LISTENING TO THE SILENCE
1 Kings 19:1-13a
Rev. Paul Wrightman 10/29/23
THIS MORNING FINDS US IN THE NINTH CENTURY BCE
IN THE NORTHERN KINGDOM OF ISRAEL
WITH THE PROPHET ELIJAH.
I SPARED YOU THE READING OF THE BLOODY ACCOUNT
OF ELIJAH’S SACRIFICIAL CONTEST WITH THE PROPHET-PRIESTS
OF THE COMPETING CANAANITE GOD, BAAL.
BUT I NEED TO GIVE A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THIS EVENT
THAT IMMEDIATELY PRECEDED TODAY’S TEXT
TO PROVIDE YOU WITH THE CONTEXT FOR UNDERSTANDING
WHAT GOD IS UP TO WITH ELIJAH
IN THE READING THAT YOU JUST HEARD.
AHAB WAS ONE OF THE MANY APOSTATE KINGS
OF THE NORTHERN KINGDOM.
HIS QUEEN, JEZEBEL, WHO WAS A CANAANITE,
BROUGHT WITH HER HER OWN GODS,
INCLUDING THE CANAANITE HIGH-GOD, BAAL.
IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING TODAY’S SCRIPTURE READING,
ELIJAH HAS PROVOKED A CONFRONTATION
BETWEEN HIMSELF, A PROPHET OF THE GOD OF ISRAEL,
AND THE 450 PROPHET-PRIESTS OF BAAL.
AT ELIJAH’S INSTIGATION, THIS CONFRONTATION
HAS TAKEN THE FORM OF A COMPETITION
TO SEE WHICH GOD WILL SEND FIRE FROM HEAVEN
TO CONSUME A SACRIFICED BULL.
THE PRIESTS OF BAAL SPEND ALL MORNING
CAJOLING THEIR GODS TO MAKE AN APPEARANCE.
THE BIBLICAL TEXT TELLS US TERSELY:
“BUT THERE WAS NO VOICE, NO ANSWER, AND NO RESPONSE.”
(1 Kings 18:29b)
ELIJAH HAS HIS BULL DRENCHED WITH WATER THREE TIMES,
AND CALLS UPON THE GOD OF ISRAEL TO SEND FIRE.
FIRE FALLS FROM HEAVEN AND CONSUMES THE BULL.
THE MULTITUDE OF ASSEMBLED ISRAELITES FALL ON THEIR FACES
AND PROCLAIM THE GOD OF ISRAEL TO BE THE TRUE GOD.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT IS CRUCIAL FOR TODAY’S DISCUSSION:
ELIJAH TAKES ADVANTAGE OF THE SITUATION
AND ORDERS THE SLAUGHTER OF THE 450 PRIESTS OF BAAL,
WHICH THE MOB OF ISRAELITES IS ONLY TOO HAPPY TO DO.
QUEEN JEZEBEL IS ENRAGED AT THE KILLING OF HER PRIESTS
AND MAKES A SOLEMN VOW TO KILL ELIJAH.
ELIJAH FLEES FOR HIS LIFE.
AN ANGEL OF GOD FEEDS ELIJAH IN THE WILDERNESS
AND ORDERS HIM TO JOURNEY TO MT. HOREB,
ANOTHER NAME FOR MT. SINAI.
SHELTERING IN A CAVE ON THE MOUNTAIN,
ELIJAH HAS A CLOSE ENCOUNTER WITH GOD,
DESCRIBED IN THE WELL-KNOWN PASSAGE
WHERE GOD TURNS OUT TO BE PRESENT
NOT IN A VIOLENT WIND,
NOT IN A VIOLENT EARTHQUAKE,
AND NOT IN A VIOLENT FIRE.
QUITE SURPRISINGLY, GOD TURNS OUT TO BE PRESENT
IN THE FORM OF “A SOUND OF SHEER SILENCE,”
AS THE NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION
PRINTED OUT IN OUR BULLETIN HAS IT,
OR IN THE FORM OF “A STILL SMALL VOICE,”
AS MORE TRADITIONAL TRANSLATIONS HAVE IT.
