Transfiguration Of Our Lord
I was talking to Ann Roberson the other day and in the course of that conversation, she asked me if we had watched the Grammys. I said that, no, we hadn’t and that I hadn’t really watched any of those kinds of shows since I left for college. But I did say that we would watch them before that in part, because we only had three TV channels to choose from. Four if you counted PBS. Now, of course, there’s so much to choose from. For all intents and purposes, you can watch whatever you want whenever you want. Unless, of course, you’re watching the latest season of True Detective which only releases new episodes once a week! Not that I’m bitter about that…
One of the shows that Anke and I love to go back to is called “The IT Crowd”. It’s a British comedy about a small three-person IT department at a company called Reynholm Industries. It’s never clear what, exactly, Reynholm Industries does. One of the running gags throughout the series is that when they do, in fact, receive a tech support call, the very first thing they say is, “Have you tried turning it off and turning it on again?” In fact, at one point they have a reel-to-reel tape player hooked up to the phone system so that they don’t even have to answer anymore. It’s just a recording of one of the characters saying, “Have you tried turning it off and turning it on again?”
So, essentially, what we would call a “hard reset”. I’m assuming that this is the case for all of us, but honestly sometimes that’s all that’s needed! Whatever gremlin it is that is plaguing your system, sometimes all it takes is turning it off and turning it on again and, PRESTO!! Problem fixed!! It’s like being given a fresh start!
Now what would you say if I were to tell you that one of our readings for today contains one of the first recorded instances in human history of a hard reset. I had never picked up on it before, in spite of dealing with this story every three years in the lectionary cycle for the past 30 years. It’s nothing that I discovered. It was pointed out in one of the commentaries I read on the story from 2 Kings. Jason Byassee is senior pastor of Timothy Eaton Memorial Church in Toronto, ON, and he previously taught preaching and held the Butler Chair in Homiletics at the Vancouver School of Theology. He points out that there is a problem brewing in Israel. Israel is failing to live up to the covenant. Its kings are offering sacrifice to false gods, putting up pagan images for worship. And Elijah doesn’t spare them one bit when calling them out on it. He holds nothing back.
Here’s where things get interesting. Look at the places that are named in the story: They go to Gilgal, Bethel, and Jericho. Now you might be thinking to yourself, “Well, so what? They might as well go to Hagerstown, Boonsboro, and Westminster”. And I get that response. I would have just brushed right past that little detail as I have for the past thirty years, had it not been for this commentary. Here’s what I never realized: Those places - Gilgal, Bethel, and Jericho - Those are places Israel conquered coming into the promised land. Elijah and Elisha are reversing Israel’s entry into the promised land.
Again, Israel’s not living up to the covenant. The kings are dallying with false gods and pagan practices. So symbolically, the two prophets are rolling back Israel’s entry into the promised land. They reverse it. They are leaving. When they cross the Jordan, they do it in the reverse direction that Joshua did, backing out the way Israel came in. The prophets arrive at the Jordan River. Elijah rolls up his mantle, so it looks like Moses’ staff. He strikes the river, and it splits in two, like the Red Sea once did, and they out of Israel’s promised land.
And then the fireworks. A whirlwind. A chariot of fire. And Elisha’s nearly incoherent response. Understandably so. But here’s where I take issue with the story as presented, because it stops before the real ending. We have the story as it ends here in our reading for today: “But when [Elisha] could no longer see [Elijah], he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.” And…? What happens next? What happened with Elisha’s audacious request to receive a double portion of Elijah’s spirit?
Well, here’s how the story really ends: 13 And [Elisha] took up the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 Then he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the water, saying, “Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” And when he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over. (2 Kings 2:13-14) Elisha goes back to the Jordan, he splits it in two Just like Elijah (which answers the question as to whether his audacious request was granted), and he crosses back into the promised land.
It’s a hard reset. And Elisha gets what he asks for. Traditionally, Elijah is credited with doing eight miracles in scripture. And Elisha? 16. Double.
Something else I learned from this commentary is exactly how bold an ask it is on Elisha’s part. I’ve always read that line and thought to myself, “OK. So, maybe he’s just making sure he’s got what it takes to get the job done.” You know? But Elisha is actually asking a very brave thing: a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. Literally, the Hebrew asks for a double mouthful of Elijah’s spirit. A second helping, a bellyful. This is partly a reference to inheritance. Elisha is asking to be Elijah’s firstborn son. That’s a big bold ask.
When we lose an elder, we feel that loss. We think, “No one can measure up; things will get worse.” But Elisha defies that logic. He says, “Elijah, whatever made you special, I want more than that. Double that.”
As I was thinking about all this it occurred to me that we’ve been through our own hard reset. We literally had to turn everything off, and then turn it on again. And this past year started off as a real nail-biter. But man, oh man, I’ve got to say that God is good. God is good! All the time! And y’all are amazing!
But our results are not a given. In fact, they are far from the norm. We made a big ask of God, and God provided. And we made a big ask of you, and you responded faithfully. And not only did we merely survive this past year, we actually grew as a congregation!
So, I think it’s time to be even bolder. Like, Elisha level boldness. With God’s grace we have done more than merely survived. So let’s go big!
Our prayers are often so small. We should ask God for so much that God says, “Woah, hey, that’s hard! Maybe ease up on me a little?” When Jesus tells the disciples he’s going away, he says, “Actually, you want me to go, because when the Holy Spirit comes, you’ll do greater things than I ever did.” Uh, greater than raising the dead? Greater than feeding 5,000? Sure! Why not?? A double mouthful!!
So, this is my prayer for this year, and I’d like you to join in it with me. You know how when organizations do strategic planning they’ll sometimes adopt what’s called a “BHAG”? It stands for Big Hairy Audacious Goal. Well this is my BHAP for this year. My Big Hair Audacious Prayer. I want us to so grow in our discipleship that by this time next year, we will have 20 percent disciples living out their faith here at Calvary. Because I’ll let you in on a little clue: Having people join us on our faith journey together doesn’t happen because of me. And it doesn’t happen because of great advertising. It doesn’t happen because someone happens to see one of our Facebook or Instagram posts. It doesn’t happen because someone buys a cheeseburger from us. Don’t get me wrong. All those things help, but they’re not what convinces someone to come to worship. Nope. The most effective means of having people come to check us out is you all. The biggest predictor of someone coming to a church for the first time is whether someone invites them or not. I’m not talking about hitting someone over the head with a bible. But what you can do is to share about the amazing things that are happening here! Like the fact that we grew last year and ended the year with a pretty amazing surplus. Or the fact that we have created a warm and welcoming community here that gets it right most of the time. Not all the time. We’re not perfect. But we’re pretty good at what we do. You can mention the community outreach that we do: whether it’s being in the Christmas parade or running the concession stand or collecting money for the food pantry at Morgan Chapel. Those are all things that speak to people and let them know that we’re interested in more than people just showing up on Sunday morning. We want you to have an experience here that changes your life for the better, so that you, in turn, can go out there and be source of change for the better in the world around us. God, give us a double portion of the spirit you gave to Elijah. Actually no, let’s go even bigger. Give us a double portion of the spirit you gave to Elisha. Make us bold in love and grace, dear God. And may that bold love and grace be the thing that empowers us to share with others the joy and support that we experience here. In Jesus name we pray. AMEN