The Message, February 11, 2024: "I Will Never Leave You," 2 Kings 2:1-12

Author: Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
February 11, 2024

 

“I Will Never Leave You”
A Message by Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
2 Kings 2:1-12

            Have you ever seen chariots of fire?

            No … not the 1981 Oscar nominated film about the two British runners competing in the 1924 Paris Olympics.

            I mean real chariots of fire. Or horses of fire? Have you seen that? If … by chance … you actually did witness a horse or chariot of fire, was it descending and then ascending to heaven? With your mentor aboard?

            No? Then how about this … have you seen a whirlwind? Perhaps you have witnessed a tornado or a waterspout. Perhaps you have seen a dust devil swirling across a desert or a plain. Even if you have not seen one in person, you are familiar with the concept, or you have seen them on the evening news.

            As we read this passage from 2 Kings this morning, we notice that there is a LOT going on. We heard the interaction between the prophet Elijah and his protégé, Elisha. We heard Elisha’s repeated refusal to stay behand as Elijah went on ahead. We heard the comments by the other prophets at each location telling Elisha that his “master” was going to be taken up, and Elisha’s response, “I know. Be quiet.” We heard about Elijah parting the Jorden River with his rolled-up cloak. And then we heard about the chariots and horses of fire.

            Now, you may be sitting there thinking, “What’s the big deal? Stuff like that happens to me all the time!”

            Or not.

            Most of what happens in this passage is exceptional … extraordinary … beyond extraordinary. The events in this passage are far beyond our human experience, and because of that, we may have difficulty relating to it.

            On the liturgical calendar, this Sunday is celebrated as Transfiguration Sunday. That is the story found in the Gospels that records the event when Jesus went up the mountain with Peter, James and John, and the glory of God descended upon them. Jesus was transfigured, his clothes glowed as white as pure light. Then Elijah and Moses appeared, and Jesus spoke to them. Then the Voice of God spoke saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5)

            Once again, unless I am badly mistaken, this is not a “normal” occurrence in our lives. We do not come home and say to our spouse, “Hey honey, you will never believe it, but it happened again. I went up on the mountain with Jesus and the glory of God descended … again. Then Moses and Elijah showed up … again. And then the Voice of God told me … again … that Jesus is His Son and that I should listen to him.”

            No. It is a familiar story that we read in scripture, but it is not something that is part of our human experience. It is beyond our comprehension.

            So, as I prepared for this message this morning, I asked myself, ‘What IS in this story that IS part of our human experience?’

            And the answer that I came up with was … relationships.

            At our Bible Study the other day, we commented that this passage from 2 Kings raises a number of questions: Why was it time for Elijah to go up in the whirlwind? What was the relationship between Elijah, Elisha, and the other prophets? How did the other prophets know that Elijah’s time had come to an end? Was Elijah alive when he ascended to heaven? What was the significance of the whirlwind? The chariots and horses of fire?

            Those are all questions that came to mind. And they are all questions that do not have any consensus among scholars and commentators. We could spend a couple of hours this morning exploring those questions … but nobody really wants that. Right? We could have a rollicking discussion postulating all of the possible answers to those questions. Or we could focus upon that which we do understand. Relationships.

            Even that is not a simple task. Relationships are complex and sometimes difficult. There are a lot of different dynamics at play in this passage. Without digging too deeply into the history of prophets in Israel, and hopefully not boring you too much, let us take a little look at what was going on in this story.

            Elijah is considered to be the greatest of Israel’s prophets. He was passionate about his ministry. He loved Yahweh and he was troubled by what had been happening in the faith and worship of his people. His people, the People of Yahweh, had begun worshipping some of the pagan gods either in concert with Yahweh or worse, instead of Yahweh. King Ahab’s wife, Jezebel, worshipped the pagan god, Ba’al, therefor King Ahab worshipped Ba’al, and brought prophets of the pagan god into the king’s court alongside the prophets of Yahweh.

            Elijah was a purist. He and his people were to worship Yahweh and Yahweh alone. He honored the commandment, “You shall have no other gods before me.” Elijah condemned the king and his wife, and the ways that they had corrupted and defiled worship.

