Proper 7 Year C - - Proper Heavenly Rest -

Welcome Statement

Good Morning Church,

I pose a rhetorical question to you today that seems kind of silly. when was the last time you truly or properly rested? Rested from the news, rested from social media, rested from work or family drama, rested from the neighborhood squabbles you’re tired of hearing about. Rested from things outside of your control? I can’t tell you the last time I truly took a sabbath. The reason being, I still am discovering what a real sabbath is, it isn’t simply gardening, or taking a nap after Church on Sunday’s, it is a designated time of true spiritual and physical rest. One where our minds are in all senses of the word, a clean slate, not bogged down by work tommorow, or the repurcussions of yesterday’s choices. Yet, that seems like an impossible goal isn’t it? That goal was seemingly impossible for the story we read today from 1 Kings, where Elijah is running away from persecution by the worshippers of Baal, who wish him dead for his own choices of yesterday, his choices came with grave repurcussions, yet God somehow still pierces through the cloudiness of his life. We will see that now.

Old Testament Reading - 1 Kings 19:1-15

1 Kings 19:1–15 ESV

Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God. There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” And the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria.

A Forced Nap

The first thing that always makes me laugh from this passage, is that Elijah is pressured to take a nap, and then immediately told to eat. It makes me think of times where Olivia would ask me “have you ate you? That must by why you are hangry”. This is so true though. When we fail to nourish our bodies, drink one more energy drink to get through the work day, we are sacrificing more than just our time, we are sacrificing the temples God has indwelled in to speak to us. Elijah isn’t asked to push his body to the point of exhaustion, he is told to rest, get his mind clear, and then prophecy. This is the peculiar piece of how scripture and prophecy works. It is inspired by God, it is written by God in some sense, but yet, a human has to be the one to speak, the mind and voice becomes a vessel for God’s Grace, the word becomes embodied, real, tangible. This means we have to be at our best when we speak. I recall times in highschool where I didn’t sleep well the night before, and had a presentation the next day, let’s just say, my public speaking that day was less to be desired. This is true in our lives as well. When we aren’t taking care of ourselves, we find it lashed out on others, we get angry at our kids, or at loved ones, or the person who cut us off, simply because we didn’t rest enough, to take care of today.

Violence Begets Violence

I would be remiss not to also reflect on another truth here, that violence does not glorify itself, and cannot be a means to an end. If we look at the chapter before this, we see where Elijah moves to kill 450 of Baal’s prophets after proving only Yahweh is capable of answering the call to a sacrifice. This then puts him in harm’s way, where he is chased down by the worshippers of Baal, and has to leave town. How many times in your own life, has your own passion or zeal on an issue, only caused more regret, pain, or misery?

Let’s be clear here, there is idolatry, and it was unacceptable in God’s eyes, but there’s a peculiar point that, God never ordains or commands Elijah clearly to do this to the prophets of Baal, I am not saying it is not in line with Deuteronomic law, but there is a sense that, he created unnecessary strife potentially. His Zeal undermined himself. There have been so many things in the news, that makes my own zeal for God’s law of love become a noisy gong, just like Paul warns against. Where I find my own heart wanting to harden to the awful depravity of the world. But I am called to reject that. I am called to not strike down my foes, but to pray for them, to lift them up. We see a striking example of such an idea when Jesus meets what we know as Legion.

New Testament Reading - Luke 8:26-39

Luke 8:26–39 ESV

Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.) Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned. When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.

Instead of Thankfulness, Fear Shakes a People

It’s strange that, when the status quo is shook, and liberation from captivity occurs, people aren’t always thankful. We see this continually in the Bible, with people who escaped captivity in egypt, somehow longing for their captivity again, simply because they were fed and had some sense of stability, even if it was stable suffering. In the Roman Empire, a phrase was coined by a a poet named Juvenal in a writing called Satires, where he described what he called “Panem et circenses” or bread and circuses. The way with with the Empire instilled complacency through the passing out of free grain or annona, and had massive spectacles at the colisuem and circus maximus to keep the people entertained. I am not about to go on a speel about how sports, or reality TV are the equivalent of this, I don’t think there is the same end goal in mind, but it is clear that when we hear what we want to hear, we need to second guess what is being said. When you are offered a measly payout from car insurance on medical bills, do you take it because you just want something, or do you go the extra mile to say “wait a minute, this is wrong”. When the health insurance denies your claim, do you just take it? Or do you call up 20 times and fight to wrong the injustice? Of course, not everyone has the liberty of free time to waste on these things, but these are many of the examples of distraction we see today.

