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Elijah, hear, Kings, listen, mountain, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, voice of God, whisper
Today we’re again reminded that God can be a surprise, appearing where and when we least expect a such a gift. (See 1 KGS 19:9A, 11-13A) The prophet Elijah is taking shelter on Horeb, “the mountain of God.” (Mountains often figure in these stories for some reason: their opportunity for solitude? the successful challenge of the climb? nearness to heaven? or…perhaps none of the above.) Elijah hears the voice of God saying, “Go outside and stand on the mountain before the Lord; the Lord will be passing by.” As we probably have heard, many loud and visually cataclysmic events followed then that he could not have missed: wind, earthquake, fire…but God was not in any of those happenings. It was “a tiny whispering sound” that Elijah heard and recognized as God’s voice.
How could he have heard God in that tiny moment? I think the only answer can be: practice. Elijah was one of the major prophets and obviously one who was practiced in listening. That was his job: being alert for God’s messages to the people. As such he was probably aware of any small shift in conditions inside and out. Maybe his emotions were stirred. Maybe he had a felt sense in his body…I don’t know.
What I do know and am more aware of as I reflect on this familiar text is that there’s a lot of noise in the world today – much of it negative and loud. It doesn’t feel to me that there is much mountain climbing to achieve solace and hear the voice of God. There are lots of zoom calls though and some are helpful. I meet with one group that I think might approximate Elijah’s ability to hear God in the midst of babble. Sometimes it’s hard not to try to fill the silence when no one is speaking. I’m learning, however, that this is the experience that I need to value the most because everyone is silently listening for the word of God to come through. And it is usually not a bombastic declaration. Most often the word is spoken in little more than a tiny whisper. And we are all trying to hear…Do you know what I mean?
From the prophet Elijah to Jesus, today’s readings speak of the importance of eating to keep up our strength for living – both physically and spiritually. We find Elijah journeying into the desert (1 KGS 19:4-8) where, in a moment of desperation, he lies down under a tree and asks God to let him die. Instead, an angel wakes him and orders him – twice – to eat, having provided the food that will keep him alive and strong on his trek through the desert (a forty-day trip) to Horeb, the mountain of God.
At the retreat center where I am privileged to live, we are in the midst of our “high season.” Every weekend we welcome people of diverse beliefs and religious traditions who come seeking to deepen the spiritual content of their lives. Thus, the simple but appropriate name of this place: The Spiritual Center. It is not only those who come as participants to the programs we offer who are changed in some way or newly committed to spiritual practice. The presenters and we ourselves know the value of what is transacted here, most often in the brief space of a weekend.
Yesterday our area of New York State was scheduled to have severe thunderstorms. We felt the heaviness in the air all day but meteorologists kept moving back the time of the storm’s arrival. In the end, from what we have heard, others not far from us did experience much more than the few claps of thunder and one dazzling lightning bolt that was the extent of the storm here in Windsor at about 9:00 in the evening.
Sometimes the strangest thoughts bubble up when I’m reading the Scriptures for the day. This year we’re reading Mark and today’s section is the familiar story of the Transfiguration (9:2-10). None of the gospels provides all the details for any story but Mark is especially brief – the first written and shortest gospel. In some cases it’s like reading shorthand. Over the years I’ve become brave enough to try filling in some of the blanks in the stories. I doubt it can hurt; it’s not dogmatic teaching but just conjecture for my own deeper understanding. I think of it as a kind of similar activity to that of movie makers who try to give us pictures to accompany the most visual texts – not always successfully, I might add.
How does God get your attention? How do you pray for God to attend to you? When God shows up, do you recognize and accept how God comes? Today’s lectionary readings hold examples of two such situations for our consideration.
We all have our own perspectives on things and sometimes there is not only difference in how we see things, but downright opposition to the views of others. I’m always reminded of this when the “Who do people say that I am?” question shows up in the Scriptures. (Today in MK 8.) That’s the easy question though because the answer can include lots of hearsay, e.g. “Elijah or one of the prophets” (reincarnated?) or John the Baptist (more tricky since they lived at the same time). The riskier question comes next when Jesus asks the question that calls for a response of personal conviction: “Who do you say I am?” No one rushes to that answer and Peter seems the only one to finally get up the courage to speak his mind, or more probably, what he knows in his heart: “You are the Christ.”