Passing the mantle
Commentary
Just about any time I find myself sitting in a pew rather than standing at the pulpit during
morning worship, I find myself thrown back over the years to suddenly hearing one of the
hymns sung at my seminary graduation. "God of the prophets, bless the prophets' sons;
Elijah's mantle o'er Elisha cast. Each age its solemn task may claim but once; Make each
one nobler, stronger, than the last" ("God Of The Prophets, Bless The Prophets' Sons" by
Denis Wortman, 1884). On graduation day I found myself reflecting on how many
generations had sung that hymn with the vigor that comes from having a clear sense of
what the mantle included. Lancaster seminary was rooted in the German reformed
tradition that rested on the pillars of The Book of Worship, The Heidelberg
Catechism, and a rich tradition that gave clear answers as to the role of
church in the process of redemption. I am sure that you do have the feeling that those
days are gone. In 1977, we began to get a little sense that the passing of the mantle would
be a very uncertain thing. It was already clear that the mantle would not just be passed to
the prophet's sons. The tentative nature of the future was reflected in the title of one of
our seminary texts, Will Our Faith Have Children? One could feel the tectonic plates
shifting as we pondered "Why Conservative Churches Are Growing."
The thought has slowly grown over the years that God may have cast the mantle elsewhere. Some have grown angry that the "Samaritans" have not received the witnesses as we thought they should and a few have grown angry enough to want "to command fire to come down from heaven and consume the recalcitrant and the reluctant." Others have found themselves biting and devouring each other, having lost sight of their aims as they try to figure out who is to blame for the mainline being sidelined. Others face the reality that, at least in terms of numbers, the mantle has been passed to worldwide Christianity with far more Nigerian Anglicans in church on a Sunday morning than are found darkening the doors of worship in England. Others like Elisha ask for a double portion of the past, or the new age to get over the major migraine that has come from being left out in the cold without a cover.
One does wonder at how good a job we have done in handing the mantle on to coming generations when a majority of high school students do not know what the source of inspiration for Martin Luther King Jr. was or what the Pilgrims were really up to. It feels like the mantle has slipped from our grasp when many clergy find that their own children do not seek a church community.
Each of the texts deals with the passing of the mantle and raises important questions for those in a time of transition. What is the mantle? Is it an ethical position and role that should be maintained in the face of all opposition? Does it consist in keeping a certain position of power and influence in the world? Have we lost the mantle if we cannot retain those who have been born into our tradition? Perhaps the mantle is a new mandate to provide a place for the children of other faith traditions when those traditions prove to be too confining.
When I sat listening at graduation to the hymn, "God Of The Prophets," I must confess that almost none of those questions and concerns crossed my mind. There seemed to be little question in the minds of the graduates that a full portion of the Spirit had fallen on us. If there were any gnawing doubts most of us thought there would soon be a mid- course correction of some sort that would right things in the end if not in our life times. I know few who would believe that today! However, the last verse of "The God Of The Prophets" goes, "Make them apostles, heralds of thy cross, forth may they go to tell all realms thy grace; inspired of thee, may they count all but loss, and stand at last with joy before thy face." Perhaps that is what having the mantle means "to count all but loss."
2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14
There comes a time when there is a parting of the ways. At that point, we can let go and get on with the process. It is clear that Elijah is much more comfortable with the moment than Elisha. Elisha seems to be prepared to go the distance to hang on and to hold on to things as they are. In his focus on himself, he makes clear that he will not leave Elijah. It does not occur to him that from Elijah's perspective the time has come for a parting of the ways. Elisha seems to make this a personal matter of his undying loyalty to the senior prophet. Often this is how a congregation treats the parting of a pastor, searching its soul and like the disciples at the last supper asking, "Is it I, Lord?"
Behind this questioning is often the fear that the mantle cannot possibly be transferred -- the end is inevitably near. Many churches assume that they can fix this through better behavior or deeper commitment. If only we were good enough, this would not happen. Often congregations, like divorcing couples in denial, assume that it is not happening. They choose as leaders for the congregation or partners in life essentially the same person that has just left them. Often, congregations fall into a pattern of despondency facing the future without the beloved pastor. Such congregations find themselves unable to plan for the future. They suffer from lack of imagination because they cannot imagine themselves surviving without the guidance and protection of their former leader. Often, like clinically depressed people, the pathology is manifested in the inability to perform routine tasks or in performing the tasks so poorly that routine maintenance and upkeep are no longer taken care of. Communication becomes strained and infective because the memory of the past must be protected from any revisionist reading of the congregation's story.