READING IN THE SPACE BETWEEN THE LINES,
AS MANY JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN BIBLICAL SCHOLARS
WOULD ENCOURAGE US TO DO,
WE GET THE SENSE THAT GOD IS SICK-AND-TIRED
OF ALL THE VIOLENCE THAT HAS BEEN AND STILL IS
BEING CARRIED OUT IN GOD’S NAME.
WE GET THE SENSE THAT GOD IS SICK-AND-TIRED
OF ALL THE MIGHTY DISPLAYS OF POWER
CARRIED OUT IN GOD’S NAME,
AND THAT GOD IS MAKING AN ALMOST-FORMAL
DECLARATION THAT GOD IS NOT TO BE FOUND
IN THE VIOLENCE OF WIND, EARTHQUAKE, AND FIRE,
BUT IN THE SHALOM, IN THE BLESSING
OF “A STILL SMALL VOICE.”
IN OTHER WORDS, GOD IS TELLING GOD’S PEOPLE
THAT GOD IS NOT TO BE FOUND WHERE THEY EXPECT
TO FIND GOD –
NAMELY, IN VARIOUS FORMS OF VIOLENCE,
BUT THAT GOD IS TO BE FOUND WHERE LEAST EXPECTED,
NAMELY, IN STILLNESS, AND SMALLNESS, AND SILENCE.
ANOTHER WAY OF PUTTING THIS IS TO SAY
THAT GOD IS TELLING THE PEOPLE THAT THE DIVINE PRESENCE
IS TO BE FOUND IN THEIR INTERIOR LIFE, IN AN I-THOU
RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD THAT TAKES PLACE IN THEIR HEARTS
AND THEN OVERFLOWS INTO THEIR LIVES.
BUT THE PEOPLE WERE NOT READY TO HEAR THIS MESSAGE
THEY CONTINUED IN THEIR HABIT – THEIR ADDICTION –
OF PROJECTING THEIR VIOLENCE ONTO GOD
AND THEN CLAIMING THAT VERY VIOLENCE
AS PART OF GOD’S NATURE AND GOD’S WILL.
MANY CHRISTIANS STILL DO THIS, FINDING MORE
MEANING IN ELIJAH’S SLAUGHTER OF THE PRIESTS OF BAAL,
THAN IN GOD’S IMPLIED REPUDIATION OF ELIJAH’S VIOLENCE
BY REVEALING GODSELF TO ELIJAH AS “A SOUND OF SHEER SILENCE,”
OR “A STILL SMALL VOICE.”
IN PAST SERMONS I HAVE SHARED WITH YOU
SEVERAL CRUCIAL PRINCIPLES FOR UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLE:
THESE INTERPRETIVE PRINCIPLES ARE ACCOMMODATION, CONSISTENCY, DEVELOPMENT, AND TOPOGRAPHY.
LET’S BRIEFLY REVIEW EACH IN TURN.
ACCOMMODATION MEANS THAT GOD CONDESCENDS, AS IT WERE,
TO MEET US WHERE WE’RE AT.
WHERE WE’RE AT IS QUITE OFTEN NOT WHERE GOD IS AT.
CONSISTENCY MEANS THAT GOD’S NATURE DOES NOT CHANGE –
GOD HAS BEEN, STILL IS, AND WILL ALWAYS CONTINUE TO BE
LOVE PERSONIFIED.
IT IS OUR UNDERSTANDING OF GOD’S NATURE THAT CHANGES.
DEVELOPMENT MEANS THAT OVER TIME OUR UNDERSTANDING
OF GOD’S NATURE TENDS TO GET DEEPER
AND HIGHER AND BROADER.
NOW LET’S APPLY TOPOGRAPHY TO THE STUDY OF SCRIPTURE.
MOST OF US HAVE SEEN TOPOGRAPHICAL MAPS
WHICH INDICATE HIGHER AND LOWER ELEVATIONS
FOR THE PURPOSES OF BACKPACKING AND MOUNTAIN CLIMBING.
TOPOGRAPHY AS AN INTERPRETIVE PRINCIPLE
WITH REGARD TO THE BIBLE MEANS THAT SCRIPTURE TEXTS
ARE NOT ALL CREATED EQUAL.
