What are you doing here, Elijah?
1 Kings 19:11-19 - Psalms 46:1-11
Preaching involves at least two responsibilities beyond locking the doors and sweeping up. The first is to explain the Bible and relate it to life. The second is to take life and explain it in light of Scripture. My goal this morning is to attempt to accomplish both of these purposes.
Last Sunday there was an earthquake that has resulted is 120,000 or more lives to be removed from the earth in the matter of a few hours. The majority of them were washed away from their work, homes, and churches and drowned in the sea or killed by the mass of debris.
The news states that this is the worst natural disaster that has been recorded on this earth. (The media seems to have forgotten the flood in Noah’s time, but then again that was not really a natural disaster. )
The whole region contains far more dirt poor people that live in little scrap wood and metal shacks than well off families. A large portion of the income for families came from the tourist business all around the coastal area. Most of the beach front area was a vacation paradise and reserved for foreign tourist. Now the main industry is gone, many of the shacks destroyed. So much has been removed and death and debris left behind.
Where is God in all of this?
Isn’t that what we all tend to ask as we experience any of the problems in our lives? It seems like it is, especially true when something big happens. Hurricanes, earthquakes, tornados all cause us to question where is God?
I think we even tend to ask the question when people cause the event like 9/11.
However, with any natural disaster we dump the whole problem in God’s lap because there seems to be no one to blame except God.
The first scripture comes from a time when Elijah had been on the run. In the section before our reading today Elijah speaks to God. He asks God to kill him. He talks about how good a prophet he has tried to be. How all they others are dead and how they want to kill him also. He tells God how everything has gone wrong and his tone is very hopeless.
He is in a cave when he is told to go outside because God is about to pass by.
Then there is a damaging wind
A rumbling Earthquake
And a scorching Fire
None of them contain God.
Only in quiet that follows is God present – His Presence is described as gentle whisper…
Why is it that when ever something goes wrong in our lives we automatically think that God had something to do with it?
Human nature I guess. Maybe it is like when something is broken at home I automatically blame “the Kids.” Human nature needs to find a cause, something to blame. Perhaps we even have an internal need to see it as punishment.
How does the earthquake and Tsunami relate to the events of recent days?
I don’t see the natural disasters of 2004 as being any direct result of God acting to punish the people of the earth.
I do have thoughts of the end times. I think of the scripture in Matthew of wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes, famines. But, I don’t know that it is in anyway related as signs of Christ immediate return. Only God knows the time.
In this scripture, the prophet Elijah feels beaten even though God had been totally present in his actions. He has fallen into depression based on the threats from Jezebel and all he sees is a dark future. He has no hope left in this world, everything he knows seems to be destroyed. His life is threatened and he has no place to go. He finds a shady spot to sit down and asks to die. An angel cares for him and directs him to a cave 40 days and nights away.
God speaks to him. "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
I believe that is God’s question for us this morning. What are you the church, the body of Christ, doing here?
As blessed people of God, what are WE, (not the church down the road) but US, this church doing for God.
We are among he most blessed in the world. Our nation is rich while many of us don’t feel that way ourselves I believe it is a case of just not knowing how lucky …..Blessed we really are.
Compared to most of the people that died in the disasters, we are well off.
This is not the first time I have asked this question. I believe that God is still waiting for our answer. Some of our members do touch a few people in the community and that is fantastic.
I think for us the question is really, in what ways do we actively reach out to represent God?
I am not sure we are living up the potential for all we have been given. All too often we sit around feeling sorry for ourselves because of our problems and the fact that we are not rich by “American” standards.
This week as I have prayed over the losses in Asia I realized that most of the time I spend praying for myself and my family is so childish and even selfish. I have never seen problems like the people in Asia have on a daily basis. Throw on top of that, a disaster that wipes away life like we wipe up a spill on the counter and I realize that my worst problems and even my deepest losses, while painful, were tiny in comparison.
I start to see my blessings. I start to see my messed up perspective of rich and poor. I can easily see how God could look at me and say “You were worried about a transmission for your truck? You were worried about having just in case gifts for the Christmas party. ”
I start to see how little I really commit to doing my fathers business, to taking care of the children of the kingdom. I see how much excess I have and waste.
All I can say is - Father God, Forgive me!
For us to look at any disaster and wonder where God is is probably a heresy. The problem really isn’t the question. The heresy is that we probably never properly gave Him any credit for the good and pleasant things in our lives and world.
For Example, do we really give him credit for our health or do we really think that it is all because of the exercise and proper diet.
So where is God when things go right? That is not the question either.
The real problem is living by faith in God, at all times are good or bad. Wither it is happening to you or in a distant land. If we analyze every moment we are living by what we see and experience. That is not living in faith.
Living in faith means living by what we can not really know or touch. It is trusting in God and accepting by faith, that he is in control.
But now I want to look at our question again.
What are you doing here, Church?
What are we as the body of Christ doing for God’s kingdom?
We have been given the Holy Spirit as our comforter and guide.
Do any of us really listen to the leading of the Spirit?
If so, then we should know what to do? Folks the event in Asia is big, it is devastating, it is more than I can personally imagine. And the Spirit of God is asking what am I going to do about it? How am I going to show the movement of God to this tainted, sinful, selfish world?
If I don’t hear the spirit, I sit bask and watch the news and decide what leftovers I will have for dinner.
The thought of end times comes back to mind and I worry that Christ could return before I make a response the do something to help his children on the other side of the globe.
I worry that I will be standing in His presence on Judgment day and hold up a list of my personal prayers and actions in this world.
The question is asked, what did you do after the earthquake?
What did you do after the hurricane?
What did you do for the least of theses?
What did you do for me?
I guess my biggest fear is that this tragic loss of life will disappear from our thinking in just a few weeks. Life will go on and for us times will be mostly good.
The numbers of dead will rise as disease and famine take more people, but we may never even notice because it is not happening to us.
What are you doing here, Church?
I am going to show a few slides this morning. As the music plays and the images appear. Then I will read Psalm 46 as a time for all of us to meditate and listen, listen to the spirit within your soul. Decide what you and I are doing here.
Decide what action you will take as a member of the body of Christ and as a child of God.
Psalm 46
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A song.
1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.
Selah
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. 5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. 6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
7 The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah
8 Come and see the works of the LORD , the desolations he has brought on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire. 10 "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."
11 The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah
Father forgive us for looking at today and celebrating for ourselves instead of living for you. Father We cry out n anguish at the disappearance of thousands of people, men. Women and children. They were people in your creation, there were really no big differences between them and us. There was work, church, rest, family, problems with health and finances.
Father we pray fro the lost that you have revived them with mercy by your Grace. Father we pray for the families that have been torn apart. Father we pray for all those that may never get real closure Because their loved ones and friends are missing never to be found.
Father we pray for all those that have rushed to give physical aid and ask that any obstacles to getting the basics of life to the places of need are removed.
Father we lift up our Brothers and sisters in Christ who are in the middle of the death and destruction. Father help us to empower and strengthen them to be the hands of Christ to all those around them and comfort their pain.
Father we ask to never know if suffering and pain is worse after the loss of 1, 2 5 10 or 100K. Father protects us from this sinful world but help us not to remove ourselves from the needs and suffering. Help us to understand that a time of suffering is when you use us most. Soften our hearts so that we my trust you enough to act in compassion and love in the name of our savior.
Amen