It is easy to recognize the well-known patterns of grief and loss: denial, bargaining, anger, and depression when it has come time for the mantle to be past to a new pastor or a new generation of church leadership. Yet, Elizabeth Kubler Ross and others who write on grief and mourning also point to a time when a congregation can reach a point of acceptance, where the congregation can come to terms with what is happening. As one follows the story of the passing of the mantle to Elisha, one sees how Elijah leads his successor toward acceptance of what is happening.
One is struck by Elijah's acceptance of what Elisha must go through to get to a healthier place. Elisha somewhat arrogantly proclaims that he will never leave Elijah. We know that will not be the case and so does Elijah. Yet Elijah also knows what Elisha must go through in this stage of his pilgrimage. Elijah does not hop on his protégé but allows the process to unfold. Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel." But Elisha said, "As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel. Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan." But he said, "As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So the two of them went on. They move from the specific reality of Bethel toward a more open unnamed destiny, thus giving a hint that through acceptance of where Elisha is they can move on toward where he needs to be.
The company of fifty standing off at a distance reminds us that what is at stake here is not just the personal story of the passing of the mantle but that the prophetic task itself is contingent of the outcome of this journey. Elijah, through the enacting of a history lesson in the parting of the waters, reminds the reader and Elisha that the prophetic task is rooted in Israel's past. Rooted in the past, this work offers the opportunity of a future that can part the waters of Elisha's despair.
However, Elisha is not there yet. We enter into a moment of bargaining that is initiated by Elijah. "When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, 'Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.' Elisha said, 'Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.' " It is a stage that Elisha must go through and which Elijah is ready to go through. Asking for double seems an expression of flattery in hopes of having the request fulfilled. Elijah pushes the narrative along toward its fulfillment.
Of course, the inevitable occurs and Elijah is swept up in a whirlwind. Overcome by emotion, Elisha rends his clothes retracing his emotional steps that have led him to this moment. Now Elisha is ready to pick up the mantle and the life that there will be for him beyond the loss of his mentor.
The task for us is to follow Elijah's leadership when a congregation faces a pastoral vacancy, a couple goes through a divorce, or we face the loss of a loved one.
Galatians 5:1, 13-25
What is wrong with these people? "If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another." Just how the Galatians got to this place is unclear from the limited historical record. In Paul's mind, there is no doubt how they came to be caught up in this perfect storm of church life. "For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." Though the mantle has been passed to them, the Galatians have instead allowed idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife and jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, and factions to become a part of their lives.
Now I think it is fair to assume that they did not one day wake up and say to themselves that they no longer believed in Jesus. Yet something has crept in that prevents them from being able to pass on the mantle that they have received. The meaning of mantle is rooted in its use as a symbol of authority and power. In Galatia there has been a loss of authority and power in the church by a caving into the gratification that came from yielding to the delights and desires of this age and this world. It would be wrong to juxtapose body versus spirit as if the loss of power and authority comes from yielding to the needs of the bodily flesh over the life of the spirit. If anything there has been somewhat of a loss in our age of authority and power in the church through its failure to maintain a healthy harmony of the two that is reflective of the image of God.
Rather, the Galatians seem to have fallen into gratifying their desire to establish a hierarchy of who is the most authentically Christian. In this case, it is the circumcision crowd versus the Gentiles. Yes the spirit of this age does lead to who is in and who is out, who is more or less worthy, legalism, rampant vote taking, and the kind of sorcery that conjures up all manner of reasons for Christian people not to talk to each other.
One sign of an inability to pass on the mantle is the inability to have a conversation where people can really hear each other. They find themselves left to the kind of sorcery that conjures up all sorts of images and stereotypes of each other that are based on not knowing each other. Paul says that caught up in this spirit of the age people engage in drunkenness and carousing. As I recall, the biology of alcohol is used to suppress feeling rather than enhance it. When people are denying their common ground, they suppress the feelings that might conflict with their preconceived notions of each other.
