“We’re all over the map!” I’m sure you’ve said that before. Usually in frustration or acknowledgment of a lack of direction or purpose. One of those meetings, you know them, where you thought you were there to discuss one thing, and someone brought up something else and everyone got distracted, so off you went. Pretty soon you forgot what it was that you were there to do in the first place. You’ve covered a lot of ground, but haven’t really accomplished much, if anything. Except an aimless sort of wandering that doesn’t satisfy anyone.
We went shopping yesterday, Maddie and mom and dad, Rhys is somewhat out of commission with the broken ankle. (Whoops, sorry about that family and friends, forgot to make a general announcement.) And it turned out as it usually does. Mom wants an agenda and a direction and a list, Maddie wants to wander to find the cool stuff and an unlimited budget, and dad wants to play with toys. Cross-purposes to put it mildly.
I’m a wanderer myself. La Donna is a planner, giver her a destination please. It doesn’t mean she can’t enjoy the journey, but she just wants to know where she’s going. I like to wander around a new place, a new city especially. I don’t always know the destinations, but let’s just go and see what we see and find what we find.
Our scripture text looks like an interesting bit of wandering, but maybe there is a destination after all. I’m not really sure, to be honest. Let’s just wander through and see what we find!
2 Kings 2:1-14 When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; the LORD has sent me to Bethel." But Elisha said, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel. 3 The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, "Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?" "Yes, I know," Elisha replied, "but do not speak of it." 4 Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here, Elisha; the LORD has sent me to Jericho." And he replied, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went to Jericho. 5 The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, "Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?" "Yes, I know," he replied, "but do not speak of it." 6 Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; the LORD has sent me to the Jordan." And he replied, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So the two of them walked on. 7 Fifty men of the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. 8 Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground. 9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?" "Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit," Elisha replied. 10 "You have asked a difficult thing," Elijah said, "yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours-- otherwise not." 11 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. 12 Elisha saw this and cried out, "My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!" And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them apart. 13 He picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 Then he took the cloak that had fallen from him and struck the water with it. "Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?" he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.
Now, the lectionary skips over verses 3-5. Not sure why, except that it makes it a bit shorter. And they are somewhat repetitious. But then when you are wandering, you sometimes find yourself covering the ground you’ve already crossed. But that’s ok. So, I added those verses back in.
Surely you agree with me that there is some significant wandering going on in these verses. We start in Gilgal, head to Bethel, then over to Jericho and then to the Jordan. Quite a hike for a guy on his last day on earth! I heard a sermon once that counted the miles. From Gilgal to Bethel was 7 miles. From Bethel to Jericho was 11 miles and from Jericho to the Jordan was only a mere 5 miles. All of which means that on Elijah’s last day on earth he wandered 23 miles. Almost a marathon. Wow, pretty amazing really. But why?
Maybe it was just wandering. Maybe he was looking for a little alone time, a little “Elijah time.” He did keep telling Elisha to stay behind. Some commentators say Elijah was testing Elisha, to see if he would really go through with it. But I don’t know. It seemed like Elisha was making a pest of himself, wouldn’t give him space. So, maybe he kept moving trying to shake the kid.
Or maybe there was a destination in mind. Gilgal, while there are many places with that name and we can’t always be sure which is referred to here, but it was a place of remembering. There were standing stones set up there as a reminder of what God has done in our midst. So from a place of remembering, Elijah headed to Bethel, the “house of God.” This is the place where Jacob wrestled with the angel in order to receive a blessing. Then Jacob named it Bethel, perhaps thinking that he wrestled in God’s living room. But it was a place full of the presence of God.
So, from a reminder of the Presence to a place where one wrestled with that Presence. From there he went to Jericho. We know Jericho, a place of victory, or walls falling down and battles won. So, is this a place of triumph? Well, yes, but who’s triumph? Remember the story of Jericho? Before the march and the trumpets and the urban renewal? Joshua stands on the brink of war, not sure he can win, but dedicated to the fight anyway. When, in the dark of the night, a warrior appears to him. And Joshua asks what any of us would have asked: Friend or Foe? Whose side are you on? The warriors answer? “Neither! I’m here as the commander of the Lord’s army.” Or as one commentator says, the warrior said I’ve not come to fight on either side, I’ve come to take over. And Joshua let him. Joshua falls on his face and says “what does the Lord want from me?”
Jericho was a sign of triumph, but it was God’s triumph and not ours. So, while a scene of victory it is a victory that comes from surrender. It is pledging allegiance not to any earthly power, but to the Word of the Lord. So, from victory out of surrender, what might be left? Where else should we wander on our last day on earth? Well, no where else but the Jordan.
The Jordan is the river down by which we lay down our sword and shield. The Jordan is that barrier across which we look and see a band of angels coming to carry us home. The Jordan is the symbol of death and resurrection in baptism and it is the entrance into the Promised Land. Elijah wandered the route of the people of God, from awareness to contention toward surrender and victory and then came to the end in the Presence of the Kingdom.
