June 22, 2025 – Second Sunday after Pentecost
Jack Belsom
“What are you doing here?” God asked Elijah, and I don’t think God was pleased to see him. Elijah was on the run from the threats of Jezebel, and Jezebel was a powerful queen who always carried through on her threats. She and Elijah battled openly over one question: “Who is in charge?” Jezebel and her husband Ahab—King of Israel—were sure that they were. They would handle any political or religious challenge to their authority with a vindictiveness that we have seen many times in political leaders. Elijah, on the other hand, knew that Yahweh—the God of Israel and the God of all—was in charge, and God was about life and grace. “There is not much truth being told in this world. There never was. This has proven to be a major disappointment to some of us,” said Anne Lamott in her book Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith. [Anne Lamott, Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith [(New York: Riverhead Books. 2007), 1] Speaking truth to power is never easy and always dangerous. Those in power like Ahab and Jezebel are more interested in maintaining their power than in hearing truth. When speaking the truth to power is not enough, we must allow God to demonstrate the power behind the words…because those words come from God.
Alan Boesak’s latest book has influenced my interpretation [Parables, Poli- tics, and Prophetic Faith] of this story. Too often we are not satisfied with a clear display of God’s sovereignty, and Elijah took matters into his own hands when he—not God—ordered the massacre of the prophets and priests of Baal. The people were convinced Yahweh was in charge, but Elijah needed blood to flow to justify and amplify his success. Such violence is most often met by more violence, and that set Elijah on the run first into the Southern Kingdom of Judah—foreign territory—and then into the wilderness. There Elijah pleads with God to kill him: “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors” (v. 4b).
What was God’s response to this prophet running in fear? God lets him fall asleep and then sends an angel to feed him. God’s response is grace. Then the angel feeds him again so that he will be strong enough to make the long journey to the mountain to encounter God. Elijah had never been alone…never been without the presence and the support of God.
In that encounter, the first thing God asks is: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (v. 9c) That’s when we hear what might be whining:
“I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts, for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword.
I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.” (v. 10) The only part of thatoutburst that is true is that Elijah has been very zealous for God. The rest is not only false but also Elijah’s fabrication. Elijah is not alone; not everyone in Israel has forsaken God; Jezebel, not the people, was chasing God’s prophets with a sword; Elijah is not the only faithful person left; and finally, only Jezebel and her forces, not God’s people, are trying to take his life.
The holy one will have none of that kind of whining. Then we get the demonstration of God’s presence. It comes not in the dramatic show of force that we would prefer but in a stillness. At least Elijah recognized God’s presence.
You would think that he would be ready for a different conversation, but, no, he goes back to his previous whining that is filled with his creative fabrication of the situation. Does God slap him down? No! God sends him out, in spite of his fears, to complete his mission.
“What are you doing here?” I asked myself. Why does an eighty-year old, who wrestles with his own fears, come to preach to a congregation that is dealing with its fears? Let me assure you… I don’t know a single congregation on Maui that is not afraid of something. Will there be enough money to maintain the building and the ministry? Why aren’t more people willing to serve? Where are all the young people?
Behind those real concerns is the primary question: “Is God with us?”
Sometimes the wilderness looks different when we are running in fear.
Anne Lamott describes it this way:
When I was a child, I thought grown-ups and teachers knew the truth.
.. . It took years for me to discover that the first step in finding out the truth is to begin unlearning almost everything adults had taught me.
…Their main pitch was that achievement equaled happiness, when all you had to do was study rock stars, or movie stars, or then, to see that they were mostly miserable. They were all running around in mazes like everyone else. [Anne Lamott, Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on faith (New York: Riverhead Books. 2007), 1]
God sent Elijah to confront the powers of his day, and God never deserted him. Haywood Barringer Spangler [Feasting on the Word Commentary, Year C, vol. 3] writes:
We may be tempted to interpret Elijah’s wilderness experience in primarily existential terms—the wilderness as a spiritual desert that any of us may experience. However, Elijah’s foray into the wilderness is directly related to his activities as a political and religious dissenter. Dissenting may feel like a “desert experience” in relation to other people, but this story of Elijah suggests that it is also one in which God is present and through which God may equip people for work in the world.
Elijah’s work was not carried out in some temple but in the places of power and in the streets. Too often we focus primarily on what happens in worship, and we feel abandoned and powerless. The only power Elijah had was God’s presence. Is God’s presence enough for us? If we open ourselves to that presence, we, too, may hear the command to “Go” and learn that God is not finished with us.
What are you doing here? Have we gathered to support one another in our fears or to encourage one another to act like God is with us? The church always has prophetic work to do. Have we discerned our unique call?
Rev. Shari Prestemon is the Acting Associate General Minister of the United Church of Christ and is the Co-Executive of Global Ministries. She has recently been places that we might consider dangerous. She meets with church leaders who are our partners in those dangerous places and situations. A few weeks ago, she shared a personal reflection:
“Fear is a weapon used to silence protest and halt prophetic work. It all takes a toll: on the institutional Church, on pastors and leaders, on congregations and communities.”
-Will we meet this moment that now confronts us in the United States with a similar witness?
-Will the threats and scare tactics meant to silence and subdue us fall flat in the face of our prophetic courage?
-Will our discipleship be willing to encounter some risk?
-Will we be faithful through it all?
I know we want to join Elijah in saying “We have been very zealous for the Lord.” While the words are forming on our lips, we hear first “What are you doing here?” and then “Go.” May we open ourselves to recognize God’s presence in the midst of our fears and venture out knowing that God is with us. Amen.