Events&Activities

JULY 31, 2011

1 Kings 19:9-18

At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there.

Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" He answered, "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."

He said, "Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by." Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces 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 a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?

Not in the winds of misfortune, not in the earthquakes of division, not in the fires of turmoil and destruction, but in the silence did God speak to Elijah.
Is God still speaking in our lives? Does he speak through the political divisions and turmoil in our nation? Does he speak through the armed conflicts occurring in the so too many geo political petrol based conflicts around the world? Does he speak through the ideological disputes between people of different faiths that lead to even more violence and hatred?
Earthquakes, winds, and fires are all natural phenomena. Man may well be affecting some of this because of greed, overpopulation, global warming, and yet God still is not speaking in the midst of such things.
What are we doing when such events happen, do we respond to the need God calls us toward?
Political argument, religious arguments, war and violence in the name of God too often seem as part of the nature of man but are not fated or doomed to always be so. They are caused by man and not by God. God does not speak through these, though some will claim that it is so.
She may well speak through the aftermath of such calamity in how mankind puts back the pieces and helps restore some sense of connection and well-being for victims and survivors.
She may well speak to those who would be peacemakers and those who would be the voice of reason, to those that would feed the poor, and care for the sick, and offer extravagant welcome to those who seek refuge in the house of the Lord.
She may well speak to all of us in times of silence, when we are not in places of fear and angst and worry. When we have ears to hear and eyes to see the Still speaking God whispers and asks us What we are doing in those places and times that need us to be her hands and her comfort to all of our neighbors.

Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28

Jacob settled in the land where his father had lived as an alien, the land of Canaan. This is the story of the family of Jacob.

Joseph, being seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock with his brothers; he was a helper to the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he had made him a long robe with sleeves. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him.

Now his brothers went to pasture their father's flock near Shechem. And Israel said to Joseph, "Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them." He answered, "Here I am." So he said to him, "Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock; and bring word back to me." So he sent him from the valley of Hebron.

He came to Shechem, and a man found him wandering in the fields; the man asked him, "What are you seeking?" "I am seeking my brothers," he said; "tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock." The man said, "They have gone away, for I heard them say, 'Let us go to Dothan.'" So Joseph went after his brothers, and found them at Dothan. They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they conspired to kill him. They said to one another, "Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams." But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying, "Let us not take his life." Reuben said to them, "Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him"—that he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to his father. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeves that he wore; and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.

Then they sat down to eat; and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying gum, balm, and resin, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. Then Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh." And his brothers agreed. When some Midianite traders passed by, they drew Joseph up, lifting him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.

In the story of Joseph, we have another tale of sibling rivalry, of jealousy and envy. Brother pitted against brother. Dreams and visions were again being interpreted and misunderstood, and God using the misfortune and turmoil of the situation to bring forth a greater plan, a greater mission, putting into place what would be needed to bring safety and refuge in times of hunger and draught, allowing people to endure and survive.
Cain and Able, Jacob( Israel) and Esau, Joseph and his brothers, out of the divisions between brothers, which we all are ( and also between nations) the Still speaking God comes to us in the silences of dreams and visions and finds a way to listen, a way to reconcile, a way to forgive.
Do we have the capacity to wait through the suffering that life brings, through the challenges that being family can sometimes bring about, or through the uncertainty of difficult times to stop and just listen…just listen for God to ask us what we are doing and then to do what our inner voice, the voice of the divine asks us to do?

Matthew 14:22-33

Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came walking towards them on the lake. But when the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, "Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid."

Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came towards Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

Interesting that today’s Gospel also deals with hearing and seeing the presence of the divine through the storm.
In the song Precious Lord the voice cries out to God Through the Storm, Through the Night lead me to the Light, Take my hand Precious Lord and Lead me home.
Jesus retreats to the mountains to pray and listen to the voice of the still speaking God within himself. He returns to see his disciples out in the boat in the middle of a storm and senses that they are afraid. He walks towards them. When he is first seen he is not really recognized. Then Peter, who will later deny Christ before the rooster crows, calls out If it is you call to me to come to you on the water, putting his intuition and his Lord to the test? Jesus says simply Come. Peter begins to go to him but then is afraid of the wind and waves and starts to falter and fall, Save me…Jesus takes him by the hand. You of little faith why did you doubt?
Then the wind ceased and all recognized that Jesus was the Son of God.
Rebuke and Chastisement of a reminder that we can trust our intuition and our recognition of God’s presence……
Peter doubts, Peter denies, Peter questions what it is Jesus must do. He is a walking contradiction in faith and practice, and yet just as God used Jacob Israel, and Joseph, and David, He uses Peter, Peter you are the Rock on whose foundation my Church will be built.
Peter is us. We are Peter will we listen to the still speaking voice of God through the storms and winds we encounter in life? Will we let him take us by the hand and lead us on?
Thank you Lord, thank you Lord, thank you Lord, I just want to thank you Lord.