Musical Prelude and Service

2 Kings
In the iconic poem In Flanders Fields John McCrae uses the words,
To you from failing hands we throw. The torch, be yours to hold it high.
It’s a line we have heard countless times; quite often by school students struggling to get the words
correct in an exercise of memory.
It is a call to struggle; a call to continue fighting for something that is far greater than an individual.
We encounter a similar call to continue a struggle; to carry on a fight beyond the life of one, albeit,
important person.
After years of struggling to keep his people in proper relationship with their God, Elijah’s life is
coming to an end.
How to say goodbye? How to make this a good end? And how to ensure the work that he has taken
on continues?
But we get more than that. As Elijah’s story comes to a close, we pick up the story of his apprentice;
his student; his follower, Elisha. Elisha; whom we are led to believe has likely followed Elijah for some
time, is encouraged here to stay with the other priests and prophets who are following at a distance;
to witness the last days of this prophet. But Elisha insists on following close; to be there to receive an
inheritance, and then he requests a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. Like the oldest child is expected
to receive the greater portion of the inheritance.
This inheritance in this case is represented by Elijah’s mantle. A long piece of fabric that was part of
the robe, the religious man would wear. Replicating the story of Moses, the mantle in this case is
used to part the waters of the Jordan. Something Elisha mimics later in the story. And so, Elisha
continues to work, urging the people of Israel to maintain a proper and faithful relationship with God.
We hear much more about this; Elisha’s stories and his work is chronicled in the chapters to come in
Second Kings.
Another aspect of this story I think we need to hold onto is that Elisha is not alone. He may receive
the mantle and the responsibility that comes with it, but he is not alone. He rejoins the other
prophets. They sit at a distance but still witness the events of that day. They comment on them and
are there to offer their support and encouragement.
We are not alone.
We walk as part of a community. A community of faith that we often call the body of Christ.
We are not alone in our work.
We are not alone in our struggles.
We are not alone in the journey we take.
There is a term I often return to when discussing my theology. It is mutuality.
We are connected through work and the presence of Christ. We are connected through the constant
movement of the Holy Spirit. What impacts us impacts all of humanity. In the same way the hurts
and the fears and the joys of others we may not even know, have an impact upon us. or it should.
The decisions we make here in Dunnville resonate around the world. Through God we are connected.
Today I find myself prompted to ask questions about how we honour the memory; the work, the
wisdom of the people who we are all forced to say goodbye to. We are all at some point faced with
the unwelcome prospect of saying goodbye to someone dear to us. It is a part of living a full life.
We are called to enter into relationships. Some of those relationships are deeper and more significant
than others, but we all face the difficult and heartbreaking prospect of at some point saying goodbye.
We all are also confronted with the challenge of how to honour and keep the memory of that loved
one close while also carrying on living a full life.
Elisha chooses to carry on the work of the prophet. Of reminding the government and people of
Israel of God’s desire for a deeper and righteous relationship with Israel. And also of reminding these
same people that by exploiting the poor; of not living kind and loving lives they are failing to live up
to their promises to God.
We are not all expected to take on the exact work and passions of those we say goodbye to.
We need to live our own lives. But I am struck by the notion of receiving a portion of the spirit of
Elijah. The spirit. The passion and the wisdom. The desire for relationship. Elisha’s ministry will have
its own focus; but he has the strength; the passion, the courage of Elijah.
This idea of finding the spirit and the courage of those who came before us has struck me with some
force in recent days. We are witnessing some distressing news out of the United States. Rights that
women have fought hard to secure over the decades are being stripped from them. There are
difficult and heartbreaking days ahead of us. I recognize the need to choose my words carefully.
Commenting on the politics of a different country is something to do with care.
But we can never discount how closely bound our two countries are. The tensions and the political
forces at work in the United States are never far from our own borders and our own debates here in
Canada.
We must never forget or take for granted the struggles; the battles that were so important to the
men and women who came before us. We may be called to our own struggles and our own needs,
but we must recognize the spirit of the work taken on by those who came before us. We must seek
our portion of that spirit. To be inspired and grateful for all the work done by those who came before
us. To tap into our own spirit, to see how we are empowered and inspired and strengthened by the
work which came before us.
And to take on our own work; whether it is a new ministry or carrying on the fight that went before
us. And to hold that torch high.

 

Music provided with permission through licensing with CCLI License number
2701258 and One License # A-731789