10th Sunday after Pentecost
August 13, 2006
Rev. Dennis Boettcher
Text: I Kings 19:1-8
LOST IN THE WILDERNESS?
Grace to you and peace from Him Who is, and Who was, and Who is to come, even our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
For our consideration this day we look at the words the Holy Spirit inspired to be written in the First Book of Kings, the 19th chapter … read moments ago from the lectern.
O Lord, sanctify us through the truth; Your Word is truth. Amen.
In the name of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, dear brothers and sisters in the one true faith:
It won’t be long, and soon school will be starting again … elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, and colleges and universities will all soon be starting up their “school-year routines.” Part and parcel of these routines are those things we call the “extra-curricular activities,” most often athletic activities. One of those fall sports seen on high school and (I believe) college campuses in the fall is cross country. Cross country is a rather unique sport. It’s unique in that cross country can teach a life-skill that no other sport can do … that life as a journey. In cross country, as in life, it is important for the athlete to know where s/he is going and why s/he is going there. Because sometimes we can get bogged down. Sometimes we don't have the energy to go on. Sometimes, it seems like it's useless to go on. Sometimes, we are at a crossroads and don't know where to turn. Maybe it seems that you've tried everything, you've put forth all the effort, you've done all you can, and nothing seems to work. It looks hopeless … there’s no way you can come in anything else but dead last in the race … and so the temptation for the athlete is just to sit … and the temptation for the average person is to just sit down, look around at the mess that life has become, not having a clue as to how to fix it or what to do next, and just flat-out GIVE UP!!
Do you feel that way? Considering what sort of journey you are taking as a congregation, as well as the journey that you happen to be on as individuals, there are any number of settings where that can be the case: congregations, family, marriages, employment, anything in life. Maybe you just don't know where you fit in anymore. Maybe life seems hopeless, or a major situation in your life seems hopeless. You feel LOST IN THE WILDERNESS.
I.
That is the situation Elijah was in. He was (literally) LOST IN THE WILDERNESS. He had given his best. He had tried everything. He had devoted his life to serving the Lord, but it all seemed to be useless. And so, he was disgusted. He felt very alone. In fact, he was depressed, and he wanted to be alone. He wanted to be alone so much, that he left his servant and traveled out into the wilderness to lay down beneath a broom tree … and he wanted to die.
It might be helpful to talk just a minute about the events that lead Elijah to this point. Because his accomplishments were many! He had raised someone from the dead. He had done several miracles. And just before this "LOST IN THE WILDERNESS" situation in our text, he had even shown the whole nation of Israel that God was the true God. It was a very grand display. Elijah, the only prophet faithful to the Lord was there on Mount Carmel, and there were 400 prophets of this false god Baal. The show-down was simple. Set up two altars with wood, sacrifice, and everything ready to offer a sacrifice. The only thing that was lacking was the fire for the sacrifice itself. The first god to provide his own fire was the true God that Israel should worship. Well, the prophets of Baal stood there all day calling out to Baal, who of course was a false god and so nothing happened. Then, Elijah decided to show how powerful the true God of Israel was. He had the wood and the altar and the sacrifice drenched in so much water that it should have NEVER burned. Then, he called out to God in a simple prayer … and God sent fire from heaven, and like a fireball it consumed wood, sacrifice, even the altar the sacrifice was on. Everything was consumed! And then the people rallied around Elijah and claimed they were there to worship the true God of Israel. That all happened and was reported in chapter 18.
Now, here we are, in chapter 19. With all of this history behind him, why is Elijah ready to die? Primarily because he had just received a death threat from Queen Jezebel of Israel. So he was alone … again … as the only faithful prophet of God. No one to back him up. And so, he was on the run again. What was the use? Even after such an impressive display, the people were fickle … they went right back to their idol worship, thanks to the pressure exerted upon them from the wicked Queen Jezebel.
So, today, in our text, we find Elijah LOST IN THE WILDERNESS … literally, emotionally, and spiritually. He was despondent. He was ready to hang it all up. He was ready to lay down, curl up and die. He had given it his all, and it was all for naught. What was the use? Why go on?
