Proper 7 Year C 6/22/2025
1 Kings 19:1-15a; Psalm 42 & 43; Galatians 3:23-29; Luke 8:26-39
Rev. Mark A. Lafler
We all have rough days…
Days where we think…
“Why did I even bother to get out of bed?”
Right?
We’ve all been there.
Days when nothing seems to go well.
Some days are awesome, and things seem to go your way.
Other days, well, they are emotionally draining…
And things seem to snowball from bad to awful to dreadful.
Let me tell you about one of my days, way back on October 30, 1994.
Some friends and I were in Montana, down by Yellowstone Park and we were going to drive up to Kalispell, Montana which is near Glacier National Park.
Before we left, we went out that morning to do some target shooting out in an open field.
Now, I didn’t grow up with guns, but I thought it would be a neat experience to shoot a hunting rifle.
When it was my turn, I picked up the rifle, looked through the scope, aimed…
And fired at that glass bottle 70 yards or so away.
The next thing I knew, I was woozy, and my head was bleeding.
I did not square the butt of the rifle on my shoulder and that scope got me right above the eye.
So, on our way out, we had to stop at the emergency clinic to get a few stitches.
The doctor on duty that day, said did the scope get you?
I guess I wasn’t the first to do that.
So, on we drove north, toward Glacier National Park.
It was getting dark; the weather was getting cold.
And my friend who was driving was getting tired.
So, I volunteered to drive.
Though there was one problem that nobody thought of.
I am from Florida and have never driven in snow or ice.
And sure enough, our pickup truck drove over some ice and I lost control flipping the truck two-and-a-half times landing next to the road.
We all walked away.
However, I got the worse of it…
My left arm was broken… broken pretty bad.
An ambulance came…
They put me on a stretcher and strapped me on it so that my face couldn’t move… I could only look up.
I lay there on the road for a few minutes as they assessed the situation and before they put me in the ambulance.
Every 30 seconds or so, a medical person would put their face in front of mine and ask if I was doing okay.
About the third person, they looked at me and asked if I was okay.
I mumbled, “Yes.”
They saw my stitches above my eye and asked if someone had just stitched me up.
I said, “No, that was from this morning.”
And I will never forget what they said next…
“You’re having a bad day, huh?”
We both chuckled at each other.
Of course it was a bad day.
Well, this is the sort of day Elijah had in our first reading from 1 Kings 19.
Elijah had just defeated the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel in the previous chapter… (Chapter 18)
He had the false prophets executed.
The people were praising God.
But now, Ahab reported to Jezebel everything that Elijah had done, including the massacre of the prophets.
Jezebel immediately sent a messenger to Elijah with her threat:
“The gods will get you for this and I’ll get even with you!
By this time tomorrow you’ll be as dead as any one of those prophets.”
The royal family was now mad…
And they were coming after Elijah.
Listen to this:
When Elijah saw how things were,
he ran for dear life to Beersheba….
He… went on into the desert another day’s journey.
He came to a bush and collapsed in its shade, wanting in the worst way to be done with it all—to just die: “Enough of this, God!
Take my life—I’m ready to join my ancestors in the grave!”
Exhausted, he fell asleep under the bush.
We’ve all been there.
“Lord, I am done… come take me now.”
Emotionally done.
Drained.
And many of us do what Elijah did.
Exhausted, he fell asleep…
Now listen to the way God ministers to Elijah in his emotional burnout.
The first thing God does is feed him.
The scriptures say:
Suddenly an angel shook him awake and said, “Get up and eat!”
He ate the meal the angel provided and went back to sleep.
Then the angel of God came back, shook him awake again, and said, “Get up and eat some more—you’ve got a long journey ahead of you.”
He got up, ate and drank his fill, and set out to the mountain.
When he got there, he crawled into a cave and went to sleep.
Then God said to him: “Elijah, what are you doing here?”
Elijah replies:
“I’ve been working my heart out for the God of hosts.
The people of Israel have abandoned your covenant,
destroyed the places of worship,
and murdered your prophets.
I’m the only one left, and now they’re trying to kill me.”
This was Elijah’s way of saying to God…
Look I’m worn out…
I’m done.
Then a hurricane wind ripped through the mountains…
but God wasn’t to be found in the wind;
after the wind an earthquake,
but God wasn’t in the earthquake;
and after the earthquake fire,
but God wasn’t in the fire;
(all three of these wind, earthquake, and fire are the ways God spoke in the Torah)
but after the fire…
a gentle and quiet whisper.
When Elijah heard the quiet voice,
he muffled his face with his great cloak,
went to the mouth of the cave,
and stood there.
In a quiet voice God asked again,
“So Elijah, now tell me, what are you doing here?”
And Elijah gave the same answer.
And then God gave Elijah some guidance…
Saying, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus.”
Now there is a lot going on in this story…
A treasured narrative in Jewish history…
In the Old Testament…
But want I want to focus on is the way God cares for the needs of Elijah.
God met Elijah in his emotional needs.
And he did it with great care.
You see Elijah was having one of those days.
He was spent…
And the first thing we see God doing is meeting his physical needs.
Elijah sleeps and he eats.
Often enough in life we feel the same emotions.
Elijah no doubt felt fear, exhilaration, terror, confidence, panic, delight, and doubt all mixed together.
It’s no wonder he wanted to die.[1]
Scholar Marva Dawn writes in her book on Sabbath rest:
After Elijah has been strengthened physically, God deals with [Elijah’s] emotions by meeting him in a new way – in the quiet, gentle whisper of his tender love.
God doesn’t criticize Elijah for his doubts and fears,
but meets him graciously, asks him why he is so upset,
listens to his repeated complaint,
and gives him new instructions for what to do next.
All of these gifts offer Elijah space and tools for emotional healing. [2]
You know, one of the gifts of this story is to understand that God cares not only for our physical well-being…
Our spiritual well-being…
But he also cares deeply for our emotional well-being.
He wants to heal our physical bodies and our spiritual personhood…
He also wants to heal our emotional life.
In a world of information overload, social media anxiety,
and seemingly crisis after crisis…
let alone all the baggage we carry from the past…
it seems pretty easy to end up just where Elijah was in our story.
But God in his gentle way meets Elijah where he was at.
Not in condemnation…
Not in ridicule…
But in gentleness…
With care…
He listened and spoke softly.
Jesus comes to us in this same way.
He doesn’t come to condemn us.
In John 3:17, Jesus says:
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but to save the world through him.
He comes to set us free…
To give us a new life…
To help us…
In every bit of who we are:
Physical, Spiritual, and Emotional.
In our collect today we declared:
Lord… you never fail to help and govern those whom you have set upon the sure foundation of your loving-kindness…
We recognize the faithfulness of Jesus love…
His enduring action to help and govern us…
So, as we worship Jesus together on this morning…
Holding whatever emotional baggage that we carry…
And we can carry quite a lot…
More than we are ever meant to carry.
May we rest in God’s loving care for us.
May we eat from the goodness that he provides.
May we know that Jesus came to live, die, and rise again for our healing…
For our salvation…
For our well-being.
I invite you in the quiet of today…
Whether it’s here at church…
Up at the altar receiving sacrament…
Or during healing prayer…
Or perhaps later at your home…
In your quiet time…
In your favorite space, with that cup of tea…
Let God carry that baggage…
Let God take that luggage for you…
For he is a good, good Father.
And in his hands of grace…
There is healing.
Jesus said:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11.28-30)
Take our burdens Lord.
Amen.
[1] Marva Dawn, Keeping the Sabbath Wholly (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989), 73.
[2] Ibid., 74.
