
But I guess this brings me back to that first question.
How do we find peace and joy amidst the struggle?
So today I want to ask you, where is your broom, bush, tree?
Where is your Mount Sinai?
Where can you return to a restful place that speaks of what you're feeling?
Where the nurturing God can feed you, can allow you to sleep?
If this answer doesn't immediately come to you, I'd like to ask you to consider taking this week, this month, to have some intentionality around this.
I know that many of you are here at church and have said to me things like, I thought I was going to leave religion forever, but I needed somewhere to go in the midst of this turmoil, so I came back to the place of my forefathers.
A lot of you have done that, and this altar is always available to you. And I'm going to invite you, if you choose, after I finish up here, to come and light a candle and to pray. It's always here.
But beyond Sunday mornings, I encourage you to create many altars in your daily life for me. I have a little spot on my hearth. It's a little wood box that Jason made for me. It's got a little sacred heart that one of our congregants painted for me. It has a bell from my great great great grandmother from Holland. It has a beautiful rock and a plant.
It's just little. I light a candle there and I pray and it feels like I can take a moment of feeling like I've set aside something sacred.
But it could also be. Maybe you're not as dramatic as I am. It's okay. I understand.
So maybe it's just a Bible verse that you write and pin on your dashboard so every time you get in your car you see that assurance. Maybe it's a patch of grass by your workplace that on your lunch break you can go and sit and take a minute to breathe.
I think that we have a balance here.
Finding joy and peace amid struggle is balancing the fire of speaking truth to power and the rest of allowing the nurturing presence of God to be in our midst.
We need both the fire and the whisper, the justice and the grace.
I think this is the piece of the puzzle and our way forward.
God of power and God of rest, we thank you that you bring perfect balance. We thank you that you meet us in our needs in both our times of being on the top of the mountain or in the valley of the desert.
Be with us as we walk in justice and grace. In Jesus name, Amen.
[00:25:43] Speaker B: Thank you for joining us for this Sunday teaching, no matter when or where you're tuning in. To learn more about our community or to support the work we do, Visit
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