Traditions

 

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. My sermon is entitled Tradition and my focus is our Gospel (Mark 7:1-13). Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’”  Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

“Tradition. Without our traditions, our lives would be as shaky as... as a fiddler on the roof!” Tradition is the opening number for Fiddler on the Roof. In the song, Tevye explains the roles of fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters in their village, and how people like the matchmaker, beggar and rabbi contribute to the village. The song establishes the theme of the villagers trying to continue their traditions and keep their society running as the world around them changes.

We have our own traditions, but before I get into them, let me set the stage. I am speaking about religious traditions with an upper and lower-case T, Biblical traditions and personal traditions.

First, tradition with an upper-case T. The word itself means a statement, belief or practice handed down from generation to generation, especially a belief or practice based on Mosaic law. The Latin word tradere means to deliver or hand over. It is from trans meaning over and dare meaning to give.

In the ancient Church, the Latin word traditio meant the act of handing the oral and written instruction given by one person to another. In course of time, it came to refer to teaching not in Scripture. This is, of course, a point of divergence between Catholics and Protestants, and yet, Martin Luther pushed back against some of the more radical reformers who sought to dispose of the Creeds. Unlike Catholicism, the Lutheran Church does not believe that Tradition is a carrier of the Word of God, or that only the Bishop of Rome has been entrusted to interpret the Word of God. The Augsburg Confession (XXI) reminds us that in our teaching nothing departs from the Scriptures. The Creeds and Sacraments – Baptism and Eucharist – fall into that teaching.

We retain the oral and written teaching of Jesus when we gather for baptism and Divine Worship. We cannot change the words when baptizing or praying over the bread and wine for they are not ours but His. However, we do have to consider that the oral teachings of Jesus were handed down from Apostles to Paul, Jude and the writers of the Synoptics Gospels – Matthew, Mark and Luke. And at the end of John’s Gospel, we read these words, “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” (21:25)

That said, we move from the word tradition to tradition in our passage today. As Jesus went about his ministry of healing, Pharisees team up with scribes from Jerusalem to pose an accusatory question. Pharisees were members of a renewal movement that sought to restore God’s favor to Israel by advocating strict observance of the law and total separation from all Gentile defilement. Scribes were professional copyists and scholars of the law, some of whom were also Pharisees. Those from Jerusalem carried the extra weight of authority.

The gist of their accusation was that Jesus’ followers ate with unclean hands. This is not a hygiene problem but one of ritual purity, which Marks explains in verses 3-4. Biblical rules of ritual purity applied only to the priests serving at the altar, but the tradition developed by the Pharisees extended them to govern the behavior of all Jews at all meals. This made every meal a religious act and a symbolic expression of Jewish identity. Contact with any potentially unclean persons or products in the marketplace meant ritual washing before eating. Jesus’ accusers considered this tradition of the elders to be binding on all Jews.

We see that Jesus calls them hypocrites, the original promoters of false news because their rituals were not rooted in an interior conversion of the heart. After quoting and fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy in their presence, Jesus indicted them for neglecting what is truly of God in favor of their own agenda.

Jesus did not reject tradition per se for it was important in the early Church to hand on the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles. Rather, he rejected mere human traditions that are not based in God’s word, traditions that negate the intent of God’s word. Paul encouraged believers to “stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.” (2 Thes 2:15)

As we apply this passage to our lives today, we sometimes see or may even adopt religious practices that are often superficial and routine especially among those who have not been adequately evangelized and whose faith fails to impact their choices and behavior in any significant way. Jesus spoke of an attitude toward God that he saw in the scribes and Pharisees and that can be found among Christians in every church: the tendency to substitute religiosity for genuine obedience to God and His Word. What is needed – and perhaps what we need – is a personal encounter with Jesus leading to a deep transformation of the heart. When that occurs, religious practices come to life and serve their true purpose.

