What an amazing story we read as we conclude The Elijah Chronicles. We’ve followed our hero through great and challenging times and some even greater miracles. We’ve also reflected on a time that life got the best of him. Through it all, by God’s grace, Elijah was able to overcome the challenges and live fully into God’s calling on his life. We’re we to read through the entire chronicle of Elijah’s life, we’d see even more adventures, yet of all the adventures of his life, none comes close to this final adventure—we might call it the art of dodging death, but even in this adventure, the chronicle of his life teaches us lessons about the necessity of and power in leaving a legacy.
Dodging death puts Elijah in a very rare category. Only two people in all recorded history have exited earth without passing through the jaws of death. As far as the sacred record is concerned, only two people have been immediately ushered into the presence of God. Enoch was the first. Genesis 5: 21 – 24 tells his story. And, Elijah was the second. Even Jesus did not share this special means of grace with God the Father. No, Jesus tasted every dreg that death had to offer…tasted its pain…felt its abandonment…experienced its loneliness. Not Elijah. He was whisked away on a chariot of fire. The remarkable part of Elijah’s story is that he knew he was going to be taken away. And, he’s not the only one. His protégé, Elisha, and prophets in all the places he would travel this last day of his life knew, too.
That makes me wonder what would I do if I knew today was going to be my last day on earth. The text doesn’t say whether Elijah, Elisha or any of the other prophets knew HOW God was going to take Elijah. We must assume they all thought Elijah would simply die like every other human. So, think about it. What would you do if you knew this was going to be your last day on earth? I’d probably want a big family reunion with all the kids and grandkids around, with a BBQ cookout, and I would want to sit around as the day wore on and tell each person how they had made a difference in my life. Others might want to spend the day in quiet reflection with those closest to us, not being bothered by the outside world. Still others might busy themselves checking things off their bucket list, although I don’t know how much one could really accomplish in twenty-four hours. What did Elijah do? He took a tour of the countryside. I’m pretty certain that’s not what I would do, but in following Elijah’s trek I discover the significance of the people, the places and the priorities that will define each of our legacies.
Relationships matter. Our lives are shaped by the people around us, and we help to shape the lives of people around us—for better or worse—our lives will make a significant difference. Elijah had a special relationship with Elisha. When last we left our hero Elijah, he had run into the wilderness afraid of Queen Jezebel, and he entered a period of deep depression. A fresh encounter with the living God, and a fresh reminder of his call and purpose compelled Elijah to return to the work of God. He was told to go anoint a new king in Aram, but he was also told to anoint a successor for himself. This he did in the young man, Elisha. Elisha, in a compelling story found in 1 Kings 19 (that we don’t have time to tell) goes “all-in” with Elijah, and begins a ten-year matriculation in the Elijah School of Prophetic Ministry. For ten plus years, Elijah has the chance to pour himself into the young prophet, and that’s exactly what he does. Elisha witnesses as Elijah continues to confront the evil and excess of Israel’s leaders—facing down, yet again, King Ahab, and eventually Ahab’s heir to the throne, Ahaziah. Elisha watched as Elijah called down fire from the sky, confronted false prophets and challenged the status quo. Elisha had a front-row seat for some of the most powerful mentoring in history, and it would have an impact for generations to come.
We, too, have an opportunity to pour ourselves out into the lives of others. There are “heroes” among us and you know them. It may have been a teacher that opened our eyes and our mind in a way that no teacher had done before. Or, perhaps it was a grandparent whose kindness and wisdom warmed us during the darkest of moments in our life. Maybe it was even a nameless stranger who reached out with compassion at a time when life seemed hopeless. All of us have been influenced by others during our life’s journey. Those who inspired us to achieve, to give back to others and to live a life of significance are what I call Elijahs. Some have touched the lives of millions with their commitment to the values of charity and empathy while others perhaps only a few. But it only takes one person to change the course of history for another human being.
Let me ask: Who is your Elisha? To whom are you pouring yourself out? Who is the person that is learning as you live your life, and more importantly, what are they learning? We have at FUMC two interns that we desperately desire to pour into. The Robinson Intern Program is our intentional effort to grow the next generation of leadership. Blake Marchbank and Joey Guardunio are learning ministry in a ministry setting that we hope will impact the millennial generation and those that succeed them. But, it extends beyond ministry. It matters at work. It matters in the community. It matters at home, fathers…and mothers. The people who poured themselves out for us, and those for whom we pour ourselves out are significant to the legacy we leave.
