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Luke 14:1;7-14
On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely.
When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honour, he told them a parable. “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honour, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give this person your place,’ and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will be honoured in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbours, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

There was a discussion among some of my colleagues this week about how effective was our pastoral ministry when it so often consisted of simply having a cup of tea and a blether with folks.
That might not sound very effective.
It may not even sound like it's the best use of time - and certainly many of my younger colleagues felt that way.
And yet, isn't it the way that Jesus went about his ministry?
In calling folk into the Kingdom, whether gently or with challenge and even, at times, ridicule, Jesus liked to do it over supper, dinner, a picnic lunch, a barbecue, a wedding feast.
Table fellowship was important to him.
I've said time and again, that the days I find most fulfilling in ministry are those days when I've sat in folks' homes and shared coffee, admired their pictures of loved ones, been privy to awards that hang on their wall or paintings stuck on their fridge, mementoes that tell stories, some of which are shared, some that don't need to be - but all part of the bigger picture of the person with whom I'm sharing.
(It's also the reason that I fight a constant battle against weight gain- often those coffees are accompanied by home baking or other temptations!)
Sharing table fellowship deepens relationship.
Or it can - if we allow it.
Jesus got to know all sorts of things about people by sharing round their tables.
And they got to know him.
And so relationships were formed through which Jesus could show his compassion, through which Jesus could offer challenge and through which Jesus could even rebuke.
It's a simple fact that folk are more likely to listen if connections have been made, if a relationship has been formed.

At the beginning of the week, I was involved in a meeting.
There were about 12 of us around the table.
We shared coffee at the start of the meeting - most of us had travelled a fair way to get there - and then got down to business.
Since we all had a bit of a journey to get home, we decided to continue working through a sandwich lunch rather than take a break.
But as we all got what we wanted - tea, coffee, sandwiches, we caught up with each other, since there hadn't been the opportunity earlier.
I was mid conversation with someone when we realised that our colleague across the table was telling a joke - and the whole table stopped to listen.
Having shared with each other before, we recognised the change in tone - and we all knew it was worth holding off on our conversations to listen in to another.
That's what can happen in table fellowship - we can get distracted, or sucked in.
And that's not a bad thing.
It's good to be able to pick up on nuances, to catch the different emotions, to hear what is said - as well as what is not spoken out loud.

Lets never underestimate the power of a "wee cup of tea". - not just its cure all properties but its relationship forging ability and thus its gateway to loving and caring, to challenging and cajoling.
Jesus not only practiced table fellowship but used it to illustrate the Kingdom of God.
In the gospel passage we read, he was at a meal and he used the meal as a lesson on how we should be hospitable to others.
Jesus took the table plan of the meal in which he shared to teach his followers how to practice humility and how to find honour.
It would be better, Jesus told them, to sit at a lowlier place and be moved up than to take a higher place and be moved down.
We can all see that.
Even today, that makes sense.
But Jesus goes on to say that we should think carefully too about whom we invite.
Our invitation shouldn't just go to those who are likely to return the favour - but should extend beyond those bounds to those whom we know will never be able to repay our hospitality.
Now there's a challenge.
Would we be comfortable partying the night away with those who are "not like us"?
Of course we wouldn't.
When we have down time and want to chill with friends.
Or when we have something we want to share with others.
When we want to celebrate- we want to choose carefully those who are allowed in on the celebrations.
We want to choose carefully those in whom we invest our time and our effort and our hospitality.
And that's not just about them perhaps on some future occasion returning the compliment and extending an invitation to us.
That's about who we would feel comfortable with.
And while, on the odd occasion, we might just push our boundaries a bit.
While we might now and again share with someone very different from us - that would be an exception rather than the norm.
We can blame our busy lives.
We can blame our lack of free time.
We can cite many reasons why we feel the need to guard our table fellowship and restrict it to those whose company we know we will enjoy.
Still, Jesus calls us to something different.

I wondered about Jesus' table companions in this gospel story today.
In our gospel today, Jesus is eating with one of the Pharisees - a leader - not one of the people on the fringes that we often see Jesus associating with - or perhaps the "leader of the Pharisees", because of his position, is as much on the fringe as the more obvious folk with whom Jesus eats - the tax collector, the prostitute, the leper...
Folk become isolated as much because of their status as because of their lack of status.
And Jesus manages to embrace either and all.
He could get down and dirty or he could scrub up nicely.
Either way, he would embrace those with whom he shared.
Not blending in - that was never Jesus' style.
But meeting folk everywhere, however lowly or mighty with the challenge of discipleship, the challenge of inclusivity, the challenges that being part of the Kingdom of God demands.