Finally, your own traditions. Family traditions are often celebrated and sometimes taken for granted. Some grow in popularity and others shrivel away unnoticed. What practices did your parents and grandparents exercise regularly that still or no longer exist?

By now, most of you know my background growing up in Beaver County, and how we were active in church and the Polish club. What was handed over to me through these experiences remain influential in my life, and I share those traditions with family members. Praying with others at meals and talking freely about what we believe and treasure. Periodically making our grandchildren listen to polkas and teaching them how to dance. Last week when all of our grandchildren were at our home, we prepared a Polish dinner: pork, sauerkraut, pierogies and blintzes.

I could go on, but enough about me. How about you? What traditions you share with others – children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, friends, family and neighbors. Whatever they are, I am sure that they are all fine traditions; but how do your traditions relate to our faith? I ask that after searching the web for family traditions. I found things like Taco Tuesdays, Friday Night Breakfast, Thanksgiving football and endless lists of family activities, but none of them were tied to why we should do these things.

It then dawned on me that the Passover Meal celebrated by Jews today holds a great example for Christians. Why? Because there is a point during the meal when the youngest person asks four questions beginning with, “Why is this night different from all other nights?” The questions are designed to pique a child's curiosity about what is happening in order to hold their attention.

So, if a young child would ask why are we displaying a manger scene under the tree or on the mantle, or why are we coloring eggs at Easter, or serving particular foods on certain holidays, our answer should have its root in Christ and what He did for us.

Let me close with a person who was handed a tradition, re-envisioned it and re-presented it to others. His name was Paul, and he was very influential in the early Church. Perhaps you heard of this man. Earlier, I cited John 21:25, and that the oral teachings of Jesus were handed down from Apostles to Paul and the writers of the Synoptics Gospels. Jesus died and rose in 33 AD. Mark and Matthew were written around 70 AD. Paul’s Letter to the Thessalonians is the earliest New Testament piece of literature, written about 50 AD. That means before the gospels were written, people heard the Gospel for nearly 40 years from people like Barnabas and Paul.

After his conversion, Paul spent 15 days with Peter (Gal 1:15), and derived information from the traditions of early churches – Jerusalem, Damascus, Antioch – but anything that was handed to him was always transformed by Paul’s personal vision and insight. While his proclamation of the Gospel is nothing like the Evangelists, Paul explicitly called attention to the fact that he handed on what he received.

We read in 1^st Corinthians, “Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you. … For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you … I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received.” ( 1 Corinthians 11:2, 23; 15:1,3)

Paul appealed to the customs of the churches and recommended fidelity to tradition. To the Thessalonians, he wrote, “We thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.” (1 Thes 2:13) To the Philippians, “What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” (4:9) And to the Corinthians, “I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you.” (1 Cor 11:2)

Even though Paul gives no evidence of having known Jesus personally in his earthly ministry, what is of great importance is that he emphasized the salvific effects of Christ’s passion, death and resurrection, which for him transcend the data of the historical ministry of Jesus. His interest was in these climactic events of Jesus’ career rather than on the details of His lifestyle, ministry, personality or even his message. …  Paul was interested in the exalted, risen Lord, who became the real agent of the tradition developing in the heart of the apostolic church.

My friends, I tell you this because God’s Church, God’s world needs to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ today more than ever, and that is dependent not only on the written Word of God, but more importantly upon you. As a friend of mine always said, “You may be the only Gospel people hear.” Whatever traditions you incorporate into your family life and share with others, make sure that it includes the Gospel – that Jesus Christ lived, taught and healed, that He embraced violent suffering and death for you, that He handed onto you His Body and Blood, and that after He died on the Cross, descended into hell, rose from the dead and with the Father sent the loving Holy Spirit to you. Link every family tradition to what was handed on to you as it was to Paul. And when you do, may the peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

BREAD

 

Do you like bread? I love bread. There are so many different kinds of bread: white, wheat, rye, pumpernickel, sour dough. There are many ways bread can be formed: sliced sandwich bread, dinner rolls, hoagies, sticks, and so on. Pizza is a form of bread. So are tacos. That’s not even counting pastries and donuts.

