November 2nd: 1st Kings 19:9-13

In the Silence
A sermon by Carrie Finch
Cheyarha Presbyterian, November 2, 2008

(this sermon was first given in junior preaching, again with some changes)

In January, 1986 my fourth grade class was caught up in the excitement of outer space. Over Christmas vacation I had even gotten to go to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. With the upcoming launch of the 25th space mission I was overly enthusiastic. We all were. They were going to launch a teacher into space and she was going to teach lessons from the space ship. This was a big deal- the first “ordinary” person getting to see the world from a completely different perspective. Christa McAuliffe was chosen among 11,000 applicants, her selection was very coveted. When January 28th finally arrived, and I was given the choice of having recess outside or watching the Challenger take off, it was a no-brainer for me. Along with several of my classmates, we sat glued to the television set, counting down with the announcer, waiting, watching, wondering what it must be like to be in that shuttle. Seventy three seconds later, there was a burst of smoke and light and then… silence.[1]
For almost thirty seconds, no one said anything- not mission control, not the television announcer, none of us kids, just the cameras panning the sky searching amongst the smoke for where the Challenger went. Wonderment turned to rising fear and panic, and the silence became palatable. After the briefest of moments, the noise returned, the announcers began speculating what happened, mission control confirmed what we had begun to fear and the crowds that had gathered to watch the launch began clamoring. But those few seconds, before the commotion found it’s voice. A silence so utterly still and quiet that it fills your being and in that utterness, it becomes louder and more powerful than anything one has ever heard. That silence permeates this story of Elijah.
Elijah was a prophet in the middle of the 9th Century, BC when Ahab and Jezebel ruled over the Hebrews. Jezebel had a love for the Phoenician gods and encouraged the people to worship these pagan deities. The Bible condemns Ahab as the wickedest of the Hebrew Kings because he allowed this worship.[2] So, when Elijah ordered the killing of Jezebel’s priests she was angered and intended to kill him. While he was fleeing for his life he became desolate and jealous. When we find Elijah in verse ten lamenting the people of Israel- it is almost as if he had forgotten what he had just accomplished with the people. Perhaps, because he was still on the run, he feels that the people of Israel have forsaken him (as one of the commentaries suggest), perhaps simply Elijah was tired and scared, nevertheless, we find Elijah in at the lowest place emotionally in his life. It is in great contrast to just a chapter before when he was so assured of himself that he was even taunting the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel.
But in our story, we find Elijah at another mountain, Mount Sinai. This too is a sacred place. It is here, at the very cave that Moses was given the ten commandments and also where Moses was shown the presence of God when the Israelites were in the wilderness.[3] Moses and Elijah share that bond of having experienced some presence of the Lord. (As an aside, they are again called upon later to share in the presence of the Lord when they appeared before Jesus during his transfiguration). In many ways, Elijah’s story parallels that of Moses’ and I think it is no small coincidence that this is the place Elijah finds himself waiting on the Lord then.
Time and time again we find the people of the Old Testament seeking for signs of the miraculous in order to believe in God. Think about it, the parting of the Red Sea- God is for the people, but then, after months and years in the wilderness, they forget the wonders, they forget their faith and claim God is not with them. There are stories throughout the Old Testament that show the Israelites constantly at struggle with their identity in and through God. When God shows God’s glory and power the people return to God and repent. They worship the Lord and proclaim God’s majesty. It’s almost as if they can’t simply hold onto the memory long enough to live in that reality. With Elijah and the Israelites, it was no different. In chapter 18, it took the Lord sending a powerful fire consuming the water saturated altar and bull in order for them to “see” that the Lord our God, is the true Lord. It was only then they fell on their knees to worship God. Again, God had to show the miraculous power of God in order for the people to repent.
I suppose in some ways, we are like those people of the Old Testament times today too. Some of us are just looking for the all and powerful God to show us a sign of might- something God does, something miraculous that we simply cannot doubt God’s existence. Or some of us are at the other extreme, some of us have these “mountain top” experiences, you know the type- when you are at a retreat or worship experience that seems to move you to your very core, God has touched your being and you leave feeling refreshed, refilled, energized to serve the Lord, only to go home and get caught back up again in the day- to- day of life and that zest for God that burned in you so strongly just a day or two before, fades quickly into a memory. If we can only experience the power of God every day- see a sign of wonder, have that mountain top experience then we can proclaim boldly our belief in all that we do.
It seems only natural then, that when Elijah is told to expect the presence of the Lord, he is looking for something mighty and wonderful. Imagine his surprise when this incredible wind came through, strong enough to break the rocks and even to split the mountains (in my mind I visualize a tornado like force, spiraling powerful wind) and yet, God did not reveal His presence in this wind. And then, the earth shook, and not just a tremor, but an earth quake and still God’s presence was not revealed to Elijah. Following the quake we are told there was a fire. We are given no description of what the fire was like but I imagine if it is following a tornado or gale force wind and following an earthquake, it was no flash in the sky- it had to be raging. And while God revealed God’s presence in the fire before to Elijah, God was not in the fire this time. No, it was only after all these phenomena that God appeared to Elijah in the sound of sheer silence.
The silence was deafening, so much so, that Elijah had to cover his face in order to stand on the rock and witness it. Everyone here in this room today knows something of that silence. The type of silence that follows the aftermath of destruction, and sometimes, silence comes with death. If we live long enough, we all experience the silence of aftermath. The school shootings at Virginia Tech and Columbine High School or the little Amish village school in Pennsylvania. The terrorists attacks on September 11, 2001 and the one here, in Oklahoma, on April 3, 1995. Horror followed by silence. And those who were there on those days, those who survived some of our nation’s most tragic events, in that silence, many of them found their ways to each other, to the chapels and the churches and came to God in prayer and need.
You see, even in this silence, it is not the final word. We are a resurrection people, and we celebrate the works and deeds of a risen Lord who defeated death and no matter what silence may find us or the silence we may make for ourselves, we know that God is still not through with this world. And there is hope in that reality.
Silence is profound. The silence is transformational. Moses experienced that, Elijah experienced it, we too can experience it. Moses, after witnessing the presence of the Lord on Mt. Sinai was presented with the second set of commandments and the people obeyed, for a while at least, until the noise of their lives got in the way. After Elijah experienced the presence of the Lord, he came down from the mountain and went on to anoint the next set of kings and his successor, Elisha. He was renewed with vigor in his ministry.
Friends, you know as well as I do that in the life of ministry we experience all kinds of silence. Whether your silence comes in the shape of doubt, of pain, of anger, of burn-out or even it comes in the shape of death; know that God is there, in the silence, being present, being with us. Find God in the silence. God is there. And God is in the day- to- day, when those mountain top experiences have faded away. God is still there. When you find yourself at a lost for words to comfort those who seem engulfed in the silence, God is still there. Let the silence be transformational for you as well. There are going to be times in all of our lives that God will seem so far away. In those days, when you can’t seem to “see” God, hold on tightly to the memory of God’s presence, and be open to the silence. Live and love God’s people everyday as if you just witnessed a magnificent sign of wonder, as if you just came down from the mountain, as if you believed in the resurrection. Praise God with trumpets and song, for sure. But praise God in the silence too. Because even there, God is lifting us up, holding us tightly in God’s presence. Amen.
[1] The facts come from the Space.com website, also linked at the site are audio clips of the Challenger, the story is mine though, my nine year old memories blended in with the information.
[2] Comay, Joan. Who’s Who in the Bible. New York: Bonanza Books, 1980. p110
[3] Exodus 31-33