            Elijah was also not employed by the king. He was not one of the king’s prophets. He was not one of the king’s sycophants. He was not a “yes man.” Elijah spoke his mind, he spoke his passion, and that meant that he had a very contentious relationship with the king and the king’s wife. Elijah challenged the prophets of Ba’al to a contest on Mount Carmel to prove who was the true god. You can read the whole account in 1 Kings 18, but … spoiler alert … Elijah and Yahweh defeated the prophets of Ba’al. And then all eight hundred of the prophets of Ba’al and Asherah were killed.

            Fearing for his life, Elijah ran away and hid in the wilderness. Then in another powerful and also beautiful story, Yahweh spoke to Elijah in a still, small voice, and sent him to recruit Elisha as his successor. Elijah did as he was instructed and found Elisha plowing his field. Elisha accepted the call to follow Elijah and became his student.

            Was that too much?

            Our passage today is that moment when the student accepted the mantel from his master and followed in his footsteps. Some of you may not be familiar with Elisha, but he had a long and meaningful career as a prophet of the People of God.

            Again, as I contemplated the message for this morning, I asked, “What is in the story for us? What can we take away from this passage?” Relationship. Consider for a moment those in your lives who have served as your mentors. Consider those who have been your role models, those who have shaped your personal lives or your professional lives. Consider what they meant to you … what they still mean to you.

            Over the course of my ministry I have had many mentors, many ministers who helped to shape who I am today. Reverend Clark Schaff, who taught me that a minister can be warm and funny, rather than rigid and stuffy. Reverend John Wilbur, who taught me the role that the church can play in the life of its community. Reverend Nick Carter, who wrote my letter of recommendation when I applied to seminary. Reverend Milt Ryder who performed my wedding, but also suggested that I should consider accepting a call to serve a certain church in Maine.

            Of course, as important as all of those mentors were to me, there is one other that stands out. My mother. My mother, whose ministry I insisted that I did NOT want to follow, the one whose protégé I did NOT want to be, is the one whose ministry inspires me more than any other. Once I saw the light and answered the call of God to pursue my ministry, I often said that if I can be half of the minister that my mother is, I will consider that a success.

            I chose to read the scripture passage this morning from Eugene Peterson’s translation, The Message, because of Elisha’s response to the question from Elijah, “What can I do for you before I am taken from you?”

            Elisha said, “Your life repeated in my life. I want to be a holy man just like you.”

            The intent of this message this morning is not to offer a tribute to my mother. However, the woman did play important role in who I am today. (Including a big part of all of the crazy costumes that I frequently wear.)

            Rather, the intent is for us to consider the role of those people who call us to pursue a greater good. Those who push us, or pull us, or inspire us to reach for something more.

            Elijah loved God with all of his heart, strength, soul and mind. He had a deep and abiding passion for God. He knew that God was great, powerful, and faithful. He also knew that dangers that awaited those who strayed from God’s Way and Will. Elijah loved the Children and God as passionately as he loved Yahweh. That was precisely why he was so hard on them and their wayward kings.

            Elijah passed his passion to his student. He taught him how to love God so that Elisha could teach the people. We heard him say, “I will never leave you. I will never leave you.” Then we saw … perhaps even felt … the passion … the raw emotion … of Elisha as Elijah was taken up from him. He tore his tunic in two, the traditional act of mourning. He called out, Father … Father!” He did not call out, “Teacher! Teacher!” That tells us the character of their relationship.

            The people, the mentors, who shaped my life and ministry will always be with me. Even those who have been taken up to dwell in the heavenly realm will always be with me. And I will never leave them. They are part of me. They still speak to me and instruct me.

            Who does God use to speak to you? Who is it that calls you to be better? Who is it that calls you to love deeper? Who is it that inspires you?

            Take up their mantel … their cloak … and put it on. Wear it well. Wear it faithfully. May we all embody the Way of God, the Way of love in all that we say and do.

            Amen.

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