Looking for God
Text: 1 Kings 19:9-18
Burnout. At some point in our lives, every one of us is going to experience it.
It can be either short or long-term… it could just mean that we need an extended vacation, or it could mean that we need to look at a complete change in careers. It’s that point at which we feel we are truly spinning our wheels, desperate for a break… In more serious cases, there is a genuine anxiety over even returning to work, and even genuine clinical depression. Whatever its severity, burnout comes when no matter what amount of work that we do, no matter how many hours we put into it, we either aren’t getting enough done, or more importantly we get no satisfaction out of it… we’re burnt out.
I suppose now would be a good time to say that I am NOT talking about myself. I may be going on vacation on Wednesday, but I would not consider myself burnt out. Burnout is something that happens a lot in today’s workplace, we talk about it all the time… but I’m not talking about that either. Burnout is nothing new… and that’s where we find the prophet Elijah. Last week we saw Jacob facing a mid-life crisis… this week we have Elijah facing burnout:
Elijah is sitting on a mountaintop by himself. The cold wind nips around him… he sits down on the hard rocks, looking north… It’s the land he calls… well… called home. At least up here he could see the soldiers coming, and in the midst of the rocks he could last for years. Well, as long as he can ensure a good food supply anyway.
In the whispers of the air he hears a voice…
“What are you doing here Elijah?”
Elijah looks up, it would seem that he was alone. It wasn’t the voice of soldiers. A frustrated smirk appears across his face: “I was wondering how long it would take you to show up.” He says.
“That still doesn’t answer my question” the voice replies. “What are you doing here?”
“I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.”
A tone of resignation… When God asks what he is doing here, Elijah’s reply betrays his frustration.
“Well… I did everything you asked. I’ve even took it on with a keen enthusiasm!
Your people have turned their back on you, and I’ve done everything I can to show them they’ve gone off the rails. They’ve pulled down your altars, and have let this… this… Jezebel have her way. Ahab’s a spineless wimp, and so I’ve been the only one to stand up to them… to stand up for you.”
“That still doesn’t answer my question,” the voice replies again, “What are you doing here?”
“You should know that!” snapped Elijah wearily. “Even in this last great display on Mount Carmel, we had the great God cookoff… nice fire by the way.”
“Thanks”
Elijah was referring to a duel between the priests of Baal and Elijah as the voice for God. They had set up competing altars, to see which would answer… The altar to Baal remained untouched, the altar that Elijah had built, that he had even gone so far as to douse with water was turned to ash in a mere instant... It was grandstanding to be sure, but at this time in Israel’s history, it felt like they needed this kind of kick in the pants to get their attention.
The trouble is, it didn’t seem to do much good. The crowd was convinced… but it was only short lived… they killed the prophets of Baal in the frenzy… but no sooner had the smoke cleared than everything was back the way it was. Ahab was still a spineless wimp, and Jezebel was still in charge… and now she was mad. This time, she made a death threat against Elijah for being so impetuous.
“That still doesn’t answer my question, Elijah… what are you doing here?”
Elijah sighed and looked at his feet. “I did all this, I did all that you asked… I’ve shown them the wonders of your power, and it hasn’t made a lick of difference. Nobody seems to care anymore, and now they’re out to kill me!”
Elijah had succeeded it seems in every way… he tried his absolute best, he even delivered the goods. Yet he felt that even his best wasn’t good enough. Things were still the same, it didn’t seem to make a difference. Burnout…
“Let me show you something,” the voice said.
What follows is the spectacular lightshow… the natural spectacle of mountain-shattering wind, earthquakes, searing fire… the kind of thing you would expect from Mount St. Helens. It’s also the kind of thing that we have come to expect from God, big and spectacular… but here’s the rub. In the midst of the boom and crash, God isn’t in those things. God is not in the wind… God is not in the earthquakes… God is not amidst the fire… God is not where we expect.
After all of the smoke, flame, and shattered rocks there is nothing… just silence…
In the silence of that moment, Elijah begins to realize something…
It isn’t in the spectacular displays that we find God… but somewhere far more personal far more deep. The changes and difference that Elijah was hoping for is something that will take more than simply a spectacular lightshow to get people to change. Real change happens from within… Being a prophet is hard work… it’s going to have its moments of triumphs… and there may never come a point when the job is completely finished. Yet as intimidating as this might be, Elijah is encouraged, because as long as even one person follows God, his job will have been worth it.
God’s voice echoes around him again, “What are you doing here?”
This time, when Elijah speaks, he uses the exact same words as he did before… but there is a change in the nuance:
14He answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.”
They are the same words, but a far different tone… one of defiance, one of renewal.
In the end, Elijah realizes that God isn’t in those big flashy shows… God isn’t in those places that we might expect… God’s vision is far longer reaching than any of us expect.
With this new affirmation, God re-commissions Elijah, and he returns to his work as a prophet. This time, Elijah knows full-well that he will not see the end result of his own work… but he realizes that he is part of setting something up for the future… something that will last beyond his own lifetime. He will find a successor, he will anoint a competing king who will hold Ahab and Jezebel to account. He will pave the way for a line of prophets who will continue to hold Israel to account, and who will speak of the hope of God in times of great darkness.
Elijah was burned out because he thought that he wasn’t making a difference… that no matter what he did, or how big a show he was able to put on, that nobody seemed to care. In his experience and re-commissioning at Mount Horeb, Elijah learned the lesson that maybe all of us need to… we may not see the end result or the difference that we make in life. God is never quite where we expect, but does have things under control.
Amen.
Sermon preached Sunday, August 7th. 2005
Clarkson Road Presbyterian Church, Mississauga; The Rev. John Crowdis
Burnout. At some point in our lives, every one of us is going to experience it.