It is the journey of our own life in faith. And we may at times find ourselves retracing our steps, revisiting different stages on the journey. But by the grace of God, and the mantle of our mentors in the faith, we will find our way in the end. We may be all over the map, but we do indeed have a destination.
Shalom,
Derek
We went shopping yesterday, Maddie and mom and dad, Rhys is somewhat out of commission with the broken ankle. (Whoops, sorry about that family and friends, forgot to make a general announcement.) And it turned out as it usually does. Mom wants an agenda and a direction and a list, Maddie wants to wander to find the cool stuff and an unlimited budget, and dad wants to play with toys. Cross-purposes to put it mildly.
I’m a wanderer myself. La Donna is a planner, giver her a destination please. It doesn’t mean she can’t enjoy the journey, but she just wants to know where she’s going. I like to wander around a new place, a new city especially. I don’t always know the destinations, but let’s just go and see what we see and find what we find.
Our scripture text looks like an interesting bit of wandering, but maybe there is a destination after all. I’m not really sure, to be honest. Let’s just wander through and see what we find!
2 Kings 2:1-14 When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; the LORD has sent me to Bethel." But Elisha said, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel. 3 The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, "Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?" "Yes, I know," Elisha replied, "but do not speak of it." 4 Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here, Elisha; the LORD has sent me to Jericho." And he replied, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went to Jericho. 5 The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, "Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?" "Yes, I know," he replied, "but do not speak of it." 6 Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; the LORD has sent me to the Jordan." And he replied, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So the two of them walked on. 7 Fifty men of the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. 8 Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground. 9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?" "Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit," Elisha replied. 10 "You have asked a difficult thing," Elijah said, "yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours-- otherwise not." 11 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. 12 Elisha saw this and cried out, "My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!" And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them apart. 13 He picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 Then he took the cloak that had fallen from him and struck the water with it. "Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?" he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.
Now, the lectionary skips over verses 3-5. Not sure why, except that it makes it a bit shorter. And they are somewhat repetitious. But then when you are wandering, you sometimes find yourself covering the ground you’ve already crossed. But that’s ok. So, I added those verses back in.
Surely you agree with me that there is some significant wandering going on in these verses. We start in Gilgal, head to Bethel, then over to Jericho and then to the Jordan. Quite a hike for a guy on his last day on earth! I heard a sermon once that counted the miles. From Gilgal to Bethel was 7 miles. From Bethel to Jericho was 11 miles and from Jericho to the Jordan was only a mere 5 miles. All of which means that on Elijah’s last day on earth he wandered 23 miles. Almost a marathon. Wow, pretty amazing really. But why?
Maybe it was just wandering. Maybe he was looking for a little alone time, a little “Elijah time.” He did keep telling Elisha to stay behind. Some commentators say Elijah was testing Elisha, to see if he would really go through with it. But I don’t know. It seemed like Elisha was making a pest of himself, wouldn’t give him space. So, maybe he kept moving trying to shake the kid.
Or maybe there was a destination in mind. Gilgal, while there are many places with that name and we can’t always be sure which is referred to here, but it was a place of remembering. There were standing stones set up there as a reminder of what God has done in our midst. So from a place of remembering, Elijah headed to Bethel, the “house of God.” This is the place where Jacob wrestled with the angel in order to receive a blessing. Then Jacob named it Bethel, perhaps thinking that he wrestled in God’s living room. But it was a place full of the presence of God.
So, from a reminder of the Presence to a place where one wrestled with that Presence. From there he went to Jericho. We know Jericho, a place of victory, or walls falling down and battles won. So, is this a place of triumph? Well, yes, but who’s triumph? Remember the story of Jericho? Before the march and the trumpets and the urban renewal? Joshua stands on the brink of war, not sure he can win, but dedicated to the fight anyway. When, in the dark of the night, a warrior appears to him. And Joshua asks what any of us would have asked: Friend or Foe? Whose side are you on? The warriors answer? “Neither! I’m here as the commander of the Lord’s army.” Or as one commentator says, the warrior said I’ve not come to fight on either side, I’ve come to take over. And Joshua let him. Joshua falls on his face and says “what does the Lord want from me?”
Jericho was a sign of triumph, but it was God’s triumph and not ours. So, while a scene of victory it is a victory that comes from surrender. It is pledging allegiance not to any earthly power, but to the Word of the Lord. So, from victory out of surrender, what might be left? Where else should we wander on our last day on earth? Well, no where else but the Jordan.
The Jordan is the river down by which we lay down our sword and shield. The Jordan is that barrier across which we look and see a band of angels coming to carry us home. The Jordan is the symbol of death and resurrection in baptism and it is the entrance into the Promised Land. Elijah wandered the route of the people of God, from awareness to contention toward surrender and victory and then came to the end in the Presence of the Kingdom.
It is the journey of our own life in faith. And we may at times find ourselves retracing our steps, revisiting different stages on the journey. But by the grace of God, and the mantle of our mentors in the faith, we will find our way in the end. We may be all over the map, but we do indeed have a destination.
Shalom,
Derek
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