SOME TEXTS ARE “HIGHER” THAN OTHERS.
WHERE TWO OR MORE TEXTS SEEM TO BE
IN OPPOSITION OR CONTRADICTION TO EACH OTHER,
WE GO WITH THE HIGHER.
THE PRINCIPLE OF BIBLICAL TOPOGRAPHY
CAN BE TRACED BACK TO JESUS HIMSELF.
HE USES IT ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS.
A GOOD EXAMPLE WOULD BE FROM THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT,
WHERE JESUS STATES:
“YOU HAVE HEARD THAT IT WAS SAID,
‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AND HATE YOUR ENEMY.’
BUT I SAY TO YOU, LOVE YOUR ENEMIES. . .”
(Matthew 5:43-44a)
PARAPHRASING TODAY’S SCRIPTURE READING
ACCORDING TO THE PRINCIPLE OF BIBLICAL TOPOGRAPHY,
WE WOULD HAVE GOD SAYING TO ELIJAH,
AND, BY EXTENSION, TO US:
“IN THE PAST YOU THOUGHT YOU FOUND ME
IN VARIOUS FORMS OF VIOLENCE.
BUT LISTEN UP.
I AM REALLY TO BE FOUND IN THE STILLNESS OF YOUR HEART
WHEN YOU ARE SILENT
AND LET ME SOFTLY SPEAK WITH YOU.”
IN TODAY’S BIBLE TEXT FROM THE NINTH CENTURY BCE,
WE FIND THE BEGINNING OF THE COLLAPSE
OF A VAST SYSTEM OF THEOLOGY THAT WAS A MISTAKE.
IT WAS A MISTAKE BECAUSE IT TOOK
OUR HUMAN ADDICTION TO VIOLENCE
AND PROJECTED IT ONTO GOD.
WITH THE EXCEPTION OF A BRIEF THREE HUNDRED YEAR INTERVAL
IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE MINISTRY OF JESUS,
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH HAS BEEN LIVING OUT
THE SAME MISTAKE THAT ELIJAH MADE WAY BACK IN 900 BCE.
THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THERE ARE SIGNS
THAT THE VAST EDIFICE OF CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY
THAT IS VIOLENT AND HAS GOD DEMANDING BLOOD
IS BEGINNING TO CRACK AND TO COLLAPSE.
THE FACT THAT MILLIONS OF PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD
SIMPLY REFUSE TO CONNECT WITH CHURCHES
THAT PREACH A VIOLENT GOD IS ONE SIGN.
THE REDISCOVERY OF THE FACT THAT JESUS LIVED, BREATHED,
AND TAUGHT CREATIVE NON-VIOLENCE IS ANOTHER.
ANOTHER SIGN IS THE VITALITY OF LIBERATION THEOLOGIES
LIVED OUT BY A BROAD SPECTRUM OF THOSE
WHO HAVE BEEN OPPRESSED, OFTEN IN THE NAME
OF AN OPPRESSIVE GOD.
THUS WE HAVE LIBERATION THEOLOGIES
WRITTEN BY WOMEN IN GENERAL,
MINORITY WOMEN IN PARTICULAR,
SOUTH AMERICAN CHRISTIANS, ASIAN CHRISTIANS,
AFRICAN CHRISTIANS, AND GAY CHRISTIANS.
THE SLOW-MOTION COLLAPSE OF RACIST, SEXIST,
COLONIALIST, MILITARIST, FUNDAMENTALIST,
AND HOMOPHOBIC CHRISTIANITY IS SOMETHING TO BE CELEBRATED.
FROM THE RUINS WILL ARISE A CHRISTIANITY
THAT HAS RECOMMITTED ITSELF TO LIVING OUT
THE ACTUAL TEACHINGS OF JESUS,
ESPECIALLY IN THE AREAS OF CREATIVE NON-VIOLENCE,
LOVE OF NEIGHBOR AND ENEMY,
AND A WILDLY INCLUSIVE DIVERSITY.
OUT OF THE ASHES WILL COME NEW LIFE.