It can be either short or long-term… it could just mean that we need an extended vacation, or it could mean that we need to look at a complete change in careers. It’s that point at which we feel we are truly spinning our wheels, desperate for a break… In more serious cases, there is a genuine anxiety over even returning to work, and even genuine clinical depression. Whatever its severity, burnout comes when no matter what amount of work that we do, no matter how many hours we put into it, we either aren’t getting enough done, or more importantly we get no satisfaction out of it… we’re burnt out.
I suppose now would be a good time to say that I am NOT talking about myself. I may be going on vacation on Wednesday, but I would not consider myself burnt out. Burnout is something that happens a lot in today’s workplace, we talk about it all the time… but I’m not talking about that either. Burnout is nothing new… and that’s where we find the prophet Elijah. Last week we saw Jacob facing a mid-life crisis… this week we have Elijah facing burnout:
Elijah is sitting on a mountaintop by himself. The cold wind nips around him… he sits down on the hard rocks, looking north… It’s the land he calls… well… called home. At least up here he could see the soldiers coming, and in the midst of the rocks he could last for years. Well, as long as he can ensure a good food supply anyway.
In the whispers of the air he hears a voice…
“What are you doing here Elijah?”
Elijah looks up, it would seem that he was alone. It wasn’t the voice of soldiers. A frustrated smirk appears across his face: “I was wondering how long it would take you to show up.” He says.
“That still doesn’t answer my question” the voice replies. “What are you doing here?”
“I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.”
A tone of resignation… When God asks what he is doing here, Elijah’s reply betrays his frustration.
“Well… I did everything you asked. I’ve even took it on with a keen enthusiasm!
Your people have turned their back on you, and I’ve done everything I can to show them they’ve gone off the rails. They’ve pulled down your altars, and have let this… this… Jezebel have her way. Ahab’s a spineless wimp, and so I’ve been the only one to stand up to them… to stand up for you.”
“That still doesn’t answer my question,” the voice replies again, “What are you doing here?”
“You should know that!” snapped Elijah wearily. “Even in this last great display on Mount Carmel, we had the great God cookoff… nice fire by the way.”
“Thanks”
Elijah was referring to a duel between the priests of Baal and Elijah as the voice for God. They had set up competing altars, to see which would answer… The altar to Baal remained untouched, the altar that Elijah had built, that he had even gone so far as to douse with water was turned to ash in a mere instant... It was grandstanding to be sure, but at this time in Israel’s history, it felt like they needed this kind of kick in the pants to get their attention.
The trouble is, it didn’t seem to do much good. The crowd was convinced… but it was only short lived… they killed the prophets of Baal in the frenzy… but no sooner had the smoke cleared than everything was back the way it was. Ahab was still a spineless wimp, and Jezebel was still in charge… and now she was mad. This time, she made a death threat against Elijah for being so impetuous.
“That still doesn’t answer my question, Elijah… what are you doing here?”
Elijah sighed and looked at his feet. “I did all this, I did all that you asked… I’ve shown them the wonders of your power, and it hasn’t made a lick of difference. Nobody seems to care anymore, and now they’re out to kill me!”
Elijah had succeeded it seems in every way… he tried his absolute best, he even delivered the goods. Yet he felt that even his best wasn’t good enough. Things were still the same, it didn’t seem to make a difference. Burnout…
“Let me show you something,” the voice said.
What follows is the spectacular lightshow… the natural spectacle of mountain-shattering wind, earthquakes, searing fire… the kind of thing you would expect from Mount St. Helens. It’s also the kind of thing that we have come to expect from God, big and spectacular… but here’s the rub. In the midst of the boom and crash, God isn’t in those things. God is not in the wind… God is not in the earthquakes… God is not amidst the fire… God is not where we expect.
After all of the smoke, flame, and shattered rocks there is nothing… just silence…
In the silence of that moment, Elijah begins to realize something…
It isn’t in the spectacular displays that we find God… but somewhere far more personal far more deep. The changes and difference that Elijah was hoping for is something that will take more than simply a spectacular lightshow to get people to change. Real change happens from within… Being a prophet is hard work… it’s going to have its moments of triumphs… and there may never come a point when the job is completely finished. Yet as intimidating as this might be, Elijah is encouraged, because as long as even one person follows God, his job will have been worth it.
God’s voice echoes around him again, “What are you doing here?”
This time, when Elijah speaks, he uses the exact same words as he did before… but there is a change in the nuance:
14He answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.”
They are the same words, but a far different tone… one of defiance, one of renewal.
In the end, Elijah realizes that God isn’t in those big flashy shows… God isn’t in those places that we might expect… God’s vision is far longer reaching than any of us expect.
With this new affirmation, God re-commissions Elijah, and he returns to his work as a prophet. This time, Elijah knows full-well that he will not see the end result of his own work… but he realizes that he is part of setting something up for the future… something that will last beyond his own lifetime. He will find a successor, he will anoint a competing king who will hold Ahab and Jezebel to account. He will pave the way for a line of prophets who will continue to hold Israel to account, and who will speak of the hope of God in times of great darkness.
Elijah was burned out because he thought that he wasn’t making a difference… that no matter what he did, or how big a show he was able to put on, that nobody seemed to care. In his experience and re-commissioning at Mount Horeb, Elijah learned the lesson that maybe all of us need to… we may not see the end result or the difference that we make in life. God is never quite where we expect, but does have things under control.
Amen.
Sermon preached Sunday, August 7th. 2005
Clarkson Road Presbyterian Church, Mississauga; The Rev. John Crowdis
Comments