I mention bread today because over these weeks, we are hearing from the Gospel of John, Jesus speak about himself as the Bread of Life. Now, there are many healthy benefits to eating bread, but none can compare with the Bread of Life, Jesus’ Body.

As Lutherans, we believe that Jesus’ Body is truly present in the bread we receive at communion. He’s present in, with and under the bread. Some people do not believe that. Some believe that the bread is no longer bread, but becomes Christ’s flesh entirely. Others believe that because Jesus is sitting at His Father’s right hand in heaven, he cannot be in the bread.

To that, all I can say is, we are right, and they are wrong. We believe that Jesus is present in the bread and wine and offers us strength and comfort.

With that, let us pray. Heavenly Father, from whom all fatherhood in heaven and earth is named: Bless these and all children, and give their parents the spirit of wisdom and love, so that the homes in which they grow up may be to them an image of Your Kingdom, and the care of their parents a likeness of Your love. We pray in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Our Belief about the Body of Christ

 

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. My sermon title is What the Body Believes about the Body, and my focus is our Gospel (John 6:51-59). Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’”  Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

Body. When I say the word body, what is your first thought? I begin with that question because the word is used in numerous ways. My doctor advises me to care for my own physical body by keeping a good diet and getting plenty of exercise. I can use the word as a descriptor by saying, “He had a fat body but thin arms and legs.”

If my car is involved in a fender bender, I take it to an auto body repairman. A group of people join together to form a student body or an advisory body. Justice Antonin Scalia left behind a body of work as his legacy. An ocean or a Great Lake is known as a body of water. So, when I entitle my sermon, “What the Body Believes about the Body,” I make three points: church body, what we believe about our Gospel, and the Sacrament.

Body of Christ is a way of naming and connecting Christian experiences: the physical body of Jesus of Nazareth; the reality of the Resurrected Christ; the community of Jesus’ followers in communion with Him and one another; and the presence of Christ in the Eucharist or Lord’s Supper.^[1]

When St. Paul began using the word body to name the covenanted people or the Church, he relied upon his Hebrew experience. The origin of that is Joshua 7, a strange, barbaric, but remarkable tale which shows how the people of Israel belonged to one another. We find it strange because our culture interprets reality differently. We think of ourselves as unconnected individual persons until some attraction or tragedy occurs. Friendship develops because we are neighbors, coworkers, classmates or teammates. It also occurs when we band together after a tragedy. When surviving family members from 9/11 met, they bonded as one. When a person in a congregation suffers an accident or death, individual Christians come together. 

But St. Paul was a Jew, and his interpretation of human reality was in rooted in his background. His conversion experience^[2] describes how he was on his way to persecute Christians, and in a white-hot moment of divine revelation, God spoke to him: “Why are you persecuting me?” The answer to his question, “Who are you?” was “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.” He eventually understood that his persecution of this body of people was actually the persecution of Jesus Christ. He then began to teach Christians that because through baptism and the Lord’s Supper we are physically joined to Jesus Christ, there are moral and immoral activities. There are rules for living. As members of this Christian body, the Church, we can eat whatever food we choose, but we cannot engage in sexual activity with another unless we are married to that person, because, as Paul wrote, “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?” (1 Cor 6:15)^[3] As individual Christians, we are joined to Christ and to one another, and as individuals, we must avoid giving scandal not only to one another, but also to unbelievers who seek to dishonor and destroy us.