II.
But we can't stay stalled in the wilderness, can we? Because the wilderness is a place of death. Sometimes, we feel like that's what we want: to die … to give up. In a way, that's the safe way to do things … stay in the wilderness, give up, because then we feel that nothing worse can happen. "It's no use. Nothing's gonna change. She's impossible to live with! They won't agree to that! I'll never get a job! My son won't ever speak to me again!” So while it's true that the wilderness is a place of death, it also has some appeal, because you can't seem to go much lower.
In World War II an English soldier endured the wilderness of the Burmese jungle with its steamy climate, tropical fevers, bugging insects and poisonous snakes, while the Japanese kept sniping at the English.
The soldier, exhausted and depressed, was ready to give up. Then he received a letter. Yes, the mail reached him in the jungle. The letter came from a small village in England. And he could picture his family, his home, the green hills and peaceful valleys.
As he read the letter a deep sense of serenity came over him. Even though he was far from home, in the wilderness of the jungle, he knew where he belonged. He remembered his village home in England. His strength and resolve returned. He refused to stall in the wilderness. He refused to give up.
It seems that just before we're about to give up, if we hang on just a little longer, we can soon sigh with relief. God will come through.
So the encouragement that comes through this text today, especially to anyone here who is feeling LOST IN THE WILDERNESS is: GET UP! Get out of the wilderness. Since we've already said that if you stay in the wilderness, you will die, then the opposite must also be true: If you get out of the wilderness, you will live. That's the message the came to Elijah. There he lay, under the broom tree, longing to die. And the message that came to him was "Get up!" For Elijah, instead of it being a letter from home, it was an angel that tugged at him and told him to eat! Get up! "So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food he traveled 40 days and 40 nights until he reached Horeb, (otherwise known as Sinai,) the mount of God."
Jesus, too, struggled in the wilderness for 40 days and nights, tortured by the devil. But He came out of the wilderness. The wilderness was a place for Him to pass through.
Suppose you face a disappointment in your life. A friend or a spouse betrays you, ignores you, or hurts you. It's natural for you to be bitter, to be incited to betray, ignore and hurt back. Or you might just curl up and stay in the bitter wilderness. But eventually you rise. You pass through the wilderness of disappointment. You come out of the wilderness and live again.
Suppose someone close to you dies. It's natural to grieve. It's unnatural not to grieve. Sometimes we grieve for a long time. Grieving time cannot be hurried.
The sharpness of grief may diminish in time. But its memory lingers all our lives. The French have a saying, "To suffer passes; to have suffered, never passes." A father who lost his son said, "It's not that my son died two years ago, but that he dies every day." We never forget the ones we love.
Eventually Christ comes to dry our tears and invites us to come out of the wilderness of grief. Long before Jesus came, Isaiah describes His work in chapter 53: “Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.” Jesus was bruised and crushed for us, on the cross, and because He took that punishment, we are healed.
Elijah's main problem was a spiritual one. He was looking at all the things he had done. He was looking at circumstances from his point of view. That's how it is when we feel stuck in the wilderness … as if we have run out of options, as if there is no way that any situation can be fixed. We are looking at it from our point of view, as if the solution depended on us and we are fresh out of ideas, or too worn out to bother or care. But what Elijah forgot, and what we often forget, is that God can do anything. God calls you out of the wilderness because God has a legitimate solution to your problem. It reminds me of the words of Jesus in Matthew 19:26, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
God's angel told Elijah, 'Arise and eat'. Jesus says, "Arise and eat." He invites us to his table … because that is one of the places where the power of God comes to us. Arise and eat the bread and drink the wine. Arise and eat the assurance of Christ's forgiveness in the body and blood of Christ.
Life is a journey. The journey is long. It is often rough. So come … continue to come to Divine Service. Receive the strength and nourishment to pass through the wilderness of life … to come out of the wilderness and live.
In the Name of the Father, and of the † Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Now to Him Who is able to keep us from falling, and to present us before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy — to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, before all ages, now, and forevermore! Amen.