We gather this morning to share table fellowship.
And Jesus meets us here.
Not unobtrusively but right in our faces.
Jesus, in relationship with us, reads us all too well.
Jesus meets us here - with compassion, with challenge, with ridicule and with rebuke - whatever we need, is here in this table fellowship.
Sharing table fellowship deepens relationship.
Or it can if we allow it.
As we share today, may we find ourselves becoming more open to those around us.
More open to their pain, their joy, their companionship, their hidden depths, their shyness, their awkwardness, their familiarity and their strangeness.
May we give thanks for the stories we have shared and hold gently the stories that may never be spoken out loud.
And in all of this, may we find ourselves becoming more open to the ways of the Kingdom that Jesus sets before us.



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Standing up straight

Luke 13:10-17
Jesus Heals a Crippled Woman
Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.” But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?” When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.
When we read this passage today, we do so with no small measure of contempt. We are outraged at how the synagogue officials could be so short sighted, preferring their rules that kept folk down and in control to the freedom offered by Jesus.
We see immediately how their view of Gods word and of God's world is self limiting and confining.
And, when we've stopped being outraged by them, perhaps we might even pity them.
That they are so straight laced, so buttoned up. That they fail to see the extraordinary freedom that Jesus offers, mirroring the will of God- that all should know freedom from all that keeps us down, from all that stops us loving life in all its fulness.
It IS outrageous that anyone should want to be limiting or prescriptive with the amazing love and the incredible Spirit of God.
We do well to be outraged.
But wait a minute.
What about all those times that we behave just as the leaders of the synagogue did?
What about all those times when we find ourselves being inflexible?
When we insist on sticking to the letter of the law instead of the spirit?
What about all those conditions we impose that seek to limit the life giving, freedom bringing, full on loving gifts of healing that God holds out to us?
How often do we find ourselves saying...
You can't do that...
Or
You're not old enough or, indeed - you're too old
Or
That's not the way we do it...
Or
That would never work...
Or
How often do we find ourselves saying:
Been there, tried that, got the T shirt...
When we make these statements, aren't we being just as inflexible as the leaders of the synagogue who witnessed something good and lovely but couldn't allow it because, among other things, they weren't part of it.
So, before we condemn those leaders, lets step back and see the similarities in our actions today, clinging to all those rules that we hold dear.
And, when we catch ourselves about to proclaim - you can't do that, lets bite our tongues and appreciate all who contribute in all sorts of different ways to the work of the kingdom.
When we find ourselves excluding others because we have our own carefully worked out system, lets take a step back.
Who knows, we might find an even better way to get something done when we let others play too.
Jesus has just done something incredible when he cops all this flak.
He has just healed a woman who couldn't stand up straight for many years.
What's to get angry about in that?
But, as well as noting how uptight those around him get at him flouting rules, I also want to ask of this passage:
What about all those daughters and sons of Abraham who do not find healing from their ailments, who are not able to suddenly stand up straight.
The way this story is told, it would seem that you have to be able to stand up straight to praise God.
And we know that that is certainly not the truth.
How many folk do you know who are willing to praise God in all manner of trying circumstances.
How many people do you know who are constantly bent out of shape, physically and emotionally by all that life throws at them and yet continue to give God praise.
What is that that allows such people, even in the midst of difficulty, to consider themselves still beloved of God?
Perhaps it's the fact that as they look down, they don't only see the things that other folk discard and trample underfoot.
They are able to glimpse glory in the glaur.
To see reflected in the mud the image of stars.
To see shimmering on the puddles the outline of the rainbow.
Their perspective is different from ours but it is enhanced by their experience - whether that be the experience of trial or exclusion, of being invisible or discarded, whether it be the experience of pain or loss, the experience affords them depth and insight.
Our gospel today, though it speaks of physical appearance, takes us to a much deeper place.
A place where rules are broken, where conformity is cast aside.
A place where what you see is NOT what you get.
Because the love of God confounds expectation.
And allows miracles to happen.
Allows despair to become hope.
Allows dire straits to become places of possibility.
Allows the trials of life to become places of growth.
And allows those on whom we would look down or pity to teach us the most valuable lessons about life and about the transforming love of God.
We're very good at jumping to conclusions.
At deciding how things will turn out before we've even given them a chance.
At dismissing the possibility of being surprised by joy
We're bent down by rules and expectations.
Just as burdened as the Daughter of Abraham whom Jesus healed on the Sabbath.
And when we close ourselves off to new possibilities we limit that slow winding work of God.
Lets see ourselves today as those folk we shake our heads over - the leaders of the synagogue.
Lets acknowledge that our clinging to rules and our trampling on dreams consign us firmly into the same category, even when we think we're doing our best to protect the traditions of our faith.
God does not need our protection.
But even as we are chastened, lets give thanks that there will always be sons and daughters of Abraham such as the one in our gospel today who will challenge and confront, who will go on seeing the best in all things and who will always mirror for us the love of God that is not stifled by our smallness of heart.
And let us be prepared to listen to another perspective, to view things through a different lens and, in it all, to know our rule breaking God bringing freedom, bringing healing and bringing joy.
Thanks be to God.
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A gospel of grace

