Clinging to Hope
Posted on Aug 14, 2024 by Jon Brudvig
Recently, children and youth from Salem and Overland Park Lutheran churches proclaimed the word through song, recounting the power and might of the God of Israel who answered the Prophet Elijah’s prayers with fire from above, consuming a water-soaked altar and the prophets of Ba’al.
Unfortunately for Elijah, upon hearing the news, Queen Jezebel vowed to kill God’s prophet. Fearful for his life, Elijah fled Israel’s Northern Kingdom and headed south, as fast as possible, until the Negev desert stopped him dead in his tracks. Half-starved, parched, afraid, and utterly exhausted, Elijah is unable to go on. Feeling alone, betrayed, and abandoned, the prophet sits under a solitary broom tree and says, “I give up!”
I have been there, and many of you have too. Overcome by the enormity of our present circumstances to the point of wanting to give up and call it quits. Perhaps when life throws us an unexpected curveball — the loss of a job, a dreaded medical diagnosis, struggles with addiction, or the death of a loved one. For others, the affliction may involve the struggle to experience God’s presence and care, something John of the Cross called “the dark night of the soul.” Though our experiences may differ, I suspect that many of us have wanted to throw in the proverbial towel a time or two.
The story of Elijah is powerful because it speaks to the reality of our human condition AND proclaims loud and clear that God cares for the weary. When hope seems lost, God notices and responds. In Elijah’s case, God sends a divine messenger to feed and care for the weary prophet. Elijah is not left alone but fed and cared for. Then renewed in body, mind, and spirit, God sends Elijah on his way to continue his ministry and mission.
A lot of us can relate to Elijah’s story recounted in 1 Kings 19. We are tired. We are weary. We seek stability and permanence amid life’s transitions and change. We are worried about what the future might hold — for our world and Salem. The enormity of our present circumstances can cloud our view and challenge us to trust that the God who calls us and nourishes us with the bread of life also journeys with us through the wilderness of life.
Just as God has been present in our past, God IS present now. God IS present amid the uncertainty, change, and chaos of life — guiding, leading, and inviting us into the future that God has prepared for us.
This, my dear siblings in Christ, is the promise of the cross and the empty tomb. When the death-dealing powers of the world gain the upper hand, when all hope seems lost, when grief, anxiety, and fear stop us in our tracks and make us want to give up, the cross and empty tomb proclaim that God IS working in and through all of it … redeeming, renewing, and creating new life, new opportunities, and new beginnings!
In Christ,
Pastor Jon