SO FAR WE’VE BEEN TALKIJNG ABOUT
THE BIBLICAL AND THEOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF OUR TEXT.
BUT OUR TEXT INCLUDES SOME SUBSTANTIAL
PERSONAL IMPLICATIONS AS WELL.
ON A PERSONAL LEVEL, OUR TEXT IMPLIES THAT PRECISELY
WHEN AND WHERE WE EXPERIENCE THE COLLAPSE
OF ANYTHING DEAR TO US –
THE COLLAPSE OF A FALSE WAY OF THINKING AND BEING,
THE COLLAPSE OF OUR FINANCES,
THE COLLAPSE OF A CHERISHED DREAM,
THE COLLAPSE OF AN IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIP,
THE COLLAPSE OF OUR HEALTH,
THE COLLAPSE OF THE HEALTH OF SOMEONE WE LOVE –
OUR TEXT TEACHES US THAT PRECISELY WHERE AND WHEN
WE EXPERIENCE A COLLAPSE,
PRECISELY THERE AND THEN NEW LIFE IS WAITING TO BE BORN,
TAKE ROOT, AND FLOURISH.
OUT OF THE ASHES WILL COME NEW LIFE.
I FOUND A POWERFUL EXAMPLE OF THIS PRINCIPLE
OF NEW LIFE SPRINGING FROM COLLAPSE
IN THE BOOK CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE UNSINKABLE SOUL.
HEIDI MARTOZ WRITES:
“LEGS. WE RUN, SKI, CLIMB MOUNTAINS AND SWIM
WITHOUT THINKING MUCH ABOUT THEM.
MY HUSBAND SCOTT HAD USED HIS LEGS
TO WIN DOWNHILL SKI SCHOLARSHIPS IN COLLEGE
AND CLIMB TO THE TOP OF THE GRAND TETONS
IN JACKSON HOLE, WYOMING.
THEN, WITHOUT WARNING, DURING AN UNSEASONABLY
WARM APRIL, A TUMOR WAS DISCOVERED IN SCOTT’S SPINAL CORD.
WE WERE TOLD DEATH OR PARALYSIS COULD BE THE END RESULT.
OUR CHILDREN – CHASE, JILLIAN AND HAYDEN –
RANGED IN AGE FROM SEVEN TO TWO.
THEY DIDN’T REALLY UNDERSTAND ALL THE ‘BAD STUFF’
THAT WAS GOING ON –
BUT THEY WERE THE BIGGEST CHEERLEADERS
AND THE BEST TEACHERS
WHEN SCOTT FOUND OUT THAT HIS LIFE WOULD GO ON
BUT HE WAS PARALYZED FROM THE RIB CAGE DOWN.
ADULTS SOMETIMES GET STUCK LOOKING AT THE THINGS
THAT ARE GONE.
I WOULD THINK ABOUT THE CAMPING TRIPS WE’D NEVER TAKE,
THE MOUNTAINS SCOTT WOULD NEVER CLIMB
AND THE FRESH POWDER HE’D NEVER SKI WITH HIS CHILDREN.
CHASE, JILLIAN AND HAYDEN WERE TOO BUSY
WITH THE BUSINESS OF LIFE TO GET BOGGED DOWN
WITH WHAT THEIR DAD COULDN’T DO.
THEY STOOD ON THE PEDALS OF HIS WHEELCHAIR
AND SCREAMED WITH DELIGHT AS HE RACED THEM
DOWN QUIET HOSPITAL CORRIDORS.
THE DOCTORS SAID TO PREPARE SCOTT FOR LIFE IN A WHEELCHAIR
BECAUSE IF HE THOUGHT HE’D WALK AGAIN – AND COULD NOT –
HE WOULD BE DEPRESSED.
THE KIDS DIDN’T LISTEN TO THE DOCTORS;
THEY URGED THEIR DAD TO ‘TRY TO STAND UP.’
I WAS WORRIED THAT SCOTT WOULD FALL DOWN;
THE KIDS LAUGHED WITH HIM WHEN HE FELL
AND ROLLED ON THE GRASS.
I CRIED BUT THEY URGED HIM TO ‘TRY AGAIN.’
