Date: 10^th August 2008

Preacher: Richard Dingley

Churches: Draycott and Rodney Stoke

Readings:

1 Kings 19, 9-18

Romans 10, 5-15

Matt 14, 22-33

Trinity 12

May I speak in the name of God the Father who loves us, God the Son who redeems us and God the Holy Spirit who sustains us. Amen

Throughout the readings we have heard this morning there was a theme. This theme is of a faithful God, even when we are faithless and especially when things are tough.

In our first reading we heard about Elijah: after his great victory for God over the priests of Baal on Mount Carmel he was running away to Horeb, terrified of the vindictive Queen Jezebel whose prophets he had destroyed. There he rested in a cave. He was deeply depressed after the high of the dramatic events of his burnt offering sacrifice and he wanted to get away from it all! And it was there that God met him to ask a simple but important question “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Elijah, as we so often do, tried to justify his position and he claims a unique loyalty to God – one that failed to recognise that God actually had 7000 other followers who had not bowed the knee to Baal.

The scene is set: God spoke; ‘Go out and stand before me on the top of the mountain!’ And we have record of the rock shattering wind, followed by an earthquake and finally the fire – but God was not in any of them. These demonstrations of power were followed by an eyrie silence – a scary silence in which God spoke in a still small voice, a whisper, and asked that fateful question – ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’

What was Elijah expecting? Sympathy? Comfort? Maybe. But he certainly did not expect to be told to get back to work and go to anoint new kings in Syria and Israel as well as his successor as God’s prophet, Elisha!

Moving on to our Gospel reading from Matthew we follow the events following on from the feeding of the 5,000. There after telling his disciples to get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side of the lake Jesus sent the crowds away. He needed to be alone with his Father in order to pray following the murder of his cousin, John the Baptist. The disciples too had been on a high, amazed at the creative power of God revealed through the miracle of the multiplication of the bread. They too were then faced with a storm – and a storm at sea could easily end in disaster, especially at night. But Jesus appeared, walking on the water. They thought they saw a ghost but he calmed them with his reassurances. Indeed so much so that Peter even wanted to walk to Jesus over the water and, when invited, started to do so but he then looked away from his master to the surging water beneath him, panicked and began to sink – once again fearful of what might happen to him he called to Jesus for help. “Why did you doubt, Peter?” Jesus entered the boat with Peter and the wind and waves subsided!

In the section that we heard from the Epistle to the Romans Paul is also dealing with being saved – this time not from the elemental forces but from our very selves and our sinful state. Moses had taught that keeping the commandments and rules of life brought salvation – but it was and is an impossible task. Instead we are to believe and confess that Jesus is both Lord and God. Paul’s word to us is that we must simply trust Jesus. Then our belief results in our cleansing, our justification before God, but he embarrassingly goes on to say that it is when we confess him, when we speak of him, that we experience true salvation.

In all three readings the theme is of a disturbed and fearful heart – Elijah in fear of retribution for his actions on Mount Carmel, the disciples in fear of a watery death in the boat, and the Christians in Rome, as with ourselves, a fear of making a public statement of our faith – our inability to ‘gossip the Gospel’. In each case there is a commission given, to Elijah that still small, but very determined voice of God to get back in there for there is more work to do. To the disciples, especially Peter, the command to believe and trust in Jesus who in the miracle of the multiplication of the bread on the hill side revealed himself as the bread of life, sufficient for everyone. He is the one who casts out fear. And to the Christians in Rome the challenge to speak out for, in verse 11, Paul says ‘No one who believes in him (Jesus) will be put to shame.’ And Paul reminds us of our responsibility in the last three verses which read:

[13] Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. [14] But how can they call to him for help if they have not believed? And how can they believe if the have not heard the message? And how can they hear if the message id not proclaimed? [15] And how can the message be proclaimed if the messengers are not sent out? As the scripture says ‘How wonderful is the coming of messengers who bring good news!’ We sense echoes of the great commission to the church – to us as the part of the church here.

Amen