The yielding to the spirit of this age leads to a factional life that cannot inherit the kingdom of God or authoritatively pass it on. We cave into a conjuring of false images of each other that denies and belittles our common humanity. It leads to a stupor that seeks to maintain distance from one another. This is what the loss of true authority does to the community of faith; it only replicates the ambience, structures, and spirit of the age. Paul contrasts this with the fruit of the Spirit that leads to enough peace, patience, kindness, and generosity that can faithfully pursue a conversation with one another where people can hear each other. When the desire to cave into the spirit of the age has been crucified, we recognize the source of our life, not in yielding to the world but in our walk through the world toward the life beyond this.
This is the mantle that the church has received to speak in the name of Jesus who ushers in the age to come.
Luke 9:51-62
In heading to Jerusalem Jesus is journeying forward. For Luke, there is a significant turning point in advancing the progress of God's plan for the movement of the gospel, from Galilee to Jerusalem to Rome. In the geography of Luke's thinking, each of these places becomes a significant spot where the mantle is passed on. In Galilee, the gospel is passed on to disciples who are in the learning stage. In Jerusalem, the mantle is passed on to apostles who will be empowered to reenact the events that have led up to Jerusalem. Rome becomes the stage for the gospel to advance to the entire world.
Luke has quite a grand vision of the plan that God has put into place. How often do we wake up in the morning with a sense that we are actors in this drama or any drama of its scale? No doubt there is some danger in seeing ourselves as part of such a grand vision. Certainly the world has had its share of suffering from those who have had political, social, and religious visions that they tried to impose on humankind. America has not always been at its best when it has pursued manifest destiny, as though it was the only city set on a hill, or seen itself even in Abraham Lincoln's words as the last best hope of humankind. If "the people perish without vision," we also might perish from vision gone wild. However, this text offers itself some correctives in the sense of what we perceive as God's plan, what mantle we have received, and what we should pass on.
All through Luke's story, the Samaritans have been lifted up. Here we have them in the somewhat negative role of their refusal to receive Jesus and his retinue. The religious contentiousness between Jew and Samaritan leaves the Samaritans out of God's plan if it involves anything to do with Jerusalem. With unusual exuberance for disciples who often seem to stumble their way through the gospel, James and John are ready to call down fire on these folks who are not prepared to be part of God's activity as James and John understand it. Yet Jesus rebukes those who would call down fire on those whose understanding of God's plan is not the same as James' and John's. Using the root meaning of rebuke, Jesus does not esteem the way that James and John have taken their position. It is time to move on if you find that you have gotten to the fire and brimstone stage.
In the next encounter, on the way to Jerusalem, Jesus intuits that some need a warning that despite their willingness to follow Jesus wherever he will go, he might not offer the security that they are looking for in him. This suggests to me that following Jesus will not allow one to enjoy the rest that can come from putting one's faith on cruise control. If anything, the plan seems to involve growth and growing up that will require paying attention to the road ahead -- theological engagement with the world, varieties of faith communities, and various ethical challenges. Plan on growth and change as part of the mantle of faith that we receive and hand on. No one who undertakes this journey and looks backward will be well positioned to inherit the kingdom of God.
Application
In their public and communal aspects each of these texts evokes a dynamic that runs counter to much of the American emphasis on private-personal religious experience. In the Old Testament passage, the passing of the mantle is connected to the school or community of prophets. The passage in Galatians is written in the context of a community's struggle for a mature faith. Jesus' journey toward Jerusalem is a public pilgrimage that is part of God's plan as Luke understands it.
The texts suggest that an inordinate understanding of the Christian pilgrimage as a private-personal matter has missed the mark. Yet the texts are not unaware of the personal consequences of public faith. The Elijah/Elisha exchange puts the passing of the mantle in the context of grief and loss. As the mantle is passed to a new generation, many will need ministry in the midst of their lost certainties. Others will need ministry in the midst of their newfound certainties. Paul's struggle with the Galatians raises the issue of what happens to a church community as it attempts to pass on its mandate in a new context. In the text from Luke, we are warned away from a hell fire and brimstone approach to those who may not be able to come under our theological mantle. All of the texts invite us to consider what mantle we are wearing.
