Proper 8 / Pentecost 6 / Ordinary Time 13
Devotional
Water From the Rock
Lectionary Devotional for Cycle C
Object:
You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.
-- 2 Kings 2:10
Except for a brief reference to Enoch in Genesis 5:24, Elijah was the only other figure in the Hebrew scriptures that reportedly did not die. The manner of his death and its effect on his disciple, Elisha, find their echo in the later description of Jesus' ascension in Luke 24:50-53 and Acts 1:6-11. The manner in which first Elijah and later Elisha parted the waters of the Jordan also echoes Moses' parting of the Red Sea in Exodus 14.
For Christians, this story connects the two pivotal events of the Bible. God's power over death, as first demonstrated in the Passover event and later in the resurrection of Christ, was made visible in Elijah's ascent to heaven. This mystery that we call God refuses to be under human control; yet God continues to be present in powerful ways in the journey of the people of God. God is not bound by the politics of nations, the physical challenges of nature, or the limits of our natural life. While more powerful than any force that would seek to contain God, God chooses to be personally involved with people in their lives. This ascension story allows us a glimpse of the connection between the eternal and our finite lives. Even in scripture, these glimpses are rare and serve to remind us that what we do here on earth does have significance in eternity. The church becomes a mobile window into an eternity. Through its liturgy, the church lifts up the work of our lives to God in praise. By the reading of and meditating on scripture, we are invited to hear how our story is connected with God's story. By prayer we enter into communion with God. By the work of God's Spirit, believers are empowered to carry out God's work in a way that splits the waters of chaos and offers hope to those in despair.
-- 2 Kings 2:10
Except for a brief reference to Enoch in Genesis 5:24, Elijah was the only other figure in the Hebrew scriptures that reportedly did not die. The manner of his death and its effect on his disciple, Elisha, find their echo in the later description of Jesus' ascension in Luke 24:50-53 and Acts 1:6-11. The manner in which first Elijah and later Elisha parted the waters of the Jordan also echoes Moses' parting of the Red Sea in Exodus 14.
For Christians, this story connects the two pivotal events of the Bible. God's power over death, as first demonstrated in the Passover event and later in the resurrection of Christ, was made visible in Elijah's ascent to heaven. This mystery that we call God refuses to be under human control; yet God continues to be present in powerful ways in the journey of the people of God. God is not bound by the politics of nations, the physical challenges of nature, or the limits of our natural life. While more powerful than any force that would seek to contain God, God chooses to be personally involved with people in their lives. This ascension story allows us a glimpse of the connection between the eternal and our finite lives. Even in scripture, these glimpses are rare and serve to remind us that what we do here on earth does have significance in eternity. The church becomes a mobile window into an eternity. Through its liturgy, the church lifts up the work of our lives to God in praise. By the reading of and meditating on scripture, we are invited to hear how our story is connected with God's story. By prayer we enter into communion with God. By the work of God's Spirit, believers are empowered to carry out God's work in a way that splits the waters of chaos and offers hope to those in despair.
