St. John’s Lutheran Church
22 June 2025 + Second Sunday after Pentecost
Proper 7 / Lectionary 12c
1 Kings 19:1-15a
The Rev. Josh Evans
It’s important for us not just to hear the sacred stories of scripture,
but to find our place in these stories, alongside our biblical ancestors,
human beings who lived and struggled and prayed,
just as we live and struggle and pray –
human beings whose lives are relatable.
Elijah is one of those people for me –
and maybe for you as well.
Our first Sunday back in “ordinary time”
brings us to the middle of Elijah’s extraordinary story.
Elijah, the great prophet and “troubler” of Israel.
Today’s story opens with Elijah fleeing for his life.
He is afraid –
I don’t think we can overstate that very real fear
as a starting place for relating to Elijah.
Elijah knew what it meant to be afraid.
What God has called him to do
and indeed what he has been doing
has gotten him nothing short of a murderous threat
from the political powers that be.
More than afraid, Elijah is tired.
He is burnt out.
He is done.
He has nothing left to give.
And so, he retreats by himself into the wilderness
and asks that he might die.
The work of a prophet is no easy task.
After all, prophets are called by God
to be God’s spokespeople –
and specifically to be God’s spokespeople to a ruling party
that, on the whole, has failed to hold up their end of God’s covenant
and refuses to listen.
Where the monarchy has abandoned the worship and commands of Yahweh,
the prophets become like “covenant watchdogs,”
calling out idolatry and injustice,
and urging the people to repentance.
It is to this work that Elijah is called.
Elijah’s story actually begins two chapters before –
quite abruptly and really without much of an introduction.
All of a sudden, Elijah appears, and he informs King Ahab –
a woefully inept king in Israel’s history –
that there will be a drought.
Then, in the midst of this drought comes a tender story
of a widow and her son to whom Elijah is sent.
When Elijah asks for some water and bread,
you can imagine the widow’s reaction:
“Seriously? In this drought? I don’t even have enough for me and my son.”
But Elijah promises there will be enough –
and it will somehow, miraculously, last until the end of the drought.
And it does.
The joy of this miracle is short-lived, though,
when the widow’s son becomes ill and dies.
But here again, Elijah calls on God and miraculously brings her son back to life,
and the widow confesses:
“Now I know that you are a man of God
and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”
Emboldened in his work by these experiences,
Elijah’s inspiration turns into a bit of bravado in the next story.
When Ahab confronts Elijah and accuses him of being a “troubler of Israel,”
Elijah boldly responds:
“I have not troubled Israel…but you have…”
For forsaking Yahweh’s commandments and following in the ways of other gods,
Elijah challenges Ahab – and I paraphrase:
“Assemble your prophets, all 450 of them, and we’ll settle this once and for all.
We’ll prepare two bulls for a burnt sacrifice,
one on Baal’s altar and one on Yahweh’s altar.
But…we won’t light the fire. We’ll let the true God take care of that.”
Maybe you remember the rest of the story,
or can fill in the predictable blanks…
Baal’s prophets pray and cry aloud all day…
and there is “no voice, no answer, and no response.”
Then, with a bit of the aforementioned bravado,
and anticipating almost certain victory,
Elijah has four jars of water filled and poured three times on his altar.
Then he prays.
And Yahweh’s fire consumes everything –
even the very last drop of water.
Elijah is high on power.
He is confident and fearless.
He alone challenged and defeated 450 prophets of his adversaries.
Even the drought comes to an end.
Everything was going great…
until it wasn’t.
Ahab takes the news back to his wife, Jezebel,
who is furious.
Swearing by her gods, she threatens to kill Elijah
in the same way he killed her prophets.
Elijah has done everything God has asked him to do,
and now he is fleeing for his life.
Elijah is afraid.
He is tired.
He is burnt out.
He is done.
And he asks God to kill him before Jezebel can.
Quite the reversal from the confident and fearless prophet only moments before.
Elijah’s mental state is worth paying attention to.
He is disappointed and worn out.
Despite his zealous dedication to God,
and perhaps a bit of over-functioning and thirst for some power of his own,
Elijah is left in a spiral of depression, lethargy, and resignation.
And honestly, it makes one of the most prominent biblical prophets
just a bit more relatable –
finding common ground with a fellow follower of God
who struggled…mightily.
To us who are afraid,
to us who are tired,
to us who are burnt out,
to us who are done –
Elijah’s story is relatable.
We wait and we look for the dramatic power of God
in the wind,
in the earthquake,
in the fire…
waiting for God to dramatically act
and set things right…
And what do we get?
A sound of sheer…silence…
What does that even mean?
What does that even sound like?
“What are you doing here, Elijah?”
God asks…quietly, softly, tenderly.
It’s the same question from before,
and so too is Elijah’s response the same:
“I have been very zealous for you,
for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant,
thrown down your altars,
and killed your prophets with the sword.
I alone am left…”
For (at least) the third time in this text,
Elijah is ready to call it quits.
And the astonishing thing
is that God doesn’t necessarily challenge him.
As if to say:
“If you’re calling it quits, I won’t make you go any further…
but I do have just one more job for you first…”
Elijah’s story doesn’t end with verse 15,
but keeps going…
and so do God’s instructions – and again I paraphrase:
“You’re going to anoint a new king of Aram and a new king of Israel,
and most importantly, you’re going to anoint your successor as prophet.
Oh, and by the way, you’re not actually the only one left.
There are seven thousand faithful Israelites
who have not given in to worshipping Baal.”
God acknowledges Elijah’s “done-ness,”
but God doesn’t leave him there either.
That sounds a lot like grace,
as one of my favorite quotes by Anne Lamott puts it:
“I do not at all understand the mystery of grace –
only that it meets us where we are
but does not leave us where it found us.”
***
It’s important for us not just to hear the sacred stories of scripture,
but to find our place in these stories, alongside our biblical ancestors,
like Elijah,
who knew what it meant to be afraid,
who just wanted to be done –
and whose story doesn’t end there.
Elijah’s story is relatable…
and Elijah’s story teaches us a thing or two about God’s grace.
Elijah’s story shows us a God who meets us
in our “done-ness,”
in our fear,
in our exhaustion,
in our weariness –
And most importantly,
Elijah’s story shows us a God
who is with us in those places,
and who promises not to leave us there.