Alternative Application
This is the Sunday to celebrate the national days in both the United States (July 4) and Canada (July 1). The Declaration of Independence defined the national identity in terms of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The British North America Act, the basis for the formation of Canada, locates peace, order, and good government as the foundation of national purpose. To what degree can we look back to other times as evidence of where we should be headed? How do we relate to other peoples who do not share in our values? In the passing of the mantle, how well have we dealt with national grief and loss? Is the passing of the mantle blocked by our burying of inconvenient truths?
These texts offer their own trilogy to consider as a basis of national purpose: how well do we grieve as a nation, do our national aims help us transcend the spirit of the age, and can we find common ground to share the journey?
Preaching The Psalm
Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20
It's one thing to talk the talk. Everyone knows people who are good at rhetoric. From coworkers to politicians to preachers and back again most people have heard so much talk that few are listening anymore. Indeed, the cultural landscape in which so many people are planted is one cacophonous wall of noise. Nothing but talk.
It's another thing altogether if you are able to also walk the walk. The words that come out of the mouth find depth and meaning when they are enfleshed in action. No one would read the sermons of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. if he had not walked the walk. Dietrich Bonhoeffer's great theological works would likely have sunk far below the radar had this hero not stood firm against Nazi oppression. Think of the great heroes whose words and deeds have the decency to cohere into a unified, authentic life. Sojourner Truth, Dorothy Day, Daniel and Phillip Berrigan come instantly to mind. Thanks be to God, there are far more than these few mentioned here.
It is this sense of authenticity, of integrity, that pours from the words of this psalm. Here is a God who walks the talk. And if just saying so isn't enough, the psalmist is quite ready to enumerate the mighty deeds of the holy one!
Unlike other gods who stumble and fall, the holy God of Israel is a God who delivers. From Jacob and Joseph to the split of the Red Sea waters, this God comes through in the clinch. And for those who look through this window from a Christian lens, the story just keeps getting better.
In Christ, God keeps the prophets' promise and sends us the reconciliation of the cross. In Christ, a new covenant is forged and a new people born. And now, two millennia down the road the questions come. Are the people who follow this Messiah a people whose walk matches their talk? Are these people authentic and ripe with integrity? Are these people anywhere near as faithful as the God who delivered them from sin and death?
These are questions worth asking, and a conundrum worthy of confessional prayer. Are we a people who walk the talk of faith? Do we practice forgiveness? Do we offer grace? Do we accept injury rather than inflict it? Do we refrain from judgment?
Yes. This is a God worthy of praise. This is a mighty and holy God, a God who talks the talk in the Living Word and walks the walk in that self-same utterance.
The thought has slowly grown over the years that God may have cast the mantle elsewhere. Some have grown angry that the "Samaritans" have not received the witnesses as we thought they should and a few have grown angry enough to want "to command fire to come down from heaven and consume the recalcitrant and the reluctant." Others have found themselves biting and devouring each other, having lost sight of their aims as they try to figure out who is to blame for the mainline being sidelined. Others face the reality that, at least in terms of numbers, the mantle has been passed to worldwide Christianity with far more Nigerian Anglicans in church on a Sunday morning than are found darkening the doors of worship in England. Others like Elisha ask for a double portion of the past, or the new age to get over the major migraine that has come from being left out in the cold without a cover.
One does wonder at how good a job we have done in handing the mantle on to coming generations when a majority of high school students do not know what the source of inspiration for Martin Luther King Jr. was or what the Pilgrims were really up to. It feels like the mantle has slipped from our grasp when many clergy find that their own children do not seek a church community.
Each of the texts deals with the passing of the mantle and raises important questions for those in a time of transition. What is the mantle? Is it an ethical position and role that should be maintained in the face of all opposition? Does it consist in keeping a certain position of power and influence in the world? Have we lost the mantle if we cannot retain those who have been born into our tradition? Perhaps the mantle is a new mandate to provide a place for the children of other faith traditions when those traditions prove to be too confining.