Luke 12:13-21
The Parable of the Rich Fool
Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?” And he said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” Then he told them a parable:“The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops? ’ Then he said, ‘I will do this:I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry. ’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be? ’ So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”
I've just spent a few days on Iona. A very restful few days. In many ways, Iona is just another Scottish island, with its white sandy beaches, subject to the vagaries of Scottish weather, whatever the season, and with its resident community fighting for survival, trying to preserve a fragile economy and ecology while yet welcoming visitors and offering lavish highland hospitality. But, in other ways, Iona is, for many people, a very special island, a place of spiritual retreat offering rest and renewal. A thin place - a place where the divide between heaven and earth is very fine indeed.
We stayed in the Episcopal Retreat Centre, where the day started with Holy Communion and ended with Evening Prayers, all of which seemed a fitting rhythm, a backdrop to the wonder of creation unfolding all around us - in the people, from all over the world, with whom we shared meals and stories and companionship and in the raw island beauty, birds and animals and wildflowers and tides and weather.
This simple rhythm of life and of love made me think of how busy and cluttered we allow life to become. And of how, in that clutter, much of what gives life is squeezed out.
And, instead of that cycle of prayer and worship giving rhythm to life, it becomes a fevered punctuation that we insert, often as an after thought or in the least appropriate moments, bringing a jarring discord rather than resolute harmony.
It's tempting to imagine that it is much easier on an island - especially one as breathtaking as Iona to give ourselves over to the simple things of life, to better appreciate creation and the God who is at the centre of all things, to de-clutter so that our focus is on the things, or, more likely, the people, who are central to our lives. But the idyll of remoteness brings its own pressures, not least the pressure to stay connected with life beyond the physical boundaries.
One night, over supper, we got talking about the grace of God. And of how we in the church, while we might ( though not always) proclaim that the amazing grace of God is free, we don't often live as though we are convinced.
Rather, we signal that the gospel to which we subscribe is a prosperity gospel - where we, the deserving people of God are rewarded for our labour and for just being generally good folks. We take pride in all that we have achieved. We acknowledge that, yes, God has a hand in that, but only because we are such worthy receivers of Gods grace.
And the problem is that, bad enough as that is as a premise, that kind of supposition, that acceptance of Gods goodness as being no more than our proper entitlement doesn't stop there but spills over into denying those in need any sharing of our deserved wealth - because clearly those not as fortunate as us are quite simply not as deserving. And we wouldn't want to share our hard earned desserts with those who do not find favour with God as we do.
That sounds pretty grim, doesn't it?
We'd be quick to deny that the gospel we live by is anything less than grace filled.
But our actions, or lack of them, speak louder than our words.
And our constant battle to acquire the symbols of status that show us to be favoured by God testify to something other than the gospel our words proclaim.
And he said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.”
So what does it take for us to shake off something instilled in us with our mother's milk? How can we strive less to own more?
How can we stop ourselves from judging and looking down on others whom God has not blessed as well as us?
Everyday I have the privilege of walking alongside many of you who have learned and are learning that lesson well.
Every day I have cause to thank God for you who show me a new way of being, who, even and especially in the face of hardship and adversity trust in God to carry you and, in the waiting and in the living, find cause to give thanks.
Those of you who do not shut God out but rest in Gods promises even and especially in the darkest of times.
Those of you for whom prayer and worship are not mere interruptions to the daily cycle but the very fibre of your being, as important as breathing, and just as instinctive.
Tides and seasons.
Living and loving.
Breathing and praying.
The rhythm of grace filled lives bathed in the grace of God, founded on the companionship of love.
Not based on earthly possessions but grounded in all the riches of God.
An abundance freely given to be freely shared.
Thanks be to God.
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Lord, teach us to pray