The Body of Christ (His Church) embraces and transforms us into one people. Baptism makes us all equal. There is no privileged hierarchy in our Church. St. Paul wrote about this in Galatians 3:25-29, where we read that “you are all one in Christ.” We lay that teaching next to what Paul wrote regarding different ministries in 1 Corinthians 12:27-30, to understand that not all of us can be apostles, prophets, teachers or healers. These two parallel teachings are in accord with Jesus’ teaching to his disciples, which ends with, “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” (Mt 23:12)^[4]

My point is that as the Body of Christ today, our beliefs about almost anything are rooted in Scripture with a whole history of discussion and debate, councils and creeds, arguments and anathemas. The Church has something to say not only about worship on Sunday, but also about moral and immoral living throughout the rest of the week when we interact with one another and others, believers and unbelievers. We are the Body of Christ, and we remain intimately connected to Jesus Christ and one another.

Now, what if I choose to separate myself from this Mystical Body? In 1^st Corinthians (12:12-26), Paul teaches that being connected to Christ once means being connected eternally. Whether it likes you or not, your big toe does not get to decide it’s no longer going to be part of you because you stub it so often. It is connected whether it likes it or not. In a like manner, we do not get to decide if we are connected to the Body of Christ or not. We are. Being baptized into the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ redeems our connectedness and deepens it beyond anything I can describe.

Like you, I sometimes ponder if I am connected to all of you. You may feel more closely connected to your dog than to the people sitting around you, and if that is the case, let me ask you: When did you last take home the bulletin to pray for the people listed in it? When is the last time you had free time and reached out to another member of this Body? Is your time during the coffee social spent talking to people you do not know well or do you always sit with the same people? When is the last time you laid awake at four in the morning and prayed for all the people around you and the people who have not yet returned to this church? If I do not feel connected, have I tried to understand my connection to everyone else in the Church the way Paul did after his white-hot experience with the Living Person of Jesus Christ? Remember, Paul’s personal relationship with Christ eventually led to his communal and cosmic relationship with our Triune God, His universal Church and all of creation.^[5]

On to my second point, Believe. What do we believe about what Jesus said in the Gospel today? To believe is to accept that something is honest or true. It also means that I accept someone’s word or the evidence. Since the Greeks put stock in the teaching of the ancient ones, we begin with some of the early Church Fathers before going to the text itself.

When some challenged Jesus’ statement, they asked, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” St. Cyril of Jerusalem stated that we should not think of the bread and wine as mere physical food. “In accordance with the Lord’s declaration, they are body and blood. If our senses suggest otherwise, let faith confirm you. Do not judge on the basis of taste, but on the basis of faith be assured beyond all doubt that you have been allowed to receive the body and blood of Christ.”^[6]

When Jesus responded to his critics, St. Cyril of Alexandria taught that the “power of learning follows on those who believe. … Faith should first be rooted in [belief] before understanding.”^[7] A more recent author wrote that when Jesus speaks of eating his flesh and drinking his blood, it means the whole man, which is why we receive Eucharist under both species. In faith, we receive the whole Christ.^[8]

Now, why did Jesus say that his flesh is true food and his blood real drink? First of all, Jesus was not contrasting his flesh and blood with manna in the desert. Rather, He insisted on the genuine value of his flesh and blood as food and drink. Eating and drinking the whole Christ and receiving His abiding presence into our lives harkens to the vine and branches statements Jesus spoke, for that too is eucharistic. St. John echoed this in his first letter, where we read, “God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.” (1 Jn 4:9)

There is no Last Supper scene in John’s Gospel like those in the Synoptics; so, when you read chapter six, read it this way. Think of Jesus explaining to his disciples just what he meant when he gathered around the table with them and said the words of institution. In Matthew, we read that after blessing and breaking the bread, Jesus gave it to his disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” He took the cup, gave thanks, and then after he gave the cup to them said, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Mt 26:26-28) St. John was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write this section as a way for us to understand not only what happened at the Last Supper, but also what happens each time we take the Lord’s Supper in church, in the home of a homebound person, or in the nursing home or hospital.