When I sat listening at graduation to the hymn, "God Of The Prophets," I must confess that almost none of those questions and concerns crossed my mind. There seemed to be little question in the minds of the graduates that a full portion of the Spirit had fallen on us. If there were any gnawing doubts most of us thought there would soon be a mid- course correction of some sort that would right things in the end if not in our life times. I know few who would believe that today! However, the last verse of "The God Of The Prophets" goes, "Make them apostles, heralds of thy cross, forth may they go to tell all realms thy grace; inspired of thee, may they count all but loss, and stand at last with joy before thy face." Perhaps that is what having the mantle means "to count all but loss."
2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14
There comes a time when there is a parting of the ways. At that point, we can let go and get on with the process. It is clear that Elijah is much more comfortable with the moment than Elisha. Elisha seems to be prepared to go the distance to hang on and to hold on to things as they are. In his focus on himself, he makes clear that he will not leave Elijah. It does not occur to him that from Elijah's perspective the time has come for a parting of the ways. Elisha seems to make this a personal matter of his undying loyalty to the senior prophet. Often this is how a congregation treats the parting of a pastor, searching its soul and like the disciples at the last supper asking, "Is it I, Lord?"
Behind this questioning is often the fear that the mantle cannot possibly be transferred -- the end is inevitably near. Many churches assume that they can fix this through better behavior or deeper commitment. If only we were good enough, this would not happen. Often congregations, like divorcing couples in denial, assume that it is not happening. They choose as leaders for the congregation or partners in life essentially the same person that has just left them. Often, congregations fall into a pattern of despondency facing the future without the beloved pastor. Such congregations find themselves unable to plan for the future. They suffer from lack of imagination because they cannot imagine themselves surviving without the guidance and protection of their former leader. Often, like clinically depressed people, the pathology is manifested in the inability to perform routine tasks or in performing the tasks so poorly that routine maintenance and upkeep are no longer taken care of. Communication becomes strained and infective because the memory of the past must be protected from any revisionist reading of the congregation's story.
It is easy to recognize the well-known patterns of grief and loss: denial, bargaining, anger, and depression when it has come time for the mantle to be past to a new pastor or a new generation of church leadership. Yet, Elizabeth Kubler Ross and others who write on grief and mourning also point to a time when a congregation can reach a point of acceptance, where the congregation can come to terms with what is happening. As one follows the story of the passing of the mantle to Elisha, one sees how Elijah leads his successor toward acceptance of what is happening.
One is struck by Elijah's acceptance of what Elisha must go through to get to a healthier place. Elisha somewhat arrogantly proclaims that he will never leave Elijah. We know that will not be the case and so does Elijah. Yet Elijah also knows what Elisha must go through in this stage of his pilgrimage. Elijah does not hop on his protégé but allows the process to unfold. Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel." But Elisha said, "As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel. Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan." But he said, "As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So the two of them went on. They move from the specific reality of Bethel toward a more open unnamed destiny, thus giving a hint that through acceptance of where Elisha is they can move on toward where he needs to be.
The company of fifty standing off at a distance reminds us that what is at stake here is not just the personal story of the passing of the mantle but that the prophetic task itself is contingent of the outcome of this journey. Elijah, through the enacting of a history lesson in the parting of the waters, reminds the reader and Elisha that the prophetic task is rooted in Israel's past. Rooted in the past, this work offers the opportunity of a future that can part the waters of Elisha's despair.
However, Elisha is not there yet. We enter into a moment of bargaining that is initiated by Elijah. "When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, 'Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.' Elisha said, 'Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.' " It is a stage that Elisha must go through and which Elijah is ready to go through. Asking for double seems an expression of flattery in hopes of having the request fulfilled. Elijah pushes the narrative along toward its fulfillment.
Of course, the inevitable occurs and Elijah is swept up in a whirlwind. Overcome by emotion, Elisha rends his clothes retracing his emotional steps that have led him to this moment. Now Elisha is ready to pick up the mantle and the life that there will be for him beyond the loss of his mentor.
The task for us is to follow Elijah's leadership when a congregation faces a pastoral vacancy, a couple goes through a divorce, or we face the loss of a loved one.
Galatians 5:1, 13-25
What is wrong with these people? "If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another." Just how the Galatians got to this place is unclear from the limited historical record. In Paul's mind, there is no doubt how they came to be caught up in this perfect storm of church life. "For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." Though the mantle has been passed to them, the Galatians have instead allowed idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife and jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, and factions to become a part of their lives.