Luke 11:1-13
The Lord’s Prayer
He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”
He said to them, “When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.
And do not bring us to the time of trial.”
Perseverance in Prayer
And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him. ’ And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything. ’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.
“So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Lord, teach us to pray.
A few months ago when I visited our BCs(youth group) through in the lounge, I was really pleased that, when it came to prayer time, the young folk were encouraged to take up comfortable positions before spending time talking to God.
For too long, prayer has been perceived as something we do in a prescribed way rather than being perceived as a relationship that we have with God.
Most of you will remember when the school day started with prayer. You bowed your heads and clasped your hands. And recited the Lords Prayer.
Recently I did some school assemblies based on the Lords Prayer and discovered that very few children could actually recite the Lord's Prayer.
That's just the way it is.
It doesn't mean that folk no longer pray.
They just do it without a prescribed form of words.
And while Jesus, in response to the request: Lord, teach us to pray, taught his disciples a form of words, his stories spoke much more of what prayer is - of how and why we should pray rather than what we should say.
The story Jesus told, of someone going to the door of a friend at midnight, demanding entry seems to tell a story of persistence.
But I don't think we should take from that the message that if we ask often enough, God will deliver.
This is more a message of audacity.
The audacity of asking that one can only have when we know well the one of whom we ask.
Jesus is not saying that if we are persistent, our prayers will be answered.
Jesus is encouraging us to build up such a relationship with God, a familiarity if you like, that nothing will seem too bizarre to ask.
A relationship that will survive, that will see us through when it seems that our prayers seem to go unanswered.
Lets face it, if the desires of our heart depended on our being able to ask efficiently and persistently, we'd all be experts in prayer, wouldn't we?
We'd all have it off pat - we'd know what to ask and how to ask.
But prayer isn't like that.
It is not a magic formula.
It defies logic.
For every one who has rejoiced in the miracle of answered prayer, there are countless others who continue to wait - or who have long since given up hope.
That's why Jesus, when asked: Teach us to pray, focused on relationship and not requests.
Getting to know God.
Honouring God in all things.
Working for God's Kingdom of justice and peace for all here on earth.
That's how we learn to pray. - by building up a relationship with God.
Earlier this year, I enjoyed reading a book on prayer by Anne Lamott, called, Help, Thanks, Wow!
In it, the author suggests that humans, knowingly or not, indulge in three main prayers - Help - prayers that we breathe, imploring God's help, Thanks - prayers in which we concede that there is a higher power to whom we can direct our thanks for the many blessings in life and Wow - prayers in which we acknowledge that words are not enough to express our awe at the sights we see every day.
Help, thanks, wow.
Lord, teach us to pray.


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Extreme hospitality

Luke 10:38-42
Jesus Visits Martha and Mary
Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”


A couple of nights ago, I went down to the beach to watch the sun set.
I'm sure lots of you have witnessed the nightly spectacle this week.
And, if you've been too busy this week, there must be very few people who can't conjure up a time when they've been captivated by the beauty of the setting sun.
The beach and the prom was busy that night.
There were even some folk still in the water, taking the opportunity to cool down after a scorching day.
There were many folk with cameras, some set up on tripods to capture this marvellous sight that we see played out time and time again, through all the seasons.
But what struck me most that evening was the way a kind of hush descended on the prom, a stillness.
Folk stopped.
And, at that point where the sun makes its final drop behind the hills, there was a kind of collective sigh.
Before folk moved on again.
Being the preacher that I am, I wondered just how many of those folk, stopped in their tracks by God's handiwork sensed the divine presence.
Whatever the motivation or the meaning we import to them, it is good to have moments that stop us in our tracks.
Moments that divert us from our daily round, give us breathing space and pause for thought.


