Sermon Title: "Passing the Mantle"
Date: June 27, 2010
Minister:  The Rev. Susan Bjork

Lesson:  2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14

 

Both Elijah and Elisha knew that the great elder prophet’s remaining time on this earth was minimal.  Elijah had already lived a long life and had served God heartily as Israel’s latest, greatest, and loudest prophet.  In his life, Elijah stood up to abuses of power and spoke on behalf of God and to God’s people.  You may remember one instance when they were distracted by the false promise of instant gratification, if only they would bow down to Ba’al. 

In his life, Elijah had seen kings come and go and all the while he was there, faithful in his calling, determined and steadfast.  He may have met the challenges he faced imperfectly at times and grappled with feelings of fear and longed for guidance or deliverance.  After all, he was human.  But in the end, Elijah’s was a life well lived; a prophetic calling that was practiced daily; and a legacy known for its spirit and determination.

In his later years, God led Elijah to choose his protégé, Elisha, who would become his disciple and later his successor and the new prophet of Israel. 

The story of Elisha’s calling is actually kind of funny.  You see Elijah was a little reluctant to reach out to this young man who God was encouraging him to take under wing.  But Elijah followed God’s instructions and found Elisha in his home village.  Then he took his mantle off and threw it over Elisha’s head (really subtle, isn’t it) and called him to follow.  Elisha wanted to say goodbye to his family first but Elijah just kept walking.  So Elisha ended up having to chase him down in order to prove that he was, in fact, intending to follow the prophet and become his disciple.  Perhaps it was a first test of his worthiness and sincerity.

And thus began Elijah’s passing of the mantle of prophetic leadership and ministry from one prophet to the next, from one generation to the next.  From that point on, Elisha accompanied the elder prophet on his journeys, learned from him, and grew into his own prophetic identity.

And so we come to today’s story about the end of one era and the beginning of another.

I imagine that Elisha may have been a little nervous as the end of Elijah’s life was closing in.  Perhaps that is why he asked Elijah for a “double portion” of his spirit.  He wanted the prophet to treat him as his eldest heir and like a good father of the day, to grant him a double share of his inheritance…in this case, not land and goods, but spirit and charisma, strength and courage.

Elijah knows that this really was in God’s hands, but he basically says “if you are given the privilege of seeing me depart into the whirlwind, then so be it.”  After all, at this point Elijah has given his student plenty of chances to leave, to go back to where he came from, and forget this whole prophet business all together.  But time after time, Elisha has responded, “no…where you go, I go” and he has remained steadfast in his loyalty, perhaps annoyingly so if we were to ask Elijah, who seems at moments to just want a little quiet time and solitude.

But they go on together…despite any desires of Elijah to face the end alone, despite any hopes of Elisha that the end might not be as near as it really is. 

And as they are walking and talking, in an instant, out of the heavens appear horses and chariots of fire which separate the two prophets from each other.  And in a whirlwind, in the blink of an eye, Elijah is gone. 

Elisha is in shock at what he has seen and calls out to the man who has been like a father to him.  And upon realizing that Elijah is really gone and that he is all alone, Elisha tears his clothing in mourning.

But the mourning cannot last forever.  Elisha knows he has a job to do and that now is the time for him to continue in the footsteps of his teacher.  So Elisha looks to the ground and sees that one small, but important part of Elijah’s legacy remains with him…the very mantle that had been cast over his own head calling him into this journey of becoming Israel’s next prophet.  And now is the time for Elisha to pick up the mantle of prophetic leadership, of spiritual guidance, of responsibility to nurture, challenge, and minister to God’s people.  Now is the time to carry forth the mantle of his spiritual heritage into a new future.

And so back he goes, to the Jordan River, the same river that they just crossed.  And this time Elisha must cross it alone.  So he takes this mantle of his spiritual inheritance, calls out to God, and strikes the water as he had seen Elijah do before.

And what happens?  He is shown the way ahead…the waters part, the path is cleared, he is affirmed in his calling by the God for whom he serves, and on he goes, back into Israel to fulfill his prophetic ministry and continue the ministry of his successor.

It’s one of those iconic “rite of passage” stories.  The journey and life’s work of one generation comes to a close and the privilege of responsibility, the hopes and dreams, are passed on from one to the next.  The new generation must intentionally pick up the mantle of the past and carry it forward.

You know, I think that this passing on of the mantle of spiritual heritage happens in the church as well, though the process is certainly far less linear than the passing of the mantle from one individual to another.  Instead, it is an ongoing process.