Real Spiritual Power Threatens the Status Quo

What is clear here, is Jesus Christ does not fit neat categories. He has the authority to remove “Legion” and even has the gall to almost give a little bit of grace to the demons by acquiescing their request to be thrown into the pigs. What strange choices by a man of God. Yet, it was the right choice, the holy choice. In some way, it shows that even those dark principalities that threaten God’s Kingdom, are given a reprieve, or are given a chance, simply because God is patient, and already knows the victory is his.

Rejecting Today’s Violence

As I witness the news, I just become flabbergasted, at how we have hardened our hearts to the pain and suffering of others. We declare “there isn’t enough to go around”, or that “we have to take care of ourselves”. Whether that means, our family, our nation, our church, our local community. But that isn’t the call of the church, the call of the Church is to reject worldly categories, worldly distinctions of who matters and who doesn’t. Life is sacred, period. There is no distinction on what life is sacred, because it is all God’s. Why does God show grace to evildoers? Because they too were made in the image of God, whether we like that or not, we have got to accept it. The world shows, it rejects this notion, it believes that other people are either demonic, or lesser than. The person with the demons in him was cast aside, but Jesus, showed grace in all measures of the word. The interesting point is, after sharing that grace, he calls on the man to tell the Good News, to subvert the narrative that Christ was somehow under the power of satan. When we get accused of not following scripture the right way or perfectly. What do we do? Sometimes we have to correct the narrative and the account, but other times, we see Jesus also choose to say “as you have said so” during the passion of the cross, choosing to not throw pearls to swine. Christ doesn’t stand around and let these people who are not thankful of his gift to the man, simply berade him, he leaves, and continues on his journey. Petty partisan fights, are just that, petty. When we get caught up on the details, and fail to see where the Kingdom is moving, it’s no wonder we are all living in fear, or that the only Hope is that Christ comes tommorow, becuase we can’t see that Christ is already here, he’s already in our midst, weaving a new story, a new plan, a new way.

Closing Statement

I want to close with this final thought as I asked at the beginning. When was the last time you truly rested? When was the last time you rejected the world’s anxieties, fears, or call to arms over the most trivial of circumstances or issues? What if Sabbath wasn’t merely, taking a rest in God’s Lap, but also actively refusing to join in the bread and circus, to stop reacting to every post in our feed, to start living the lives Christ has called us to? What if that is the real rest, one where we know we are on the right side of History, where there is no fear of tommorow, because Christ is before us, beside us, and behind us. Let us Pray?

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, We thank you for this reminder, to hold your Sabbath as sacred. Father, help us to understand that Sabbath is two-fold, that it is not just rest, but an active resistance to a worldly way of living, by resting the way you did on the 7th day, without fear, without anxiety. We know we are never going to be perfect at this, but help us close that gap through your grace, so that the violence in our hearts is quelled, and the voices of tormentous demons that divide are silenced. Lord, we ask for your compassionate care during a time of great strife and anger. I pray in your gracious, and providential name, Amen.

Doxology / Benediction / Closing

In Isaiah's Confrontation to Judah, when they were actively rebelling against God, he said these words:

Isaiah 30:15 NRSV

For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.

Know that Babylon, Egypt, whatever that is in your life, will not give peace, but only cheap, temporary gain, know that the true gain, is in the ever loving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Know that when you rest, it means something, it is not to be shamed as lazy, but as an active participation in the body, in active resistance of a culture that demands nothing less but productivity and reactionary living.

Reject that, and Embrace the Lord Today. Amen