In the story of Martha and Mary, we encounter two Jewish women, well versed in the social norms of their day and, in particular the expectations on their ethos of hospitality.
When a guest entered a home, all the stops were pulled out, nothing was too good, nothing too much effort for the one being entertained.
Great value was placed on the culture of extreme hospitality.
So, Martha was doing all that was expected of her, a shining example of a proper Jewish hostess.
Attending to her guest's every need.
There was, however, little sense of fulfilment in her service
She didn't see those gifts that she offered as valuable, as vital in the everyday round.
She was, quite simply, frazzled by her service and couldn't see any other way to give that didn't result in her feeling overwhelmed.
So, when Martha implored Jesus to tell her sister Mary to help her, Jesus helps Martha to see her predicament - to name what's going on.
He's not, by any measure, saying that what she is doing is wrong.
Rather, he is empathising with her in how difficult it is to provide the kind of welcome that she is trying to provide.
He notices that she is worn out by her efforts.
For a man in Jesus position to notice the cost to a woman of extending hospitality was earth shattering.
Jesus not only notices, but helps her to name her feelings and encourages her to seek healing and rest.

It's easy to see, in Jesus response to Martha, a note of censure.
And often this gospel has been interpreted as an admonishment to those who busy themselves with work like Martha did.
Perhaps that's because so many of us today identify with Martha.
It seems we have so much to do and are constantly worried and distracted as Martha was.
And, if we ever feel like we're getting anywhere near the end of our to do list, all we're fit for is collapsing in a heap, ready to begin the relentless round again.
Jesus is not diminishing that role.
Nor is he advocating that we should all let the work go so that we can indulge in the luxury that Mary had, sitting at Jesus feet, absorbing all that Jesus said.
It's not the absorption that Jesus holds up as desirable.
It is the focus.
The ability to focus on one thing and to do it well rather than being distracted by the enormity of the tasks we see in front of us.
Sometimes that will involve pitching right in.
Other times, it involves taking time to listen and discern what God's Spirit is saying.
Always, it involves us listening carefully to God in our midst.
In our work and in our resting.
Catching the Spirit of God.

In this gospel for today, Jesus acknowledges the hard work that it is to welcome others, be they strangers or friends.
He acknowledges the vitality of that work.
And invites us to find some balance in our service.
So that we don't come to resent the task of making space.
Jesus invites us, in our making space for others, to find also space for ourselves.
Space in which to encounter the divine.

Hospitality is an important feature of our life together.
Making space for each other and for those we have not yet met.
Building up and creating space in this community of faith where all will feel welcome and valued.
Jesus invites us to find a way of doing that without becoming worn out, without feeling isolated or out on a limb.
Jesus invites us to find meaning in the work of building a welcoming community together.
And to take that meaning into all of life, whether gathered together or in our individual lives.
If our gathering here on a Sunday morning has no effect on the rest of our week.
If our service, be it welcoming a stranger or greeting our neighbour makes us worried and anxious, we've lost something in the giving.
If our service does not bring us closer to those we serve, we've missed the point of our time together.
The learning and the serving that we undertake here enrich our whole lives and the lives of those we encounter every day.
Jesus invites us, in all that we do, in all that we are, to discern the presence of God.
To be stopped in our tracks.
And to focus on the perspective gained from encountering the Divine in every part of life,
Seeing God in all of life affects our whole being.
Jesus tells us today: you need only one thing.
Lets endeavour to see the presence of God in every thing.
And, from that perspective, encounter God in each other.
Then we will have chosen the better part.
And it will not be taken away from us.
Thanks be to God.