Now I think it is fair to assume that they did not one day wake up and say to themselves that they no longer believed in Jesus. Yet something has crept in that prevents them from being able to pass on the mantle that they have received. The meaning of mantle is rooted in its use as a symbol of authority and power. In Galatia there has been a loss of authority and power in the church by a caving into the gratification that came from yielding to the delights and desires of this age and this world. It would be wrong to juxtapose body versus spirit as if the loss of power and authority comes from yielding to the needs of the bodily flesh over the life of the spirit. If anything there has been somewhat of a loss in our age of authority and power in the church through its failure to maintain a healthy harmony of the two that is reflective of the image of God.
Rather, the Galatians seem to have fallen into gratifying their desire to establish a hierarchy of who is the most authentically Christian. In this case, it is the circumcision crowd versus the Gentiles. Yes the spirit of this age does lead to who is in and who is out, who is more or less worthy, legalism, rampant vote taking, and the kind of sorcery that conjures up all manner of reasons for Christian people not to talk to each other.
One sign of an inability to pass on the mantle is the inability to have a conversation where people can really hear each other. They find themselves left to the kind of sorcery that conjures up all sorts of images and stereotypes of each other that are based on not knowing each other. Paul says that caught up in this spirit of the age people engage in drunkenness and carousing. As I recall, the biology of alcohol is used to suppress feeling rather than enhance it. When people are denying their common ground, they suppress the feelings that might conflict with their preconceived notions of each other.
The yielding to the spirit of this age leads to a factional life that cannot inherit the kingdom of God or authoritatively pass it on. We cave into a conjuring of false images of each other that denies and belittles our common humanity. It leads to a stupor that seeks to maintain distance from one another. This is what the loss of true authority does to the community of faith; it only replicates the ambience, structures, and spirit of the age. Paul contrasts this with the fruit of the Spirit that leads to enough peace, patience, kindness, and generosity that can faithfully pursue a conversation with one another where people can hear each other. When the desire to cave into the spirit of the age has been crucified, we recognize the source of our life, not in yielding to the world but in our walk through the world toward the life beyond this.
This is the mantle that the church has received to speak in the name of Jesus who ushers in the age to come.
Luke 9:51-62
In heading to Jerusalem Jesus is journeying forward. For Luke, there is a significant turning point in advancing the progress of God's plan for the movement of the gospel, from Galilee to Jerusalem to Rome. In the geography of Luke's thinking, each of these places becomes a significant spot where the mantle is passed on. In Galilee, the gospel is passed on to disciples who are in the learning stage. In Jerusalem, the mantle is passed on to apostles who will be empowered to reenact the events that have led up to Jerusalem. Rome becomes the stage for the gospel to advance to the entire world.
Luke has quite a grand vision of the plan that God has put into place. How often do we wake up in the morning with a sense that we are actors in this drama or any drama of its scale? No doubt there is some danger in seeing ourselves as part of such a grand vision. Certainly the world has had its share of suffering from those who have had political, social, and religious visions that they tried to impose on humankind. America has not always been at its best when it has pursued manifest destiny, as though it was the only city set on a hill, or seen itself even in Abraham Lincoln's words as the last best hope of humankind. If "the people perish without vision," we also might perish from vision gone wild. However, this text offers itself some correctives in the sense of what we perceive as God's plan, what mantle we have received, and what we should pass on.
All through Luke's story, the Samaritans have been lifted up. Here we have them in the somewhat negative role of their refusal to receive Jesus and his retinue. The religious contentiousness between Jew and Samaritan leaves the Samaritans out of God's plan if it involves anything to do with Jerusalem. With unusual exuberance for disciples who often seem to stumble their way through the gospel, James and John are ready to call down fire on these folks who are not prepared to be part of God's activity as James and John understand it. Yet Jesus rebukes those who would call down fire on those whose understanding of God's plan is not the same as James' and John's. Using the root meaning of rebuke, Jesus does not esteem the way that James and John have taken their position. It is time to move on if you find that you have gotten to the fire and brimstone stage.
