The title question is more than a question of location, but an issue of purpose. Are you where you need to be? Are you doing what you need to be doing? If not, why not?
We've been following the prophet Elijah as he emerged triumphant over the Ba'al gods of Queen Jezebel. His success was met with royal wrath from the Queen who promised his demise. He flees into the desert wilderness, dejected and despairing that he had ultimately failed. God ministers to his needs and he forges ahead to Mt. Horeb (Sinai) to give an account before God.
Once at the mountaintop, he again admits his failure and yields to his fears. God decides to reveal his divine presence. In this memorable expression, there are a series of dramatic cataclysms but the text claims that God was not in any of them. In the Hebrew, it says there is "the sound of fine silence" which is unfortunately translated as "a still small voice." It is in this silence, a vast expansive quiet in which God reveals that the divine presence is there always.
Then comes God's voice in a whisper, asking again, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" With that, God sends Elijah back to deal with the corrupt and idolatrous royals. That's where he needed to be, not seeking sanctuary with God, but engaged in God's mission.
In Luke, the passage about Jesus's confrontation and exorcism of the demon-possessed man and his "Legion" also has its question. The demon-possessed man asks, "What do you want with me, Jesus of the Most High God?" The demon-possessed man (or his demons) knows exactly who Jesus is, more precisely identifying the Lord than his own disciples who still don't quite understand who he is.
Jesus will go on to demonstrate the power of faithfulness to God, showing in the story's imagery that God is sovereign over all, even the greatest power that exists in the world.
To get the full picture of both of these stories, you need to download the sermon text (link below) and learn how these stories speak to disciples today, challenging whether we're in the place and doing the things that God needs us to do, and whether we're being faithful in the power of our God who urges us to engage the Lord's sacred mission to bring healing, hope, and new life as living witnesses of our Lord today.
We've been following the prophet Elijah as he emerged triumphant over the Ba'al gods of Queen Jezebel. His success was met with royal wrath from the Queen who promised his demise. He flees into the desert wilderness, dejected and despairing that he had ultimately failed. God ministers to his needs and he forges ahead to Mt. Horeb (Sinai) to give an account before God.
Once at the mountaintop, he again admits his failure and yields to his fears. God decides to reveal his divine presence. In this memorable expression, there are a series of dramatic cataclysms but the text claims that God was not in any of them. In the Hebrew, it says there is "the sound of fine silence" which is unfortunately translated as "a still small voice." It is in this silence, a vast expansive quiet in which God reveals that the divine presence is there always.
Then comes God's voice in a whisper, asking again, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" With that, God sends Elijah back to deal with the corrupt and idolatrous royals. That's where he needed to be, not seeking sanctuary with God, but engaged in God's mission.
In Luke, the passage about Jesus's confrontation and exorcism of the demon-possessed man and his "Legion" also has its question. The demon-possessed man asks, "What do you want with me, Jesus of the Most High God?" The demon-possessed man (or his demons) knows exactly who Jesus is, more precisely identifying the Lord than his own disciples who still don't quite understand who he is.
Jesus will go on to demonstrate the power of faithfulness to God, showing in the story's imagery that God is sovereign over all, even the greatest power that exists in the world.
To get the full picture of both of these stories, you need to download the sermon text (link below) and learn how these stories speak to disciples today, challenging whether we're in the place and doing the things that God needs us to do, and whether we're being faithful in the power of our God who urges us to engage the Lord's sacred mission to bring healing, hope, and new life as living witnesses of our Lord today.
| 06-19-16-ff-answers.pdf |
| 06-19-16-what_are_you_doing_here.pdf |
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