Restless but not careless

Lily Cathcart March 12, 2022 0 3

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1 Kings 19: 1-15 (NRSVA)

1 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, ‘So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.’ 3 Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah; he left his servant there.

4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: ‘It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.’ 5 Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, ‘Get up and eat.’ 6 He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. 7 The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him, and said, ‘Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.’ 8 He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food for forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. 9 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?’ 10 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.’

11 He said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lordis 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 Lordwas not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. 13 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?’ 14 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.’ 15 Then the Lord said to him, ‘Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram.

I often forget about this passage in 1 Kings but it is actually one of my favourites. Not for the moaning, although I am very familiar with grumbles, I like it because of what the angels do, how they take care of Elijah.

Elijah is feeling restless, afraid and down, he wants something to happen, he wants an end, an answer or a rescue but he cannot find them, even in his literal wilderness. Then along comes an angel who sees, not an adventurer or even a failure as Elijah says he might be, but a person who needs a nap and something to drink and something to eat.

I find it so easy to forget these essentials when my restless brain and body and soul combine to form a very restless day. Sometimes I too need someone to come along and say: ‘It’s ok, have a drink of water, eat this sandwich, you will be able to do more if you want to, but first look after your body.’

Humans are complex but we are also not that different from plants. We need food and drink and sunlight and peace. And in that peace, when Elijah has become like a cared for little plant in his wilderness, God’s voice finally gets through the noise of his brain. And so in my peace when I am fed and watered and rested I finally recognise God’s voice in the noise of my mind and I am able to say hello.

PRAYER:

Dear God who cares for us

Remind us, when we need it, to care for ourselves

Help us to see those around us who need care and love

Grace us with your presence in our restless minds

Amen