This Bread of Life teaching (John 6) represents a convergence of Jesus’ twofold presence to believers in the preached Word and in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. This twofold presence is the structural skeleton of our liturgical service. Imagine Jesus standing before you explaining what it is we are doing here when we worship. Through Word and Sacrament, we who have an individual personal relationship with Jesus are made one with Him, the Father, the Holy Spirit and one another – even those who we need to forgive – every time we take the whole Christ in Holy Communion.

That brings me to my third point in What the Body Believes about the Body. As Lutherans, we take Christ’s words “This is my body” and “This is my blood” at face value. He spoke those words, and as His last will and testament, we cannot change them. We also find them in Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor 11:25). We believe and teach that the presence of Christ’s body and blood are in, with and under the bread and wine, In reminds us that where the bread and wine is, there is the body and blood of Christ. With reminds us that with the bread and wine we receive the body and blood of Christ. Under reminds us that the body and blood of Christ are hidden yet present since the bread and wine continue to exist. If I put a napkin or cloth over a loaf of bread, the bread under the napkin is still present even if I cannot see it.

The reason I point out what we read in the Small Catechism is because not all Christians believe this. Catholic transubstantiation means that that Christ’s body and blood replace the bread and wine. The Reformed Churches, those that are based upon the teachings of Zwingli and Calvin, do not believe that it is possible for Christ to be at the right hand of the Father in Heaven, and in the bread and wine. They teach that the bread and wine in the Lord’s Supper are not Christ’s Body and Blood, but only symbols. We accept what Christ said, and do not change the meaning of His word “is” to “symbolize”.

At a recent study session, one of the pastors noted this difference as written in the Book of Concord, adding that many Protestants point out the errant teaching of Catholicism, but fail to see the danger in Calvin’s teaching that Christ cannot be present at the Lord’s Supper. If Christ is not present, how does He offer comfort to us, and how do we offer thanksgiving to Him?^[9] “The Sacrament was instituted to comfort terrified minds. This happens when they believe that Christ’s flesh is given as food for the life of the world (Jn 6:51) and when they believe that, being joined to Christ, they are made alive.”^[10] Martin Luther and the Fathers of our Evangelical Church remind us to believe Christ’s words that He is in the bread and wine for the forgiveness of our sins. They also remind us that the act of eating and drinking His body and blood assures us not only of the forgiveness of our sins, but also everlasting salvation.^[11]

I have recently completed a biography on Luther in which the author points out that for Luther “the Real Presence of Christ in the Mass (Worship) was not something that could be explained.” As the controversy created by Zwingli and Calvin continued, “it became clear that insisting on the Real Presence was a fundamental part of Luther’s theology.”^[12]

That Christ is truly present is not only Luther’s teaching, but we can cite others such as Augustine, John Chrysostom, Irenaeus, St. Paul and Christ Himself. But what does an understanding of Christ’s Real Presence in the Sacrament have to do with our daily living? It has to do with the realization that as each of us consumes the whole Christ in the Sacrament, we are made one with Christ and one another. We go from being 50 or 80 individual believers to one body of believers. In this Sacrament, Christ makes us one Body.

Earlier I spoke about Paul’s view of human reality and how he came to see that we are the Body of Christ. Several weeks ago, I spoke about how little time we spend in prayer each day, less than ten minutes per day. I asked if you take home the bulletin and pray for those people listed in it. And providentially, some one sent me a link to a sermon, in which the pastor asked the same question to his church members: How much time do you pray for the Church?

Praying for my own needs is too small for us. Praying for the needs of others is what we should be doing. I pray for the needs of others, and the greatest need you and I have is an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, His Father, the Holy Spirit, the saints of the church (one another), and the world’s sinners because Christ came to redeem all of mankind. Friends, when you pray for me and one another, pray that all the people you know and do not know experience a dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ and His brothers and sisters. When you do, may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

---

[1] Bernard Lee, “Body of Christ,” The New Dictionary of Catholic Spirituality. Collegeville MN: The Liturgical Press (1993), p. 100.