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Persistent Truth

2 Kings 2:1-14
Elijah Ascends to Heaven
Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?” And he said, “Yes, I know; keep silent.”
Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here; for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. The company of prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?” And he answered, “Yes, I know; be silent.”
Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here; for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on. Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground.
When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.” Elisha said, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.” He responded, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.” As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha kept watching and crying out, “Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.
Elisha Succeeds Elijah
He picked up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. He took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, saying, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” When he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over.
There is lots about this story that I love. It's one of those passages that has cropped up for me at significant times in the journey of faith.
In this passage, we find Persistence personified.
The persistence of Elisha who refused to leave Elijah as he set off on a journey ordained by God.
Although he was given ample opportunity to turn back or to wait it out, he persisted in accompanying Elijah on the road.
The persistence of the company of prophets who met Elisha at each stage of his journey to remind him - today's the day - the day that Elijah will be taken away. Even though Elisha begged them to keep quiet, they insisted in reminding him of what he didn't want to face.
And - The persistence of silence that often forces us to confront what we would rather avoid.
Persistence - a companion on the journey of faith.
Elisha's persistence is a persistence that paid off.
By sticking close to Elijah he witnessed him being taken up in a whirlwind and inherited a double share of the spirit that was upon Elijah.
The company of prophet's persistence paid off - they saw Elisha taking on the mantle that was Elisha's and recognised him as a prophet ordained by God, someone to whom they could pledge their allegiance and get alongside in sharing the word of God.
And the silence?
It's hard to outrun things that must be faced.
No matter what avoidance techniques we employ.
The voice of God, albeit a still, small voice will not be silenced.
The call of God persists through all our denial.
The God we serve is a persistent God.

Often, we are called to Persistence in the journey of faith.
Persistence when it seems that others would distract us and pull us in all sorts of other directions.
Persistence when we are weary and would just love to stop and rest awhile.
Persistence when we would rather not confront what is staring us in the face.
But the truth of God is persistent.
It is a truth that has remained through the ages - comforting, challenging and confronting.
A truth that refuses to be silenced.
Today, the mantle passes to us.
We are called to pass on that truth.
We give thanks today for all who have held the space for us.
For all who have kept the faith and honoured the truth of the living God.
With fear and trepidation we pick up the mantle as Elisha did and journey on into an unknown future carrying God's persistent truth into today's world.
We have arrived at the place of calling.
But the journey is just beginning.
We are called to lay Gods persistent truth before this generation.
We do not journey alone but with the company of prophets all through the ages, unseen witnesses to the truth of God.
And we journey with each other, prophets of God, called to take on the mantle, prophets on whom God's spirit is poured out today bringing us courage and strength for the journey.
Lets take up that mantle and be possessed by God's spirit to live out truth today.
Amen

