Getting Stuck or Sticking To It?

2 Kings 2: 1-18 Marianne Niesen February 19, 2012

Last week, when I talked about the healing of the Syrian commander, Naaman, we met Elisha. By then, Elisha was a respected prophet in Israel. But, it hadn’t always been that way. Prophets aren’t hatched. They are born and called and taught. They develop into the people God calls them to be. Elisha started out as a farmer, just minding his own business, plowing his fields. The prophet Elijah was at a particularly rough point in his prophet-life. As his travels took him through the countryside, he passed through the field Elisha was plowing. He was drawn to Elisha and threw his mantle over the young farmer – a sign that signaled he wanted the young Elisha to join him. It was Elisha’s call to the prophetic life. And Elisha, after asking for time to say goodbye to his family, joined Elijah. Elijah and Elisha became like father and son, teacher and student, prophet and disciple. And so it remained. Years passed and then, this . . .

(2 Kings 2: 1-18).

For years Elisha, had worked in the shadow of the ministry of Elijah, and when the time came for Elijah to die, Elisha was there. It is interesting that Elijah tried three times in his dying journey to get away from Elisha. Three times Elijah told Elisha, "Stay here for I am going to go to the next town." From Beth-el (a town with the name ‘house of God’) down to Jericho (the oasis in the desert) and on to the Jordan River (the literal and figurative ‘place of crossing) Elijah went and Elisha followed and wouldn’t leave. We don’t know why Elijah did not want Elisha, already presumed to be his successor, to go with him on his farewell journey. Perhaps he just wanted to spend some solitary time before he met God face-to-face. But, Elisha was relentless and wouldn’t let go. So they traveled together. Elisha, Elijah's servant, resolved to remain faithful to the end.

Then, Elijah asks an interesting question. Turning – perhaps with some exasperation – toward Elisha, he asks what do you want from me? You’d think that would have been resolved long ago, as they lived and worked and learned together. At that, Elisha asks for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. To our ears, that might sound a bit greedy or presumptuous. Make me twice as good as you ever were. This is where it helps to know something about the Bible. Elisha’s request relates to the words in Deuteronomy 21:17, which indicate that the firstborn son was entitled to a double share of the father's estate, while the younger sons would get only a single share. Elisha is requesting that he be officially designated as Elijah's firstborn, his rightful heir, receiving double what the other prophets would receive which, perhaps, would indicate publicly to the other prophets that Elisha would now be the "lead prophet."

Elijah responds to his protégé, saying that this would be a very difficult request to grant. If however, God permitted Elisha to see Elijah when he was taken up to heaven, that would be a sign that God had granted Elisha's request. And, of course, that is precisely what happened. Elisha saw Elijah’s spectacular departure. Not only was there the whirlwind, which was anticipated, but there also were the chariot and horses of fire, which apparently were a surprise. The prophet Elijah left behind his mantle and a double portion of his spirit. Elisha takes the mantle and returns to the Jordan River and strikes the waters with this invocation, "Where is the Lord God of Elijah?" And, of course, when the waters part, all are assured that the power of God which once rested with Elijah was now with his “firstborn” - Elisha. (Birth order was a big thing back then!)

One of the fascinating things about this story happens toward the end. In fact, I have purposely included a few extra verses to the ones noted in your bulletin. The flashy part of all this is usually the whirlwind and the chariots and such. And then Elisha striking the water and it parting for him as it did for Elijah. That’s pretty impressive stuff, you must admit! But then, did you notice what happened. He got across and the waiting cadre of prophets acknowledge that Elisha has the ‘spirit’ of Elijah. Still, what do they want to do? Let’s get together a posse and go back over and see if we can find Elijah resting on some mountain somewhere! Maybe he is not really gone. Yeah, Elish, we think you’re pretty special and all but, well, frankly, we liked the old guy better. What’s a first-born-double-spirit-receiver to do? Elisha shrugs. Go if you must but he’s not there. Your searching will just hold us back from doing what Elijah, what God wants us to do now. But the experienced, old guard prophets will not relent. Off they go to find Elijah.

It’s so human, isn’t it? No matter how ready we think we are for change, we usually aren’t quite ready. Not really. Not if it means changing. Elisha was called to succeed Elijah not duplicate him. He picked up the mantle of the prophetic office, charged with turning the word of God loose on another generation. He would deal with problems and issues Elijah couldn’t have imagined. And so it is. The Church in each generation must pick up the mantle by retelling the stories of God's mighty acts – in new ways, with new people and new songs - thus releasing God's word and God’s call on a new generation so that they can be empowered for mission. But it often means change. Doing a new thing for a new time.

This week, Lent begins. Over the past several years, we have celebrated Lent with a series of Wednesday night evening prayer services. We are going to do that again. This year, Tyler is working with some others to design a service that is perhaps a little different than we have experienced before. New music. A different style of prayer. New leadership. I love what he has designed – but it will be new. As a church community we have been committed to finding ways to maintain things we have always done – like a strong children’s program and great traditional worship, while at the same time looking toward the future with a developing young adult ministry and new forms of music and prayer. Now, I’m not comparing myself to Elijah here! But I am suggesting that we as a faith community must always keep these Elijah-Elisha moments in mind. The job of a Church is fundamentally to partner with the spirit of God and discover the ways God is at work in our world and our community today. And the way we move forward will involve change. Still, change need not always be painful.