[2] See Gal 1: 12-17; Acts 9:1-14; 22:5-16; 26:10-18.

[3] See chapters 5-8.

[4] See Mt 23:8-12.

[5] See Ephesians 6:12; Roman 1:20; Colossians 1:15-20.

[6] Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: New Testament IV_A John 1-10, Ed Joel C. Elowsky. Downers Grove IL: InterVarsity Press (2006), p. 239

[7] Ibid.

[8] Brown, 282.

[9] The Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article XXIV: The Mass, Par. 75.

[10] Apology, Article XXII: Both Kinds in the Lord’s Supper, Par. 10.

[11] Formula of Concord: The Solid Declaration, Article VII: The Holy Supper, Par.62ff. See also the Small Catechism, Question 362.

[12] Lyndal Roper, Martin Luther: Renegade and Prophet. New York: Random House (2016), p. 280

MAGNIFY GOD!

 

Do you know what a magnifying glass is? It’s a piece of glass or lens that makes something look bigger. The lens of the magnifying glass is thicker than plain glass and makes objects appear larger than they really are.

If you look at the words on this piece of paper, they appear normal. Now, if you place this magnifying glass between the paper and your eye and look at it again, the words appear bigger.

I show this to you because in our Psalm today (34:1-8), we hear the words “magnify the Lord with me.” … Doesn’t that sound strange to you? How can we magnify the Lord? Can we look at God through a magnifying glass?

The Psalmist didn’t mean that we make God larger than He is like we make the words on this page larger than they are. But if I make something larger, then do I become smaller?

How about this for an example. In my sermon last Sunday, I mentioned Sydney McLaughlin. She’s the young woman who won the Gold Medal at the Olympics in the 400-meter hurdles. After she won, she gave all the praise to God. Her prayer is: “God, let me be the vessel in which You’re glorified, whatever the result is — how I conduct myself, how I carry myself, not just how I perform.” She magnified the Lord, and humbled herself. She made God greater and herself smaller.

You can be a star and be humble when you magnify God, but you don’t have to win a medal to start. You can praise God for your looks or grades, your athletic ability or musical talent. If you don’t have those, you can praise God for creating and loving you.

With that, let us pray. Heavenly Father, from whom all fatherhood in heaven and earth is named: Bless these and all children, and give their parents the spirit of wisdom and love, so that the homes in which they grow up may be to them an image of Your Kingdom, and the care of their parents a likeness of Your love. We pray in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Christ the King

 

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. My sermon is entitled Kings, Prophets and Christians and my focus is 1^st Kings (19:1-8). Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’”  Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

You may have missed it, but in January of this year, Denmark’s Queen Margarethe II handed over the scepter to her son Frederik after exactly 52 years on the throne. Once known as a rebellious party prince, Frederik, now 55, has spent a lifetime preparing for the job, but has been reluctant to assume the throne. The Danes are happy to see that the King and his wife, Queen Mary, have also produced heirs to the throne. The King enjoys an 80% favorable rating among the country’s citizens.

This transition is unlike the former practice of dying on the throne. Abdicating the crown has become common in recent years, and is not as newsworthy as Edward VIII of the United Kingdom who stepped down in 1936 when he married Wallis Simpson. As Americans, we never took seriously establishing a monarchy. First of all, we despised King George III. On the other hand, as Christians, we sing of Good King Wenceslaus. The English word king comes to us German word König. It is likely that it was originally from the word kin meaning a “leader of the people.”

The books of Kings are the fourth part of what tradition calls the Former Prophets (Joshua, Judges, 1-2 Samuel and 1-2 Kings).[1] These are history books, but not political or social history. Rather, they are theological history books. Most likely, written by one author, Kings recounts Israel’s life in its own land from the occupation under Joshua to the Babylonian Exile.

