This is one of those passages that has its roots deep in the
mythology of ancient Israel. It is at least a little bit
familiar to us because this is where the film "Chariots of Fire"
gets its name, and this is where we find the origin of the
expression, "passing on the mantle of leadership." The story
also gives us one of the earliest uses of the term "Father" as a
title for a religious leader (if you have ever wondered where
that designation in some churches came from).
The story is one of transition. Elijah, who has been the
key prophetic voice for Israel and, even today, is thought of as
the prophet par excellence and of a stature similar to Moses, is
going. Elisha is coming, and the narrator is taking great pains
to show that he is a worthy successor.
Elijah and Elisha are walking along the road traveling from
Gilgal to Bethel, that is, away from the Jordan River. There
they meet up with a "company of prophets" (perhaps members of the
local ministerial association) who come out to meet them and who,
in an aside to Elisha, ask him, "Do you know that the LORD is
going to take your master from you today?" Elisha testily
responds that he does and adds that they should just keep quiet
about it.
Here Elijah offers his young protégé an opportunity to part
ways: "Stay here, Elisha; the LORD has sent me to Jericho." But
Elisha will have none of it, so they reverse course and journey
to Jericho where they are again met by another "company of
prophets" who again pull Elisha aside and ask the same question
that had been posed at Bethel. Elisha's response is equally
irritable, equivalent to, "Yeah, I know; just shut up about it!"
Now Elijah offers Elisha one more opportunity to back off:
"Stay here; the LORD has sent me to the Jordan." Again, Elisha
will have none of it, so the two press on.
Now they arrive at the river. It seems that everyone knew
what was about to take place so even 50 or so of the local clergy
are tagging along at a distance, acting in this story for all the
world like the chorus of an opera. If anyone up to this point
were still wondering about Elijah's place in the pantheon of
Israel's heros, it is here clarified once and for all as he rolls
up his cloak and strikes the waters. They part, of course, just
as they did for Moses at the Sea of Reeds, allowing the prophetic
pair to cross on dry ground.
Now it is just the two of them and Elijah makes an
incredible offer to Elisha: "Tell me, what can I do for you
before I am taken from you?"
Without batting an eye, Elisha responds, "Let me inherit a
double portion of your spirit," the normal request of an eldest
son in that day. Elijah acknowledges that, under the
circumstances, this is a difficult request to grant but
stipulates the conditions under which it is indeed possible:
Elisha must SEE when Elijah's departure takes place (which
indicates that this is not going to be visible to the naked eye).
The text then records that the two of them continue on their way
amiably walking and talking until "suddenly a chariot of fire and
horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah
went up to heaven in a whirlwind." He does not die; he is just
whisked away. Wow!
Elisha is devastated and cries, "Father, father! The
chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" When the prophet is gone
from sight, he rips his clothes into two pieces, the traditional
symbolic act of inconsolable grief. No surprise, here. It is a
time of transition, and times of transition in our lives can be
painful.
Now we reach the story's denouement. Elisha bends down and
picks up his master's discarded cloak - the "mantle of
leadership" is passed on. Elisha strikes the waters of the
Jordan himself and asks, "Where now is the LORD, the God of
Elijah?" Bingo, the waters part again, and now both Elisha and
the chorus of prophets watching from the west bank know full well
where the God of Elijah is: the LORD is with Elisha as the LORD
had been with Elijah. And this is the point of the passage: the
people of God are not abandoned. As one prophet passes on,
another is immediately raised. Transitions may be difficult, but
the work of God will go on.
That has always been the case in the church. One leader
goes, another is raised up. The transition may be difficult, but
it is bearable. Change, as we all know, is inevitable. As one
commentator notes,
Literature has always helped the human race rehearse
change and come to terms with it, perhaps even find
value in it...Biblical literature goes even further,
insisting that change is meaningful and bearable
because God is the author of change. God's whirlwind
blows away every love, every security, every safety.
The same changeless God pushes ceaseless change on the
world. Yet God's commission for ministry transcends
change. Elisha picks up the mantle of prophetic office
and turns the word of God loose on yet another
generation. (1)
How will a new generation hear the word? Every indication
is that it will not be in just the same way that previous
generations have heard. There is new music, new worship styles,
new technology that has come into play. And there are new
understandings of what God is calling people to be and do. The
transitions are not always comfortable, but they surely are
inevitable.
I find it intriguing that we encounter this story at
precisely this moment in our nation's history. This week we
again celebrate our independence and the glorious heritage of
freedom that we have come to enjoy. But most would agree that we
as a nation are in a period of transition. We are nearing the
end of one administration and those interested in taking up "the
mantle of leadership" are already jockeying for position. The
polls say that almost 80% of Americans are dissatisfied with the
direction our country is going and a change is needed. That
dissatisfaction might mean one thing to one person and something
entirely different to another, but the dissatisfaction is real
none the less.
What kind of change is in the offing? The end of the war
and the return home of our troops? A Health Care system that
takes care of everyone and not just the very rich and very poor
while leaving the vast middle at risk? Changes in the tax
structure that more fairly reflect an individual's and an
industry's ability to pay? Immigration reform that neither
rewards bad behavior nor penalizes someone's legitimate
aspirations for a better life? More attention paid to issues of
poverty, not just the 37-million of our own people considered by
the government as living below the poverty live, but the 1-billion people in the world who eke by on less than $1.00 per
day? What kind of changes will we see?
Transition time. Change. Church, society, everywhere. My
friend Carlos Wilton notes, "Living through life's transitional
times is never easy. Feelings of grief for that which is lost,
or about to be lost, can seem overwhelming. Sometimes there is a
feeling of being stuck between the has-been and the not-yet -- and
that experience of stuck-ness seems to go on and on...Whenever we
must say good-bye to the old and embrace the new -- however
fearsome and unfamiliar the new may seem -- there may appear for a
time to be no way forward. Yet faith reveals to us that there is
such a way..." (2) The story of the seamless transition from Elijah
to Elisha testifies to that. Remember it as we come to the
Lord's Table.
Amen!
1. Richard D. Nelson, Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching,
James L. Mays, ed., CD-ROM Edition (Lousiville : John Knox, 2006)
2. Carlos Wilton, Lectionary Preaching Workbook: Series VIII Cycle C, (Lima, OH : CSS
Publishing, 2006), pp. 241-242
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