Have you ever read a passage in the Bible and thought – wow – that’s exactly what I’m going through – or, that’s exactly how I feel at present. When I read today’s Old Testament reading from 1 Kings about Elijah that’s exactly how I felt. It is enough; now, O Lord.
Elijah actually wanted to die. I certainly don’t feel that way – but if the reports are correct, sadly, there are growing numbers of people around Australia, in fact the world, who are reaching out to organisations such as Life Line – including, and worrying, a growing number of children.
What we first need to understand about Elijah is that he is exhausted. But it is not physical exhaustion that he is experiencing but spiritual exhaustion. Which is what he meant by “I am no better than my ancestors”. You see, Elijah has been fight what seemed to him to be a losing battle. Sadly we don’t hear all the exchange between Elijah and the angel but in later verses he explains his exhaustion
The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too. Elijah feels he’s the only one left. As Christians we too can feel isolated as if the whole world is moving away from God and we are of no worth.
This week we are asked to fill out the 2021 Census. There is a huge push by many celebrities in Australia urging people to tick the “No Religion” box in an attempt to reduce the support given to churches and church institutions. That’s not my words – that is what their terms of reference say. We also see in the Victorian Parliament a push to have the Lord’s Prayer removed from the opening of Parliament. What we see here in all this – whether it’s the weariness from Covid, the weariness of attacks on the Church, is the need to distinguish between physical weariness and spiritual weariness. No doubt Elijah experienced both. He had been running for his life and was physically drained. So he deals with his physical exhaustion as he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. But that doesn’t attend to his spiritual exhaustion – the sense that he is all alone fighting a battle that seemingly cannot be won. So the angel provides him with spiritual food: The angel touches him and says: Get up and eat.” He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him, and said, “Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.” He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.
When he reaches the mount of God, God will assure him that he is not in the battle alone. God will speak to him – a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went. And when he goes God will tell Elijah that he is not alone even if it feels that way. God lets him know that he has reserved seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.
So the message here and also in our other 2 readings which I’ll touch on also, is that we need to recognise that our battle at present is not physical, it is spiritual. And if we don’t understand that then we are in danger of giving up because there’s no point – we’re losing an unwinnable battle. But remember what Paul says later in his letter to the Ephesians: He says our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. And that’s why he says in the verse prior to this to be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
Paul says in our reading today that the devil is looking for way into our spiritual lives. He says; Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil a foothold into your life.
For spiritual warfare we need spiritual strength. For spiritual strength we need spiritual food. And God has given us food and water as he gave to Elijah. He has given us the water of our Baptism as a reminder that we are not alone. I AM with you always till the end of the age, Jesus tells us. In Holy Communion he says – take and eat – take and drink this IS my body and blood given and shed for you. The Jews in our Gospel reading show us the misunderstanding of physical and spiritual awareness: Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” They couldn’t see the spiritual food and drink Jesus was offering because they were focusing on his human pedigree – he’s the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know.
If we see our church as a physical presence only with physical demands then it is no wonder the numbers are dwindling. It gets tiring complying with all the physical demands of being the church which is made even more so since Covid came onto the scene. But even before then it was tiring with all the compliancy all the rosters. Worship is where we receive the spiritual food we need for our journey. Like the angel who said to Elijah – Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you – we too need to equip ourselves with the spiritual food of God’s Word and Sacraments. And then when we are home we need to top up that spiritual food with the armour of God. Through prayer and reading of God’s word.
And we need to support each other as the angel supported Elijah. And let us never forget this this is God’s battle that he has already won.
Let us also pray for those who have given up the fight because it has gotten all too hard. Let us not criticise or write them off but pray for them. Let us continue to feed on the Bread of Life and put on the full armour of God as we stand firm against the devil’s evil scheme. Let us not give the devil a foothold into our life and keep trusting in God who is with us till the end of the age and let us put on the full armour of God.