Consider the Oreo cookie. (Bet you didn’t think I’d go there! But it is Mardi Gras, after all, so a food metaphor seemed appropriate!) Did you know that the Oreo has been America's most popular cookie since it was introduced one hundred years ago, in 1912? Did you know that the average "original" Oreo cookie is 1 inch wide and 1/3 of an inch tall? Did you know that, when calculated in January 2010, over 491 billion Oreo cookies had been sold to date and they would fill up the world's largest freight train, consisting of 660 freight cars, more than 45 times? Did you know the St. Louis Arch is 15,120 Oreo cookies high or 630 feet. Or that the Golden Gate Bridge is 28,800 Oreo cookies long or 4,200 feet. If every Oreo cookie ever made were stacked on top of each other, the pile would reach to the moon and back more than five times. Then again, if placed side-by-side, they would encircle the earth, at the equator more than 400 times. An Oreo cookie is 29% crème and 71% cookie. More than 7.5 billion Oreo cookies are consumed each year, which comes out to 625 million per month and 20.5 million per day. And, here’s a little known and totally un-useful fact . . . the floral design on the Oreo cookie consists of 12 flowers per side. And most people don’t know that because they eat them while counting. [1]

Given the popularity of the Oreo, one would think, that all that needed to be done was maintain excellence. Why mess with a good thing? But, if you know anything about Oreos, you know that the Oreo continues to be in development. There are places that sell – and there are recipes for - fried Oreos. We Americans think we can take anything and make it better by dipping it in batter and deep frying it. That's exactly what they do with these deep fried Oreos. So much for ‘healthy’ cookie eating. And, there have been a number of varieties of Oreos: Original, Mini, Chocolate Creme, Chocolate Creme Mini, Reduced Fat, White Chocolate Covered, Fudge Mint Covered, Oreo Barz, Big Stuff, Halloween Oreos, Christmas Oreos, UhOh Oreos (which only lasted about 5 months and was a reverse opposite Oreo: vanilla cookie with chocolate filling), Golden Oreo, Fudge Covered Oreo, and Oreo Double Stuff. And, in 1998, Oreos were even made Kosher. [2]

Now, if even a cookie company knows the need for change, how much more important is it for you and me? We are about the business of something far more important than sharing cookies. We are to share the love of God, do the work Jesus did of healing and feeding the hungry, and sharing the good news of grace. And, as the world changes, the how of doing that must also change. We need to hold the values of the past even as we move into the future.

I can’t help but think that one of our best examples of that was our own retired pastor George Harper. How he loved our choir and our music here and jazz Sundays and other kinds of music when we had it. We had a conversation soon after I returned from my sabbatical in 2006. There had been challenges and disagreements among us as we moved into this new space. Some people didn’t like children’s time, some people didn’t like the screen – the fact was, we were in the midst of big changes and I remember George telling me be patient, just be patient. We’ll get there. And the ‘there’ as he described it to me was simply being a community in mission, a church that values diversity, that welcomes, accepts and loves all people, that honors the past, adapts for the future and is faithful to sharing the grace of God. I can honestly say that George never told me how he would have done something – because it wasn’t about him. It was about being the people God calls us to be which will always mean growth and change.

A long time ago – probably in the late 70’s – I was a Catholic nun-in-training, living in a small convent in Winona, Minnesota. I was teaching high school at the time and Mother Teresa came to town to do a talk at a large convention of Catholic educators. For some reasons, she stayed at our convent. I saw her first at the evening meal and was amazed at how tiny she was. She ate with the head nuns, the leaders. But then she asked to meet with the ‘young nuns.’ I remember most how totally focused she was on talking about Jesus. No big theological discussions. Jesus. Sharing the love of Jesus. Being Jesus in the world. That was the whole thing for her. And I remember that, in a heavily accented voice, she said something like most of you cannot do what I do. That’s OK. God doesn’t ask that. Just be faithful. Love God and follow Jesus. Be good nuns. Be Jesus in the world. Eventually, I obviously failed in the ‘staying a good nun’ part. I left that life to become a pastor. Still, I think her words capture the challenge to which our scripture calls us today. We are to take up the mantle, to love God and share God’s word not like Elijah or Elisha but however we can in our day and time. We are to follow Jesus not doing the same things as a George Harper or a Mother Teresa. We must find our particular call. And, as we are faithful, a double portion of God’s spirit will be given to us as it has been given in every generation.

Even our celebration of Mardi Gras today is a reminder of this rhythm of faith. Beads and jazz today. Next week, Lent. May our journey from Mardi Gras to Ash Wednesday to Easter this year empower us all to engage joyfully with the spirit of God whose mantle rests on us all.

[1] Oreo idea found in the sermon A Double Portion by Billy Strayhorn at esermons.com.

[2] Oreo details found in a google search at http://projectsbyjen.com/Projects/oreo2004/trivia.htm