Stories That Shape Us
Whenever I preach on the ascension of Jesus, I like to reflect on this painting by Salvador Dali. In fact I believe maybe we have done that here already at Faith – This painting is the imaginative perspective of those gathered – Jesus’s feet as he is taken up into a glittery and glowing heaven. I love the idea of the gathered gaping up at that those feet as they disappear.
And the story from Second Kings is one of those that we love to teach our kids because it is ripe with fantastic imagery - A flaming chariot sweeping Elijah up into the heavens as Elisha looks on (insert second slide here). An artist’s rendering reflects their unique interpretation of the text. In this image, we have Elijah casting his rich red mantle down to Elisha as he is swept up into the heavens.
In the book We Make the Road by Walking, Brian McLaren shares the experience of one mom whose child asks if the story of Elijah flying off to heaven in a flaming chariot was “real or pretend.”
McLaren praises the mom’s response:
“That’s a great question! Some stories are real, some are pretend, and some of the very best ones use a mix of both reality and make-believe to tell us something important. What do you think about the Elijah story?”
I wonder what YOU think about the Elijah story? Is it real? Pretend? A mix of both?
Instead of telling her daughter what to think, this mom invites her daughter to think. As McLaren puts it, mom invites her to become a living and participating member of the interpretive community.
When I first began working in churches, I was doing a lot of work with families, children and youth. I understood my call NOT to provide answers to questions but rather to help people give VOICE to their deepest questions of the heart.
That is part of the work that we are all called to. We are called to walk together with these stories, and to experience them in our own lives, to share our experiences of them with one another – this is one of the reasons our small group discussions are so important. We are called to frame our questions with one another and seek the answers within community.
Scripture was written in community for community to benefit community.
So…let’s leap off into these two scriptures with an eye toward being the interpretive community.
I am chuckling again this week about the way the Holy Spirit swirls. Both of these scriptures draw us into another liminal season, or another time ripe for wilderness – the space between things. Both stories mark a moment of transition, a transfer of power. They both have something to say about our roles in changing circumstances, or the ways we might find things changing around us.
The story of Elijah and Elisha is about a transfer of authority, a changing of the guard if you will. Elijah has been the respected prophet and Elisha has walked with him learning and growing. The time has come for Elijah to leave the bodily world and Elisha is worried about whether he will be able to do the work and follow in the footsteps of his elder.
There is an almost comical commitment on Elisha’s part to NOT take his eyes off of Elijah throughout this part of the story. Go back and visit the text. Gilgal to Bethel, Bethel to Jericho, Jericho to the Jordan…each leg with their accompanying entourage. And Elisha will not leave Elijah’s side.
When they arrive at the Jordan, Elijah removes his mantle and strikes the water, which then parts. Pay attention to parting water – always. We have seen water part before. As the Israelites fled Egypt, as they entered the promised land, as Elijah prepares to cross over – parting water marks a shift of circumstances.
Once they have crossed over, Elijah asks Elisha what it is he needs from Elijah before Elijah is gone. And Elisha asks for a double-share of Elijah’s spirit.
What is that double portion of spirit? Is it a double portion of Elijah’s love for God? Is it a double portion of his ability to understand what is happening all around? Is it a double portion of his ability to speak truth into the day? We’re not sure what it is that Elisha is requesting, but Elijah promises it will come to be if Elisha does not take his eyes off of Elijah as he is taken away.
The text indicates that as they continued on walking and talking, the flames and a chariot whisk Elijah up into the sky. And Elisha refuses to look away, just as he committed. And when Elijah is out of sight, Elisha picks up Elijah’s mantle – his cloak – and just as the mantle worked for Elijah, it seems to work for Elisha, once again parting the waters of the Jordan for his return crossing. And as the company of prophets who had been in Jericho saw him approach, the recognized the that the spirit of Elijah was with Elisha.
Now let’s lay the text from Acts of the Apostles alongside this.
We enter the story with the resurrected Jesus hanging out with the disciples and offering “convincing proofs” that he is the same as Jesus with whom they had shared ministry. The text indicates the risen Jesus orders them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait on “the promise of the Father.” He alludes to a baptism of the Spirit that they will receive.
