Making History
Today at MCC, we observed and celebrated the ordination of Pastor Amy. Dr. Stan Mast from LaGrave Avenue Christian Reformed Church spoke to us about how God led Elijah to pass his cloak to Elisha and likened it to the cloak being past to Amy. This story comes from I Kings 19:9-21.Pastor Stan started out talking about how we were part of history: MCC's history, Amy's history. We were making history, following history, and even repeating history in the sense that people are finding their redemption in Christ as they have done for centuries.
It struck me as how this was similar to what we had been talking about at the book club this week where we are discussing Eat This Book by Eugene Peterson. Consider this quote from the book:
"The Scriptures, simply by virtue of their narrative form, draw us into a reality in which we find ourselves in touch with the very stuff of humanity; what we sense in our bones counts. It is a story large with the sense of God, a world suffused with God, a world permeated with God's spoken and unspoken word, His unseen and perceived presence, in such a way that we know it is the world we were made for, the world in which we most truly belong. It isn't long before we find ourselves imaginitively entering the story, taking place in the plot, and following Jesus."
Something else in the story today relates to what we have been talking about at MCC. God was speaking to Elijah and told him to look for God. He wasn't in the wind, earthquake, or fire. Elijah finally heard His voice in a gentle whisper. This reminds me that if we only look for God in something big, we might miss Him. He is often found in the quietness of a humble heart. I am thankful we have humble leaders at MCC.
2 Comments:
Isaiah saw a saraphim with six wings and an angel with tongs and a hot coal. That one was hard to miss. Elijah heard a small whisper. I'm having trouble hearing the still small voice. Could it be disobedience in quieting the noise around me that impairs my hearing? I'm pretty sure I'm afraid to ask for Isaiah's vision.
I am not sure that is the point of the passage. I think the passage is saying that God isn't always knocking you over the head with the obvious. Rather sometimes it is the subtleties in life through which God speaks to us. So is it disobedience? Well, that depends, are you ignoring God? Are you willfully disobeying him? If so, then the terminology disobedience I think is in order. Otherwise, I perhaps other scenarios are there. Look at Job for example, he was looking for God. Look at Jesus on the cross, he was looking for God. Neither found him, but where they (especially Jesus) disobedient? Just because you don't hear "the gentle whisper" right now doesn't mean one is being disobedient. Also, what if you are looking for a gentle whisper and God is trying to speak to you through the wind? You might be missing something. So just keep your eyes and ears open.
But hey, that is just my personal exegesis of the passage, feel free to disagree.
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