IN THE MIDDLE OF ALL THESE CHANGES IN OUR LIVES,
I TOOK A DRAWING CLASS AT A LOCAL COLLEGE.
FOR A WEEK, THE INSTRUCTOR TOLD US
WE COULDN’T DRAW THINGS,
WE COULD ONLY DRAW SPACES BETWEEN THINGS.
ONE DAY AS I SAT UNDER A GIANT PINE TREE
DRAWING THE SPACES BETWEEN THE BRANCHES,
I BEGAN TO SEE THE WORLD AS SCOTT AND THE KIDS SAW IT.
I DIDN’T SEE THE BRANCHES AS OBSTACLES
THAT COULD STOP A WHEELCHAIR
FROM TRAVELING ACROSS THE LAWN,
I SAW ALL THE SPACES THAT WOULD ALLOW WHEELCHAIRS,
PEOPLE AND EVEN SMALL ANIMALS TO SNEAK THROUGH.
WHEN I WASN’T FOCUSED ON THE BRANCHES –
OR THE OBSTACLES OF LIFE –
I GAINED A NEW APPRECIATION FOR ALL THE SPACES.
ODDLY ENOUGH, WHETHER YOU DRAW
THE SPACES OR THE BRANCHES,
THE PICTURE LOOKS PRETTY MUCH THE SAME;
IT’S JUST HOW YOU SEE IT THAT’S DIFFERENT.
WHEN I JOINED MY FAMILY IN LOOKING FOR THE ‘SPACES,’
A NEW WORLD OPENED UP.
IT WASN’T THE SAME – SOMETIMES WE WERE FRUSTRATED –
BUT IT WAS ALWAYS REWARDING
BECAUSE WE WERE WORKING TOGETHER.
AS WE TRIED ALL THESE NEW ADVENTURES,
SCOTT BEGAN TO STAND UP
AND THEN WALK WITH THE USE OF A CANE.
HE STILL HAS NO FEELING IN HIS LOWER BODY AND LEGS,
HE CAN’T RUN OR RIDE A BIKE,
BUT HE ENJOYS SO MANY NEW EXPERIENCES.
WE LEARNED YOU DON’T NEED FEELING IN YOUR LEGS
TO FLY A KITE, PLAY A BOAD GAME, PLANT A TREE,
FLOAT IN A MOUNTAIN LAKE OR ATTEND A SCHOOL PROGRAM.
LEGS AREN’T NEEDED TO HUG, BANGAGE A CUT
OR TALK SOMEONE THROUGH A BAD DREAM.
SOME PEOPLE SEE ROADBLOCKS;
SCOTT AND THE KIDS SEE WIDE-OPEN-SPACES WITH ROOM ENOUGH
FOR ALL THE LOVE AND HOPE A HEART CAN BEAR.” (End Quote)
I SEE A CORRELATION – A CO-RELATION –
BETWEEN THIS INSPIRING STORY AND OUR SCRIPTURE TEXT.
THE SPACES THAT HEIDI LEARNED TO DRAW ECHO
THE “SOUND OF SHEER SILENCE,” OR “STILL, SMALL VOICE”
OF GOD’S SPEECH TO US.
JUST AS THOSE SPACES THAT HEIDI DREW WERE FILLED
WITH POSSIBILITY AND NEW LIFE, SO ARE THE SPACES
THAT GOD CREATES IN OUR LIVES AFTER A SIGNIFICANT LOSS.
OFTEN THE LOSS CREATES THE SPACE FOR GOD TO SNEAK IN
AND FILL THAT SPACE WITH A GREAT SURPRISE.
WE ALWAYS NEED TO REMEMBER THAT WHILE
ILLNESS AND DEATH AND ESTRANGEMENT
SEEM TO BE FINAL WORDS FOR US,
THEY ARE NEVER FINAL WORDS FOR GOD.
GOD’S FINAL WORDS ARE ALWAYS HEALTH AND LIFE
AND FULLNESS-OF-RELATIONSHIP.
WE NEED TO REMEMBER THAT WHEN ALL IS SAID-AND-DONE
LOVE WINS BECAUSE GOD WINS AND GOD IS LOVE.
AMEN.