Not only people are significant, but places are significant, too. Elijah, rather than hiding himself away on this last day of his earthly life, found it imperative to visit four of the most important places in the history of Israel. Gilgal. Bethel. Jericho. The Jordan River. Gilgal is where the Israelites camped just after they crossed the Jordan River. It was the beginning of their time in the Promised Land. It was a place of safety and security. Then, Elijah was called to Bethel. Bethel was the first place that Abraham (the father of the nation of Israel) built an altar, and it was to Bethel that Abraham often returned to encounter God. It was a place of prayer and worship. Next, the journey of this final day of his life carried the two to Jericho. Jericho was for the nation of Israel what D-Day was to the Allied forces in World War II. Jericho was the place of battle, and perhaps Elijah relived the battles of his own life as he walked the streets of Jericho. Finally, they arrived at the Jordan River. Jordan was the place of crossing-over. It represented where the Hebrew people came from, and it represented the fullness of God’s promise. It was at the Jordan that Elijah remembered the many times God faithfully delivered him. It was in those times of deliverance that Elijah had learned to walk, not in his own strength, but in God’s.
We have those places in our own lives, too. We all have a Gilgal—the place where we begin our faith journey. For Elisha, it was a field outside his home where he encountered the prophet and committed his life to God. For many of you, FUMC is the place you heard and responded to the call of God on your life. It’s the place you took your baby steps of faith, where you were safe among those who loved you and mentored you.
Then came Bethel. For Elisha, Bethel was the years spent in training, learning how to be a prophet, carrying the prophet’s coat and caring for his needs. He learned how to wait. He learned how to pray. Remember your own Bethel? It was there you began to learn what it means to sacrifice, to surrender things dear to you. Perhaps it was a miscarriage or the loss of a child. Maybe it was the loss of a spouse, or a job or business, or a lifelong dream never realized. It was in those moments you learned how to pray, how to commune with God. Remember that time? Surely, we all do.
Then, there was Jericho. We’ve all fought battles in our lives. Some of us are still fighting them. Battles with rebellion, with addiction, with our thought life, with doubt, with the flesh. We’ve been to the battlefield. We’ve encountered the enemy. Sometimes, we’ve won. Sometimes, we’ve lost. But we battled, or we battle still, and in the midst of the battle, we are reminded that God is with us…because we can remember.
Certainly, we will all come to our own Jordan. It may be decades away, or it may be as close as the next breath. But, there’s another kind of death, and that is death to self. It is in this death that we find peace in this life. Yes, we’ll cross the Jordan (death’s chilly waters, according to the song-writer) one day, but we’re reminded if we want to be Christ’s disciple, we must “take up our cross and follow Him” (Matt. 10:28). Where is the place we died to self? Is it the cross of Jesus Christ? There, we see the cost of discipleship. Yet, it is through the cross that we discover the empty tomb, and through the power of the Holy Spirit it is as if the fiery chariot swings low to raise us up to new heights of life that unimaginable before we encountered Jesus.
We have places that help to define our legacy as the body of Christ. We’ve been to one of those places today as we celebrated with this young family the sacrament of baptism. That’s our beginning as a community of faith. Holy communion, too, offers a place to come and remember…remember the power of prayer, remember the times Christ has been with us, and is with us in the daily battles of our lives, remember the sacrifice Christ made for us and the sacrifice he desires from we who would be his disciples. Each of these is a tangible expression of the faith we leave as a legacy for those who come after us.
Of course, the significance of our faith to our legacy can only be measured by how significant we make it a priority in life. That’s the lesson of Elisha for all of us. Elisha made that final journey with Elijah. All along the way, Elijah encouraged to Elisha to stay put, and all along the way Elisha renewed his commitment that he was “all-in.” I don’t think Elijah was trying to get rid of his apprentice as much as he was testing him to see how committed he was to the call, and Elisha passed the test. He stayed by the old prophet’s side, and even as he did, he caught a glimpse of the power of legacy.
We can’t pass on the legacy of faith if faith has not been the priority in our lives. Notice I didn’t say “a” priority, I said “the” priority. Elisha went all-in when Elijah came along and threw his mantle on the younger prophet over 10 years before. Elisha wasn’t going to be turned aside now. There are so many things that can distract us from the main thing. There are those things that we make the main thing, and there are those things that we put on a level plane with the main thing. None of those things are bad, mind you. Many of them are, in fact, good and healthy, but they are not the main thing. Yes, many of us build altars at Tiger Stadium or the Superdome. We build an altar on the golf course or the deer camp, the office or the dance recital hall, and we align all of those altars alongside the altar of our faith. That’s not an “all-in” faith. I’m sorry if that offends you. My task as preacher/prophet is not to make us feel good or be comfortable. My task is to help us grow in discipleship—to become more Christ-like, and THAT’S the legacy we’re meant to pass on.
Annual Conference ended last Saturday, and I’m blessed and pleased to announce that all your clergy staff have been reappointed to FUMC, Monroe for the coming Conference year! The Conference closes with a visually compelling service called “Passing of the Mantle.” In that service, one of the pastors retiring symbolically passes the mantle to one of the persons being ordained in that year. It is powerfully symbolic, but it is so much more than that…it is what each of us who have answered God’s call are positioned to do for the people in our lives, informed by the places that have made life significant, and guided by the priorities that sustain a life whose chronicle becomes a legacy all its own…just like Elijah’s!
