We come across the prophet Elijah in our first lesson this Sunday. He is in a sorry state. He has dismissed his servant and friend and gone out alone, a day’s journey into the wilderness. He is sitting under a tree as solitary as he is. He says he has had enough. He asks to die and lies down to wait for his prayer to be answered.
What is the matter with him? How did he get in such a state? We don’t know.
Perhaps he is simply exhausted from the stress of being a prophet. We know from the previous chapter that he spent the entire day competing with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel for the souls of his people. He and the Baal’s prophets traded insults and taunts all day like children on a playground: “My God is stronger than your God!” “Your God is a joke!” “My God is going to whoop your God but good!” At the end of the day, the true God sent fire on the sacrifice Elijah had prepared for him, while the sacrifices the prophets of Baal had prepared for their false gods still sat there, a soggy, bloody mess. God won the contest for Elijah, but it took a lot out of the prophet.
Perhaps Elijah is out there in the wilderness because he’s afraid to go anywhere else. Queen Jezebel has put a price on his head. She has not taken kindly to what Elijah did to the prophets of her god Baal. The wilderness is the only place he feels safe.
Perhaps he is in the wilderness because he is depressed. He has, after all, the classic symptoms: he has withdrawn from everyone, even those closest to him; he has no energy for anything except lying around; he has given up eating; he can’t see any way out of his misery but death.
Perhaps he is angry at God. In the following passage he complains that God has let him down. He has tried to do what was right, he has done everything God asked him to do, and his reward is that there is a price on his head. Where’s the justice in that?
Whatever the reasons Elijah is in the state he is in, our hearts go out to him.
Then comes the good news. An angel from God shows up. He touches Elijah, then puts some food and water in front of Elijah and says nothing but, “Get up and eat.” Elijah does, but then he lies back down again. The angel shows up again with food, again he touches Elijah, but this time, besides serving the food he says to him, “Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.” The angel is offering Elijah not just food for his body, but also whatever help Elijah may need to get himself out of the state he is in.
This time Elijah gets up, eats and drinks, and then uses “the strength of that food” to journey back to Mount Horeb (Mount Sinai) to encounter his God and figure out with God what he needs to do to get his life back on track. In the rest of the First Book of Kings Elijah goes from strength to strength, until the chariots of fire come to carry him away. It’s an inspiring story.
When I attended my first SUPPER at St. Martin’s, I realized how well the members of this congregation “get” this story. They had invited the whole community to SUPPER, no questions asked, no money requested, no commitment demanded. The community arrived with family, with friends, alone; parishioners, neighbors, perfect strangers. Who knows why they came, what burdens they were bearing. Angels from St. Martin’s met them at the door, clasped them by the hand and welcomed them by name. Other angels filled their plates with truly delicious food prepared by yet more angels, and seated them at tables with interesting folk. Information prepared by other angels was readily available on the opportunities available to them at St. Martin’s. When SUPPER was over, they were sent on their way, hopefully strengthened for their journeys.
I went home walking on air. I had been with the angels. I was so proud.
Blessings,
Rev. Phyllis Taylor