Speaking truth

1 Kings 21:1-21
Naboth’s Vineyard
Later the following events took place:Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel, beside the palace of King Ahab of Samaria. And Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard, so that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near my house; I will give you a better vineyard for it; or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its value in money.” But Naboth said to Ahab, “The Lord forbid that I should give you my ancestral inheritance.” Ahab went home resentful and sullen because of what Naboth the Jezreelite had said to him; for he had said, “I will not give you my ancestral inheritance.” He lay down on his bed, turned away his face, and would not eat.
His wife Jezebel came to him and said, “Why are you so depressed that you will not eat?” He said to her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard for it’; but he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard. ’” His wife Jezebel said to him, “Do you now govern Israel? Get up, eat some food, and be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”
So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal; she sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who lived with Naboth in his city. She wrote in the letters, “Proclaim a fast, and seat Naboth at the head of the assembly; seat two scoundrels opposite him, and have them bring a charge against him, saying, ‘You have cursed God and the king. ’ Then take him out, and stone him to death.” The men of his city, the elders and the nobles who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them. Just as it was written in the letters that she had sent to them, they proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth at the head of the assembly. The two scoundrels came in and sat opposite him; and the scoundrels brought a charge against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king.” So they took him outside the city, and stoned him to death. Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned; he is dead.”
As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab, “Go, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead.” As soon as Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab set out to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.
Elijah Pronounces God’s Sentence
Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying: Go down to meet King Ahab of Israel, who rules in Samaria; he is now in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession. You shall say to him, “Thus says the Lord:Have you killed, and also taken possession?” You shall say to him, “Thus says the Lord:In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, dogs will also lick up your blood.”
Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my enemy?” He answered, “I have found you. Because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord, I will bring disaster on you; I will consume you, and will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel;
What a story we read in 1 Kings today. A real howler.
Another episode in the saga that is the ministry of Elijah.
He really doesn't have it easy as a prophet. (None of them do)
He has more than his fair share of poop to scoop.
And that message he has to give the king at the end of our reading today is the kind of utterance that has resulted in death for countless prophets through the ages.
Just as well Elijah was dealing with such a wimp as King Ahab.
A powerful wimp.
A dangerous wimp.
But a wimp nonetheless.
A king with no backbone who could hear such searing words from Elijah and....
DO NOTHING!
But, as I read through the passage, I couldn't help but feel a sneaking sympathy for King Ahab.
He doesn't have much going for him in life.
He IS king.
But his wife Jezebel calls the shots.
And Ahab does not even try to stand up to her.
Indeed it seems he doesn't even want to.
He is happy to be drawn into her evil and corrupt ways, to let her fight his battles and to let her influence totally desecrate the kingdom.
It's easy to picture this weak, spineless man, king on paper, but totally at the mercy of his strong and vicious wife.
I began to feel just a little sympathy for him - not too much but just a little.
With Jezebel to deal with on the one hand - and Elijah on the other.
Not a good place to be.
Lets look at the story again:
King Ahab has a lovely palace in Jezreel.
And right beside his palace is a vineyard.
King Ahab would like a garden in which to plant vegetables.
I suspect it was probably somewhere he thought he might be able to escape from his wife for a while!
But it makes sense to buy this vineyard, right next to his property and have it cultivated for his purposes.
Simple!
Except?
Except that the said vineyard is owned by Naboth.
And has been in Naboth's family for generations.
And, apart from it being a good vineyard, well established over many years, the land holds sentimental value for Naboth.
It is part of his inheritance, part of his link with previous generations of his family.
He wants it to remain that way.
Why would Naboth sacrifice a part of his inheritance on the whim of a king?
And that is what he tells Ahab.
And Ahab, the warrior that he is, takes to his bed in sorrow over Naboth's knock back.
Enter bad Queen Jezebel.
She wants to know what has upset her dear husband so.
And, on hearing that it was a small matter of desiring a vineyard that belongs to someone else, Jezebel sets about putting things right.
She uses her queenly authority, writes letters and, before you know it, Naboth is dead and his vineyard belongs to the king.
Jezebel's grateful husband makes his way to Jezreel to take possession of his newly acquired land.
Enter the prophet Elijah.
Bringing with him a cheerful message from God. Not.
“Thus says the Lord:Have you killed, and also taken possession?:In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, dogs will also lick up your blood.”
It was at that point in the story that my sympathies switched from Ahab to Elijah.
Imagine having to deliver such a line to a king?
And, while Ahab would probably just stand there with his mouth open, he would, eventually, repeat the conversation to his wife.
And then Elijah's troubles would begin.
Or continue.
Because Elijah is already on Queen Jezebel's wanted list.
Elijah could have lived a quiet life.
He could have chosen to remain under the radar.
But he felt compelled to speak God's word - a word that might comfort or heal.
But a word that could also challenge and confront and condemn.
No such thing as a quiet life for a prophet of God.
I wonder if we've all but lost that sense of call to prophecy today?
That call to speak out and to speak up.
How often have we heard folk, or found ourselves saying: What's the point in speaking up?
What difference will it make?
And even in those of us who tend to put ourselves in the firing line, who have spoken up on occasion, there comes a point where we become worn down, where we experience futility - and we decide not to waste our energy when it seems that no one is listening.
We become resigned to watching from the sidelines and living on the margins.
The story of the prophet Elijah is a story of a man called by God, to live on the margins speaking out and shaking up corruption and injustice.
In Elijah's time, Gods people were oppressed.
Their rulers had wandered far from God.
Because the people felt that they were outnumbered, because they felt their voices held no sway, they retreated to the safety of obscurity.
A temptation that assails us and that we succumb to today.
But history has shown that it is often on the margins that folk can be at their most creative.
In times of austerity that we can bring forth ingenuity.
As a church on the margins today, I believe that we are being called to be prophetic.
To recover our ability to rise to the challenge - to speak up for communities around us today or, better still, to encourage then to find their own voices and then learn from what they say.
To challenge authority and bring the harsh light of truth to shine on policies that maintain and expand poverty or increase the vulnerability of those already living hand to mouth while the policy makers continue to prosper.
We may be a minority.
We may be marginalised.
But we are not exempt from speaking truth that comes from God.
3 characters in our story today:
Ahab, who turned his face to the wall.
Jezebel who ground people underfoot.
Elijah, who spoke the truth of God.
Which will we be?
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