Rev. Dennis Boettcher
Text: I Kings 19:1-8
LOST IN THE WILDERNESS?
Grace to you and peace from Him Who is, and Who was, and Who is to come, even our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
For our consideration this day we look at the words the Holy Spirit inspired to be written in the First Book of Kings, the 19th chapter … read moments ago from the lectern.
O Lord, sanctify us through the truth; Your Word is truth. Amen.
In the name of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, dear brothers and sisters in the one true faith:
It won’t be long, and soon school will be starting again … elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, and colleges and universities will all soon be starting up their “school-year routines.” Part and parcel of these routines are those things we call the “extra-curricular activities,” most often athletic activities. One of those fall sports seen on high school and (I believe) college campuses in the fall is cross country. Cross country is a rather unique sport. It’s unique in that cross country can teach a life-skill that no other sport can do … that life as a journey. In cross country, as in life, it is important for the athlete to know where s/he is going and why s/he is going there. Because sometimes we can get bogged down. Sometimes we don't have the energy to go on. Sometimes, it seems like it's useless to go on. Sometimes, we are at a crossroads and don't know where to turn. Maybe it seems that you've tried everything, you've put forth all the effort, you've done all you can, and nothing seems to work. It looks hopeless … there’s no way you can come in anything else but dead last in the race … and so the temptation for the athlete is just to sit … and the temptation for the average person is to just sit down, look around at the mess that life has become, not having a clue as to how to fix it or what to do next, and just flat-out GIVE UP!!
Do you feel that way? Considering what sort of journey you are taking as a congregation, as well as the journey that you happen to be on as individuals, there are any number of settings where that can be the case: congregations, family, marriages, employment, anything in life. Maybe you just don't know where you fit in anymore. Maybe life seems hopeless, or a major situation in your life seems hopeless. You feel LOST IN THE WILDERNESS.
I.
That is the situation Elijah was in. He was (literally) LOST IN THE WILDERNESS. He had given his best. He had tried everything. He had devoted his life to serving the Lord, but it all seemed to be useless. And so, he was disgusted. He felt very alone. In fact, he was depressed, and he wanted to be alone. He wanted to be alone so much, that he left his servant and traveled out into the wilderness to lay down beneath a broom tree … and he wanted to die.
It might be helpful to talk just a minute about the events that lead Elijah to this point. Because his accomplishments were many! He had raised someone from the dead. He had done several miracles. And just before this "LOST IN THE WILDERNESS" situation in our text, he had even shown the whole nation of Israel that God was the true God. It was a very grand display. Elijah, the only prophet faithful to the Lord was there on Mount Carmel, and there were 400 prophets of this false god Baal. The show-down was simple. Set up two altars with wood, sacrifice, and everything ready to offer a sacrifice. The only thing that was lacking was the fire for the sacrifice itself. The first god to provide his own fire was the true God that Israel should worship. Well, the prophets of Baal stood there all day calling out to Baal, who of course was a false god and so nothing happened. Then, Elijah decided to show how powerful the true God of Israel was. He had the wood and the altar and the sacrifice drenched in so much water that it should have NEVER burned. Then, he called out to God in a simple prayer … and God sent fire from heaven, and like a fireball it consumed wood, sacrifice, even the altar the sacrifice was on. Everything was consumed! And then the people rallied around Elijah and claimed they were there to worship the true God of Israel. That all happened and was reported in chapter 18.
Now, here we are, in chapter 19. With all of this history behind him, why is Elijah ready to die? Primarily because he had just received a death threat from Queen Jezebel of Israel. So he was alone … again … as the only faithful prophet of God. No one to back him up. And so, he was on the run again. What was the use? Even after such an impressive display, the people were fickle … they went right back to their idol worship, thanks to the pressure exerted upon them from the wicked Queen Jezebel.
So, today, in our text, we find Elijah LOST IN THE WILDERNESS … literally, emotionally, and spiritually. He was despondent. He was ready to hang it all up. He was ready to lay down, curl up and die. He had given it his all, and it was all for naught. What was the use? Why go on?
II.
