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Recently, a friend of mine went to Wrigley Field in Chicago to watch an afternoon baseball game. For my friend, an afternoon at Wrigley Field is the ultimate in baseball. Those who attend an afternoon game at Wrigley Field still sing enthusiastically during the seventh inning stretch, "Take Me Out To The Ball Game." When a player drives a ball deep into left field towards the bleachers, and it looks as if the ball will make it into the bleachers, you will hear a familiar cry from the faithful at Wrigley, "It's going; it's going; it's gone!" The crowd goes wild. Whether the Cubs win or lose is not the issue. This is baseball at its best, and Chicago loves its Cubs. It is worth the hassle, bustle, and bother to see a home run at Wrigley and hear the joyous expression, "It's going; it's going; it's gone!"

Elisha, the successor to Elijah the Prophet had no knowledge or understanding of modern day baseball, nor the parlance that surrounds baseball. He could, however, understand "Going, going, gone," for he would watch the man who had been his spiritual mentor for ten years suddenly taken from him by supernatural means. Elisha, the prophet, understudy to Elijah, could shout, "He's going; he's going; he's gone!"

On this Lord's Day when the Church reflects on our Lord's Transfiguration, are there any lessons that can be gleaned from the Elisha/Elijah narrative? Are there any truths which can help the Community of Faith remember the significance of the Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ? As the Church reflects on the Transfiguration, she remembers ...

The Legacy Of Elijah

The Prophet Elijah's story begins as Elijah, a solitary figure, emerges out of nowhere and confronts the wicked King Ahab. As the life of this solitary figure is reviewed, we watch him as he stands on Mount Carmel confronting the prophets of Baal, calling down fire from heaven. As his story continues, he can be seen as a lonely figure on top of Mount Horeb, bemoaning his plight and complaining: "I, even I only, am left."

It is in this final scene of the old prophet's life that we begin to discover his legacy. His greatest victory is not that he leaves the earth in a whirlwind. His final victory, his eternal legacy, is that he left some schools of prophets plus a well-trained assistant to carry on his work.

The thing that is the most impressive about the life of Elijah is that he invested himself in others so that his ministry might be multiplied. It could be said that Elijah was a person who used his influence to promote godliness.

Elijah trained Elisha, who in turn trained the various schools of prophets who then became equipped to teach the people. These prophets were men who spoke to men the "word of the Lord."

F. B. Meyer has stated that the original word for "prophet" meant "bubbling over." Elijah was a "bubbling over" mouthpiece for God, and as such, he activated others to be the same.

His ministry began with his testimony before Ahab where he affirmed the very meaning of his name, "The Lord, he is God." With God's help, he triumphed over Baal's prophets, and the people applauded and shouted, "The Lord, he is God." His greatest success, however, lies in the fact that he trained others who would now "bubble over" with the proclamation, "The Lord, he is God."

On this Lord's Day when we celebrate the Transfiguration of our Lord, we reflect once again on his eternal legacy. We are reminded that he trained a small band of men who, after Pentecost, would "bubble over" with this expression which would revolutionize the world forever, "Jesus is Lord."

Lou Holtz, former Notre Dame head football coach and now head coach of the University of South Carolina, is an entertaining and humorous speaker. Holtz tells the story of a man who accidentally ran his car off the road and into a ditch. The man was not injured, but his car was stuck. He asked an old farmer for help. The farmer responded by getting his old mule named Dusty and hooking him up to the car. When everything was ready, the farmer snapped the reins and shouted, "Pull, Jack! Pull, Joe! Pull, Tom! Pull, Dusty!"

With relative ease the old mule pulled the car out of the ditch. The car owner was deeply gratified and thanked the farmer over and over again. He finally said to the farmer, "I want to know something. Why did you call Dusty by four different names?" The farmer responded: "Well, it's like this. Dusty's eyesight is about gone, and if he thought for a second that he was the only one pulling, he wouldn't have tried at all!"

When Elijah established his seminary for prophets, he realized he would not have to pull by himself. In so doing, he left the Church a legacy that the "good news" is better announced by many than by the few as loners. From Elijah's legacy we see that ...