In the next encounter, on the way to Jerusalem, Jesus intuits that some need a warning that despite their willingness to follow Jesus wherever he will go, he might not offer the security that they are looking for in him. This suggests to me that following Jesus will not allow one to enjoy the rest that can come from putting one's faith on cruise control. If anything, the plan seems to involve growth and growing up that will require paying attention to the road ahead -- theological engagement with the world, varieties of faith communities, and various ethical challenges. Plan on growth and change as part of the mantle of faith that we receive and hand on. No one who undertakes this journey and looks backward will be well positioned to inherit the kingdom of God.
Application
In their public and communal aspects each of these texts evokes a dynamic that runs counter to much of the American emphasis on private-personal religious experience. In the Old Testament passage, the passing of the mantle is connected to the school or community of prophets. The passage in Galatians is written in the context of a community's struggle for a mature faith. Jesus' journey toward Jerusalem is a public pilgrimage that is part of God's plan as Luke understands it.
The texts suggest that an inordinate understanding of the Christian pilgrimage as a private-personal matter has missed the mark. Yet the texts are not unaware of the personal consequences of public faith. The Elijah/Elisha exchange puts the passing of the mantle in the context of grief and loss. As the mantle is passed to a new generation, many will need ministry in the midst of their lost certainties. Others will need ministry in the midst of their newfound certainties. Paul's struggle with the Galatians raises the issue of what happens to a church community as it attempts to pass on its mandate in a new context. In the text from Luke, we are warned away from a hell fire and brimstone approach to those who may not be able to come under our theological mantle. All of the texts invite us to consider what mantle we are wearing.
Alternative Application
This is the Sunday to celebrate the national days in both the United States (July 4) and Canada (July 1). The Declaration of Independence defined the national identity in terms of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The British North America Act, the basis for the formation of Canada, locates peace, order, and good government as the foundation of national purpose. To what degree can we look back to other times as evidence of where we should be headed? How do we relate to other peoples who do not share in our values? In the passing of the mantle, how well have we dealt with national grief and loss? Is the passing of the mantle blocked by our burying of inconvenient truths?
These texts offer their own trilogy to consider as a basis of national purpose: how well do we grieve as a nation, do our national aims help us transcend the spirit of the age, and can we find common ground to share the journey?
Preaching The Psalm
Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20
It's one thing to talk the talk. Everyone knows people who are good at rhetoric. From coworkers to politicians to preachers and back again most people have heard so much talk that few are listening anymore. Indeed, the cultural landscape in which so many people are planted is one cacophonous wall of noise. Nothing but talk.
It's another thing altogether if you are able to also walk the walk. The words that come out of the mouth find depth and meaning when they are enfleshed in action. No one would read the sermons of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. if he had not walked the walk. Dietrich Bonhoeffer's great theological works would likely have sunk far below the radar had this hero not stood firm against Nazi oppression. Think of the great heroes whose words and deeds have the decency to cohere into a unified, authentic life. Sojourner Truth, Dorothy Day, Daniel and Phillip Berrigan come instantly to mind. Thanks be to God, there are far more than these few mentioned here.
It is this sense of authenticity, of integrity, that pours from the words of this psalm. Here is a God who walks the talk. And if just saying so isn't enough, the psalmist is quite ready to enumerate the mighty deeds of the holy one!
Unlike other gods who stumble and fall, the holy God of Israel is a God who delivers. From Jacob and Joseph to the split of the Red Sea waters, this God comes through in the clinch. And for those who look through this window from a Christian lens, the story just keeps getting better.
In Christ, God keeps the prophets' promise and sends us the reconciliation of the cross. In Christ, a new covenant is forged and a new people born. And now, two millennia down the road the questions come. Are the people who follow this Messiah a people whose walk matches their talk? Are these people authentic and ripe with integrity? Are these people anywhere near as faithful as the God who delivered them from sin and death?
These are questions worth asking, and a conundrum worthy of confessional prayer. Are we a people who walk the talk of faith? Do we practice forgiveness? Do we offer grace? Do we accept injury rather than inflict it? Do we refrain from judgment?
Yes. This is a God worthy of praise. This is a mighty and holy God, a God who talks the talk in the Living Word and walks the walk in that self-same utterance.