The disciples gather and ask Jesus if NOW is the time he will restore the Kingdom of Israel – remember that they are still seeking a political upheaval, a changing of their circumstances as they are under Roman rule, they are waiting for a literal restoration of a power structure that evaporated long before.
And Jesus tells them that they don’t get a simple answer, but that their job will be to spread out and bear witness to what Jesus has said and done in all Judea and Samaria and even to the ends of the earth.
And then, just like that, Jesus was lifted up into a cloud and they were left with two men in white robes basically saying, why are you standing around staring at the sky? There is work to do.
The stories, these ancient stories, have some similarities, don’t they? They have some direction from the known leader, some counsel about what is to come. They share a sense that something is changing. They have some geographic direction. They have some mystery and some miraculous quality. Both stories have hope for a new kind of future.
I wonder, as the interpretive community, what might we need to listen for in these stories right now?
What might we need to know about crossing into new things? What might we need to know about changing circumstances? What might we need to hear about what we will need or be called on to do or where we’ll go next?
McLaren talks about science, art and heart – about paying attention to the archaeological record, the history surrounding the places and the people about which scripture is written, looking at the literary qualities (and there is a lot of literary echoing in the gospels that ties Jesus to like Elijah, leaders like Moses), about knowing as much as we can and listening with our heart for what is there for us as we gather in community.
John Wesley was serious about being mindful about scripture as a primary source, but also using a critically thinking brain and the long-standing tradition of our faith as well as our lived, felt, and sometimes charismatic experience of the Holy Spirit.
Part of our work as interpretive community is to be sure we are invitational, inviting to the conversation people that have different worldviews, different backgrounds, different experiences than we do. We have work to do to extend the conversation beyond our usual suspects. We have work to do to make it a conversation and not just a nice sermon that we all listen to on Sunday morning.
I believe that we all have a role to play in understanding our now in light of our past, in light of our tradition.
As I look on these scriptures for today, I note a few things for us to consider this week – and not just consider but to have conversation about. Think on these things:
Elijah was transitioning his power and his vision and his work to a single named heir.
Jesus talks about how the Spirit will empower the gathering of many followers.
Elisha goes back from where he came, crossing back across the river, with his new powers to continue the work Elijah began.
When Jesus’ followers ask about the restoration of their familiar place of power, Jesus tells them that they will be witnesses to Jesus’ power to the ends of the earth.
Elisha’s power was symbolized in a tangible item of clothing.
The power promised to the disciples was a baptism of the Spirit.
Laying these stories side by side, we might begin to see Jesus reframing some things.
McLaren highlights some of the ways Jesus “reframed” the past for his followers in this way:
“When he healed people, he didn’t tell them, ‘I will save you!’ or ‘My faith will save you,’ but ‘Your faith has saved you.’ Working from a fresh interpretation of the past he freed them from both passive and pious complacency and desperate, violent action.” (p 54)
How is it that Jesus reframes shared power as he departs?
How might our faith help us to look at these stories in fresh ways to understand our present circumstances?
What might a conversation with others help us to understand about wilderness spaces, time of transition, times of great change, shifts of power or understanding?
What might it mean for us to take seriously our work as the interpretive community?
And who is missing from our table for us to do that well?
My first reaction is that those missing are those whose experience is different than mine.
My next reaction is that I don’t know nearly enough people whose life and worldview is wildly different than mine.
My next reaction is that most churches aren’t very good at expanding their reach to include people whose life and worldview is wildly different.
I wonder if we might need to do something about that?
I wonder how we might do something about that?
I wonder where we might begin together?
There is shared work in front of us as the world continues to shift and change around us. There is work to do to understand what God is doing and how we are called into that work.
I pray we feel the rush of the Holy Spirit fueling that work, leading us into conversations beyond our little corner of the world and to all the ends of the earth.
May it be so.
Amen.
acknowledgements:
The Ascension of Christ, 1958, Salvado4 Dali
Image of Elijah and Elisha, artist unknown
Quotes from We Make the Road by Walking: A Year-long Quest for Spiritual Formation, Reorientation, and Reactivation, 2014
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