The Leadership Is Passed To Elisha

For ten long years Elisha has worked in the shadow of the ministry of Elijah, and now it is time for Elijah to be taken up to heaven. It is interesting that Elijah tried three times to get away from Elisha. Three times Elijah told Elisha, "Stay here for I am going to go to the next town." Elisha refused to obey him. Why did Elijah not want Elisha, his successor, to go with him on his farewell journey? That is a hard question. It seems to me that Elijah, who was a loner, wanted to be alone and spend some time alone before he met the living God face-to-face. No matter what the reason was, Elisha stuck with him. For ten years Elisha had been referred to as Elijah's servant, and he resolved to remain Elijah's faithful servant to the end.

There is a problem area in this narrative in regards to the "double portion" that Elisha requested of his master. It must be understood that Elisha is not asking to be twice as powerful as Elijah. His request relates to a custom which in Deuteronomy 21:17 informs us the firstborn son was entitled to a double share of the father's estate, while the younger sons would get only a single share. Elisha is requesting that he be designated as Elijah's rightful heir, receiving double what the other prophets would receive which would indicate to the various schools of prophets that Elisha would now be the "lead prophet."

Elijah informed his understudy that this would be a very difficult request to grant. If however, God permitted Elisha to see Elijah when he was taken up, that would be a sign that God had granted Elisha's request, and then he would become the successor to Elijah (vv. 10-11). Verse 12 tells us that "Elisha saw it." Because of the many miracles associated with the life of Elisha, it is safe to assume that he did receive the double portion he had requested. Elijah's departure was spectacular. Not only was there the whirlwind, which was anticipated, but there also were the chariot and horses of fire, which apparently were a surprise. The prophet Elijah left behind his mantle and a double portion of his spirit. Elisha takes the mantle and returns to the Jordan River and strikes the waters with this invocation, "Where is the Lord God of Elijah?" The answer which is implied by the miraculous opening up of the river is, "God has not abandoned us; he is now with Elisha as he was with Elijah."

Elisha picks up the mantle of the prophetic office and turns the word of God loose on another generation. The Church in each generation must pick up the mantle by retelling the stories of God's mighty acts, thus releasing God's word on a new generation so that they can be empowered for mission.

Elijah has passed his leadership to Elisha, but there are still ...

Lessons Which The Church Can Learn

During the time of Christ, there was an expectation that Elijah would return. Even today as our Jewish friends celebrate Passover, a cup is placed at each table for the prophet Elijah in case he should choose to visit. In a sense, John the Baptizer picked up the mantle of Elijah with his ministry. Jesus himself called John "Elijah," which simply meant that John carried the same mantle.

Elijah appeared on the earth one more time, on the Mount of Transfiguration. There with Moses they talked with Jesus while the disciples, in awe and fear, ran around trying to start a building program.

What did Elijah and Jesus talk about? Could it be that Elijah encouraged our Lord as he moved towards his impending sacrifice of love? We don't know, but I like to think so. What we do know is that Elijah was given an encore on the Mount of Transfiguration, which simply reminds us that God uses ordinary people and kisses them with a destiny.

It's strange, isn't it, that God used Elijah, who was a person "just like you and me." His life wasn't perfect, and there is no mention of him in Hebrews 11, the great faith chapter. God remembered him and gave him to us as an example. There is only one prayer of Elijah's that God never answered, and that prayer was that God would take his life.

In the midst of a high profile career, Charles Colson, who had access to power and enormous influence, found himself headed for prison because of the Watergate Scandal. Colson thought his life was over, and life for him as he once knew it was over. Yet, life for Colson was just beginning. He would be called to serve humanity through his gifts and his brokenness. Reflecting on his life, Colson stated: "The real legacy of my life was my biggest failure -- that I was an ex-convict. My great humiliation -- being sent to prison -- was the beginning of God's greatest use of my life; God chose the one experience in which I could not glory for his glory."

Just as God used Charles Colson and Elijah, so he wants to use you and me. We are not spare parts; we are on a mission for God.

Elisha looked up, and Elijah was going, going, gone! What a way to go!