We all know that the collective journey of a community of faith does not end when one life, one program, or one pastorate ends.  Even as generational dynamics and participation change, the community continues.

In fact, it is our responsibility to look forward.  The community of faith must always engage in the ongoing, collective process of picking up the mantle of our spiritual heritage that has been left for us, trying it on for size, mending it where it has been torn, reinforcing it where it has grown thin, and wearing it boldly into the future.  It is the responsibility that has been passed on to us from our forebears.

The mantle of our spiritual heritage may not look or feel entirely the same from one generation to the next.  After all, cultures change throughout the centuries, life takes on new and different complexities and challenges.  And yet, this doesn’t mean we forget where we’ve come from because, after all, some of the realities of human existence and human communities are as true today as they were in Elijah’s era.

No, we cherish our spiritual heritage, we honor it, we learn from it, and we carry it forward into an ever-changing world as we discern and shape our future together. 

And sometimes we also need to grieve together for the inevitable losses that change brings.  Even Elisha had to do that in order to move on into a new phase of his calling.

But on we go, picking up the mantle of our past and carrying it into the future.

Last week, Charlie gave us an inspirational sermon about the spiritual heritage of this particular congregation and left us with the encouragement to look forward into the future.

So, I ask you, how are we, Bay Shore Church, now in our 85th year of existence, picking up the mantle of our past and carrying it boldly into the future?  How are we, as a community of faith, discerning together where the next 85+ years will take us and how we will collectively live into our calling and our covenant with God, with each other, and with the broader community?

I believe that as a Congregational church we are called to be a community of discernment.  Our Congregational heritage does not call us to be only a democracy where each member casts a vote for every decision, though we do and will continue to conduct some of our business that way. 

But discernment is a deeper process that invites us to engage in collective listening: listening to our forebears in faith, listening to our predecessors in this community and our shared history, listening to each other, listening to the broader community we seek to reach, and perhaps the most challenging at times: listening for God’s call to us.

And I believe now is the time to engage in this process once more, intentionally and strategically, as this community undoubtedly has in the past.  Discernment done at its best is, I think, an intentional and ongoing process.

The time to think about who we are and where we are going is now, when we are strong and healthy and vital.  The organizational life-cycle experts tell us that organizations who take their vitality for granted and wait to engage in strategic planning and collective discernment until they are experiencing decline are the ones who waited too long. 

Unfortunately, far too many churches in the United Church of Christ and other mainline denominations are facing up to this reality right now.  They are realizing that no longer can they assume that people will want to join their church just because it’s there and just because it has a particular denominational affiliation.  Culturally, the days of those strong ties to membership in a particular church are fading.

So what are we to do?

Well we do what each generation must do by taking on the mantle of the past and making it fit a bright future.  And I think that some of the keys to our future may be found in reaffirming some of the foundational pieces of our history. 

What are the core values of this congregation and how might we continue the traditions of our past as well as renew, reshape, and create new traditions as a community?

Personally, I think that at least part of the bright future of Bay Shore Church may be found in three core values I have observed in my first year here as your Associate Minister.  And there certainly may be others as well. 

Along with these core values, I want to highlight some of the potential challenges and goals for our future as we continue to strengthen these core values here in this church.

First, this church values fellowship.  We like spending time together.  Our challenge for the future will be to continue to broaden our fellowship through hospitality to the stranger and to continue to deepen our fellowship through intentional care for one another and sincere sharing and honoring of our diverse perspectives, experiences, and faith journeys.  The other part of our challenge is how to even more fully invite our children and youth into this community so that they might continue to grow and learn and share their thoughts and ideas and hopes and dreams with us.

Second, this church values mission.  This church engages in a variety of local and world-wide mission activities.  Our challenge for the future will be to continue to listen to the needs of our broader community and not only give charitably, but to also seek justice and support those who are working for long-term solutions to big issues.

Third, this church values meaningful worship.  This is a church that values giving praise to God through our Sunday morning liturgy as expressed in prayer and preaching as well as beautiful music.  Our challenge for the future will be to realize that the worship life of churches in the 21st century is not neatly divided between traditional and contemporary.  So there may very well be a variety of ways this congregation might liturgically carry forward our long-time worship traditions as well as try some new things now and again.  And some of these new things might not even happen on Sunday morning…who knows?!

Now, these are not really new ideas.  No, these core values are part of the mantle of our spiritual heritage.  But it is our responsibility, I believe, to care for that which we have been given and continually make it our own from one generation to the next so that this community of faithful followers of Jesus Christ can flourish well into the future.  Let us lovingly, mindfully, and faithfully continue to pass the mantle on.  Amen.