The author’s interest is not an accurate chronicle of events, but an explanation of the tragic fate of God’s people. The purpose of Kings is to explain how God’s people came to be in exile. The explanation is that Israel and Judah led by their kings were guilty of cultic infidelities so numerous and so terrible that destruction was the only fit punishment.[2]

David is the paragon for the rulers of Judah. He was faithful and obedient to God, who in turn promised him an unending dynasty. We read in 2^nd Samuel the words of God spoken to David through the Prophet Nathan, “Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.”[3] But beginning with Solomon, most southern kings (Judah) failed to follow David’s ways. Even those who are faithful were praised with some reservation. Only Hezekiah and Josiah received unqualified approval. The northern kings (Israel) were condemned without exception.

After reading and studying Kings, a question comes to my mind that the author may have thought: How did we get here? I will ask that question again when we get to my third point, but for now, my second point, prophets.

The role of prophets in the unfolding history of Israel is a central concern, particularly in the sections of Kings that deal with Elijah and Elisha. Through the prophets God continually confronted the errant people and would call them back to His ways. The prophetic word could be an assurance of victory or a promise of peace, a threat or a condemnation.[4] In every case it is God announcing in advance the plan of history – a plan that reaches fulfillment inevitably. In short, God is in charge and reveals his counsels to his servants the prophets.

So, who is this guy named Elijah?[5] He is the loftiest and most wonderful prophet of the Old Testament. What we know of his public life is sketched in a few popular narratives in 1^st Kings, which bear the stamp of an almost contemporary age. Most likely, these stories took place in Northern Israel, and are full of the most graphic and interesting details.

Given what I said about the kings of Israel and Judah, the people of God needed such a prophet. Under the baneful influence of his wife, Jezebel, King Ahab, though perhaps not intending to forsake altogether God's worship, had nevertheless erected in Samaria a temple to Baal and introduced a multitude of foreign priests. Undoubtedly, he offered sacrifices to the pagan deity, and, most of all, hallowed a bloody persecution of the prophets of God.

We know nothing about Elijahs's origin. His whole manner of life resembled the Nazarites and is a loud protest against his corrupt age. He wore a leather and skin garments, slept in cliffs or caves, and was a fast runner.

He appeared abruptly on the scene to announce to Ahab that God had determined to avenge the apostasy of Israel and her king by bringing a long drought on the land. He delivered his message and then vanished as suddenly as he appeared. Guided by the spirit of God, he went to a brook the east of the Jordan River, where ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning and evening.

God chose Elijah to defeat the prophets of Baal, but before that happened, he provided an endless supply of flour for a widow and raised her young son from the dead. Elijah was able to accomplish this not because he possessed any extraordinary power, but because he prayed passionately to God. He relied on God, not himself to accomplish deeds. When he challenged the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, he said this prayer: “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” Scripture tells us that “the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.”[6]

After God consumed the holocaust, the issue was fought and won. The people knew that Yahweh was God, not Baal. At Elijah's command they slit the throats of the pagan prophets. And then something happened that we often overlook. That same evening the drought that plagued Israel for a very long time suddenly ended with a heavy downpour of rain. In the midst of this monsoon Elijah ran to the entrance of Jezreel before Ahab in his horse driven chariot.

Yet, in a matter of days, Elijah went from complete jubilation to complete depression. You see, Elijah suffered from depression. He went from fearless confidence in God to fearing for his life. He went from feeling like a special messenger of God to feeling like a fruitless and worthless vine. It was so bad that Elijah even asked God to take his life. Why? Because Queen Jezebel ordered his death. Now, this could only occur if Ahab permitted it. So, not only did Elijah fear the hit on his life, but also realized that the king remained faithful to his queen and Baal.

Elijah’s haste to flee and his later complaint against Israel suggested that the people’s conversion to God on Mount Carmel was shaky. They could turn away from God on a whim. For this reason, he fled to the southern desert to save his life. Once there, he prayed to die, and Elijah’s ambivalence set the tone for today’s passage. His flight was a journey out of this ordinary world, symbolized by leaving behind companionship and food, and a pilgrimage to a sacred place.