But we can't stay stalled in the wilderness, can we? Because the wilderness is a place of death. Sometimes, we feel like that's what we want: to die … to give up. In a way, that's the safe way to do things … stay in the wilderness, give up, because then we feel that nothing worse can happen. "It's no use. Nothing's gonna change. She's impossible to live with! They won't agree to that! I'll never get a job! My son won't ever speak to me again!” So while it's true that the wilderness is a place of death, it also has some appeal, because you can't seem to go much lower.
In World War II an English soldier endured the wilderness of the Burmese jungle with its steamy climate, tropical fevers, bugging insects and poisonous snakes, while the Japanese kept sniping at the English.
The soldier, exhausted and depressed, was ready to give up. Then he received a letter. Yes, the mail reached him in the jungle. The letter came from a small village in England. And he could picture his family, his home, the green hills and peaceful valleys.
As he read the letter a deep sense of serenity came over him. Even though he was far from home, in the wilderness of the jungle, he knew where he belonged. He remembered his village home in England. His strength and resolve returned. He refused to stall in the wilderness. He refused to give up.
It seems that just before we're about to give up, if we hang on just a little longer, we can soon sigh with relief. God will come through.
So the encouragement that comes through this text today, especially to anyone here who is feeling LOST IN THE WILDERNESS is: GET UP! Get out of the wilderness. Since we've already said that if you stay in the wilderness, you will die, then the opposite must also be true: If you get out of the wilderness, you will live. That's the message the came to Elijah. There he lay, under the broom tree, longing to die. And the message that came to him was "Get up!" For Elijah, instead of it being a letter from home, it was an angel that tugged at him and told him to eat! Get up! "So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food he traveled 40 days and 40 nights until he reached Horeb, (otherwise known as Sinai,) the mount of God."
Jesus, too, struggled in the wilderness for 40 days and nights, tortured by the devil. But He came out of the wilderness. The wilderness was a place for Him to pass through.
Suppose you face a disappointment in your life. A friend or a spouse betrays you, ignores you, or hurts you. It's natural for you to be bitter, to be incited to betray, ignore and hurt back. Or you might just curl up and stay in the bitter wilderness. But eventually you rise. You pass through the wilderness of disappointment. You come out of the wilderness and live again.
Suppose someone close to you dies. It's natural to grieve. It's unnatural not to grieve. Sometimes we grieve for a long time. Grieving time cannot be hurried.
The sharpness of grief may diminish in time. But its memory lingers all our lives. The French have a saying, "To suffer passes; to have suffered, never passes." A father who lost his son said, "It's not that my son died two years ago, but that he dies every day." We never forget the ones we love.
Eventually Christ comes to dry our tears and invites us to come out of the wilderness of grief. Long before Jesus came, Isaiah describes His work in chapter 53: “Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.” Jesus was bruised and crushed for us, on the cross, and because He took that punishment, we are healed.
Elijah's main problem was a spiritual one. He was looking at all the things he had done. He was looking at circumstances from his point of view. That's how it is when we feel stuck in the wilderness … as if we have run out of options, as if there is no way that any situation can be fixed. We are looking at it from our point of view, as if the solution depended on us and we are fresh out of ideas, or too worn out to bother or care. But what Elijah forgot, and what we often forget, is that God can do anything. God calls you out of the wilderness because God has a legitimate solution to your problem. It reminds me of the words of Jesus in Matthew 19:26, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
God's angel told Elijah, 'Arise and eat'. Jesus says, "Arise and eat." He invites us to his table … because that is one of the places where the power of God comes to us. Arise and eat the bread and drink the wine. Arise and eat the assurance of Christ's forgiveness in the body and blood of Christ.
Life is a journey. The journey is long. It is often rough. So come … continue to come to Divine Service. Receive the strength and nourishment to pass through the wilderness of life … to come out of the wilderness and live.
In the Name of the Father, and of the † Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Now to Him Who is able to keep us from falling, and to present us before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy — to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, before all ages, now, and forevermore! Amen.
posted by Luther Memorial Chapel at
8/16/2006
