1 Kings 16:29-17:7; 1 Kings 18:1-4, 7-19; Matthew 5:11-12
Farmville Presbyterian Church
October 3, 2021 (World Communion)
- God’s command to go to difficult places
When Kermit the Frog promised many years ago that it’s not easy being green, I must say I have to take his word for it. I have never been green nor plan to ever become green if I can avoid it. Though to be honest, it does not really seem that big a thing to be green if green is your color. Everyone’s favorite ogre Shrek can attest to that, also. It might not be easy to be green in a world that is not typically green (think also the Grinch), but to be green really works out for them all in the end.
I would certainly think it is a lot easier to be green than to be a prophet of the Lord God Almighty. If you are ever given the choice of being green or being a true prophet, you might want to take the green option. Prophets have just about the hardest road to travel of anyone. But even though they have it tough, they ARE extremely needed in the story now.
Last week, we witnessed the Kingdom of Israel fall apart, just about literally. It was ripped to shreds like Ahijah’s garment and entrusted to different people. The northern ten tribes were given to Jeroboam, and the tribe of Judah stayed with Rehoboam, the son of Solomon. Things went bad to get to that place, and they only got worse. King after king in both kingdoms were not worth much. Only two of the southern kings are actually regarded as good over the course of hundreds of years. Today, we are at the worst of them all.
If you have any working knowledge of this time of Jewish history, you will have heard of Ahab and Jezebel. They have the reputation of being as corrupt and evil as they come. Jezebel was the princess of the Phoenician king and arranged in marriage with Ahab for political reasons, but she took her strong pagan faith into their marriage and into the nation. Not only did she erect places of worship to Baal but she went after the prophets of Yahweh and had them killed. Times were super tough. Things were desperate. That’s when God stepped up and said, “But I am the only God around here!”
Baal was the god of storm, rain, and fertility, so what did God do to show how false Baal was? Create a severe drought. Then, like a lightning strike, we have one of the greatest of the prophets, Elijah, who just explodes in the text without any warning. Immediately, he is off to challenge the king. That seems very risky to me. Things are so bad that the prophets who are left are in hiding. People die and disappear in these days.
You heard Obadiah’s fears of this. He knew how hard things were for people of God. It is better to keep your head down and try to get along, right?
Not for Elijah. Not for prophets of God. Not for people of faith who are called to action to confront power of injustice and oppression.
Here’s the thing about prophets: when they show up, it’s time to make a decision. They show us where the crisis is, where God’s love is pushing against the edges of evil, death, and sin. Where something must change or there is going to be even more trouble.
That is what the word crisis means – a decision or judgment. In a time of crisis, a decision must be made. God shows us times of crisis to make that choice, to decide whose people we will be. The passage from 1 Kings brings us right up to that huge crisis moment between the prophets of Baal and Elijah of Yahweh. Maybe you are disappointed that I did not read that far. The story is dramatic and exciting. God demonstrates who is the true God, but Elijah is still the one who must walk into dangerous and desperate places, calling people to see the crisis in which they stand. It is no wonder that Jonah tried to run away from having to be that lightning rod for God. Elijah himself struggles to follow through later in his story.
We need prophets to call us back to what’s important. Farmville has seen prophets step up to call our attention to what is not right, to what God needs us to change. When the powers of this world have tried to dehumanize or diminish God’s children, prophetic voices can shake us up and even scare us. However, they are never welcomed. God’s word in prophets’ mouths are always hard to hear. No one wants a crisis in faith.
That is what Jesus is expressing. I hope you see what he did. Back in the old days, the prophets were just a few strange, specific individuals whom God had chosen to announce God’s judgment and to lead the people on better paths. But that is not entirely true. There were many more prophets whose names we never knew. Sure, we know Elijah because he is the prophet of prophets. He is the one who in the very end of the Old Testament is identified to herald the Christ. Jesus is suspected to be Elijah returned. Elijah shows up at the Transfiguration of Jesus with Moses. He is huge in the Jewish awareness, but there were many, many other prophets who felt called to witness God’s life changing word.
Some of those prophets might be right here in this room. That is the wonder of what Jesus lays on us. Anyone can be a prophet. Sure, there were big prophets back in the old days. They did mighty things calling the people to make a choice. They were not treated well for their words; they never are.
But that work is essential and vital for the people of God. God still needs people to step up and yell at the top of our lungs what is wrong with the world and our part in that wrong.
The just released FBI’s crime report for last year shows us that the national murder rate for 2020 rose faster in one year than ever in recorded history. The use of guns in those murders was also staggeringly high.
We are a divided, angry, hateful people. Hate crimes, prejudices, racism, polarization, people caring more about politics than people. They are all symptoms of what is wrong with this world. The wealth divide, corruption in politics, children going to bed hungry, the lies living on social media. This world is a sinful, hurting place. There is so much that needs to be changed.
That’s where we come in. It is so incredibly helpful but never easy. All we have to do is find one thing wrong, something that God brings to your attention, something that moves you to do something different.
Church Hill in Richmond has not had a good reputation for a long time. A poor, diminished, rough place to live just east of the capital complex area. That’s where my friend Percy enters the story. He was in seminary and found there a community that needed better neighbors. He moved there with his wife and they began loving their neighbors – just welcoming children and others into their home. They tutored kids after school every day. There was such a need for this that they opened an after-school program for these kids that many would be happy to forget. The program grew and grew. They then opened their own school – an actual, complete school, to better meet the needs of the children in their community. They blessed that community from the inside out with lots of friends and lots of help.
Church Hill Activities and Tutoring is still there and ministering to the community through tutoring, after school programming, and workforce development.
East End Fellowship is the worshipping community that emerged from their prophetic vision. Church Hill Academy is a fully accredited school giving young people a different future.
Fighting for the people around you is a good way to start being a prophet. Not just to the people we like or who look or act like us but to those who are really different, those who might even seem like trouble.
God pulled a fast one on the people of Israel back then. Every time the prophets of Baal or Jezebel herself said the name Elijah, they were admitting the truth. The name Elijah means Yahweh is God. That is hard to hear if you don’t want to believe it. It is hard to hear that God’s love overcomes every obstacle, even us, if we don’t want to hear it. It is hard to hear that God needs us to love our enemies, if we don’t want to hear it. It is hard to hear that ever single one of God’s children is chosen and precious in God’s sight, if we don’t want to believe it: Afghani’s, illegal immigrants, Democrats and Republicans, and even people who think vaccines have microchips in them.
A prophet’s greatest service could be her or his worst nightmare, but we should thank God for every prophet who has helped us become better in spite of ourselves. God bless the prophets. All of them who have come and those just waiting to happen. We need you. To God be the glory. Amen.