Many people think that the prophets were morally or spiritually superior to us, and it’s easy to think of Elijah in this way. The truth is, he wasn’t. Like us, Elijah needed correction, encouragement and the knowledge that other believers were standing against Baal too. Elijah was not exceptionally spiritual or superior. He was completely human. Yet, what made Elijah extraordinary was his complete commitment to the Will of God. Elijah gave all his energy and heart so that the world would know the one true God. To sum it up, God uses the ordinary to do the extraordinary.[7]

So, what do Kings and Prophets have to do with my third point, Christians? Why are the accounts of Ahab and Elijah relevant to us and me? In other words, as I concluded my first point, you and I now ask, “How did we get here?”

We can ask that question on many levels. As an individual, how did I get to this point in my life? No matter if we are talking about a successful career or being unable to make ends meet on social security and savings, pondering the happiness of grandchildren or wondering where my marriage failed, marveling at my athletic achievements or musing about the last days of my life, we ask, “How did I get here?”

As a congregation that’s bursting at its seams or turning out the lights, how did we get here? As denominations grow or shrink exponentially, dazzled at the work of the Holy Spirit or bewildered at the sinful acts of their leaders, members must be asking how did we get here? And like citizens in many other countries, we too wonder how we got here.

Without laying blame or pointing fingers, perhaps it is time to ask another question, “Now what?” We know that Kings was about the infidelities of the people through their leaders. We know that God spoke to the people through His prophets, as strange as many of them were. We also know that the answer to “Now what?” is, “Turn to God.”

Elijah is an important figure not only in the history of Israel, but also in the salvation history of Christianity. Not only did he dedicate his life to getting people to turn from idols and return to the one true God, but he is also mentioned throughout the Gospels, particularly on Transfiguration Sunday. Meeting a man like Elijah may make us feel uncomfortable. However, his message to us would be no different than his original message – trust God completely.

Now, The Small Catechism reminds us to submit ourselves to governing authorities, which may not sit well with some of us. Yet, we read, “It is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.”[8]

That said, what do we do when we suspect that our authorities are not acting as God’s servants? What do we do when judges authorize whatever is necessary to prevent pastors and congregations from gathering to worship? Do we acquiesce or oppose? Do we submit or resist? Would we elect governors and presidents who would force churches to shut their doors like they did in 2020 and 2021? What do we say to fellow Christians whose churches and pro-life pregnancy centers have been burned to the ground or vandalized while elected politicians say they understand the feelings of violent protestors?

At times, Elijah stood tall and at other times he fled. When he was so distraught that he wanted his life to be over, God strengthened him for the journey and His mission. Like Elijah, Moses and Jesus, we should seek first the Kingdom of God. We should submit totally to the Will of God. Friends, the purpose of Elijah’s life was not to trust in himself, but to trust God totally. Why? Because the Church needs prophets. God’s world needs Christian prophets – people dedicated to our Triune God and to prayer. Our world needs people dedicated to listening to God’s Word in the depths of their hearts.

Friends, I ask you to consider how God’s Spirit poured into your hearts, nurtured through Sacrament and Word, prayer and action, will make all the difference in the world – even if that world is small. And when you do, may the peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

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[1] Walsh, Jerome T and Begg, Christopher T. “1-2 Kings,” The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs NJ (1990), p. 160.

[2] Ibid., p. 161.

[3] 2 Samuel 8:16.

[4] Walsh and Begg, p. 161. See 1 Kgs 20:13, 2 Kgs 7:1, 1 Kgs 22:17, 2 Kgs 1:3-4.

[5] See Elijah at https://www.newadvent.org

[6] 1 Kings 18:36-38.

[7] Lesli White, “Who is Elijah in the Bible and Why is He Important?” www.beliefnet.com

[8] The Small Catechism, Of Citizens.