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June 17, 2007
Scripture: 1 Kings 19: 1-4, 8-15
Title: "The Sound of Silence"

Like many of you, I experienced the “blackout” on Sunday night. I was upstairs, sitting on the bed, watching TV when all of a sudden the lights went out. There was no warning. There were no flickering of lights. Suddenly, the house was plunged into darkness and quiet. A little too quiet. As I sat on the bed, I decided that it would be best not to move because I just knew I would trip over a pair of shoes and that I would become a headline for the Woodford Sun: “Minister breaks neck in power outage. So I sat in the darkness and quiet. And I heard every noise. With each bump, I wondered if it was the cats or dog or was someone coming into the house. And as the house continued to settle into the quiet, the more frightened I became. Everything was just a little too quiet. I curled up in a ball and just wanted to lay there in the bed. I wanted to block out the world. I wanted to wrap the blankets over my head and wait for the morning light to come through my windows.

Finally, I couldn’t stand the quiet no more. I threw off the covers and knew that I was accomplishing nothing by sitting in dark by myself. I said to myself: What are you doing? You are an adult!! There is nothing to be afraid of here. Get off that bed and go find a flashlight. Nothing is going to happen. Some great leader you turned out to be! Get off the bed and do something constructive.

Through this pep talk to myself, I had a purpose now. I had a mission now. I had to look beyond my fear and my want to stay isolated. There was a purpose by my fear. There was a mission that needed me to put aside my fears! I had to see to my canine and feline family! I had to secure the house.

So needless to say, I got off the bed and found the flashlight. I wandered the house, checking on animals to make sure that they were okay. Each one just staring at me, like I was some crazy lady with a flashlight disrupting their peace and quiet. They didn’t understand my purpose or my need to check on them. But it was something that I had to do. It was something to pull my from the darkness. It was something to pull me from my cave of fear.

It was only after completing my mission of finding my flashlight and securing the house that I was able to settle down to sleep.

Out of the darkness came a purpose. Out of the silence came a mission. Out of the quiet came a calling.

It wasn’t until I began to prepare this sermon did I realize that my sermon had found me in the darkness and the quiet that night, very much like Elijah on the mountain in our story. He too experienced a purpose that called him out of the darkness. He too experienced a mission out of the silence. He too experience a calling out of quiet.

Before our story today, Elijah has just had the ultimate career experience as a prophet of God. He has defeated the prophets of Baal and turned the people of Israel back to their God. And what does he get as a thank you? Death threats for the evil queen Jezebel. So he takes off running again, this time heading to the southernmost point of Judah. And he just wants to give up. He tells God to take his life. He starts complaining that he is not as good as his ancestors, like Moses or Joseph. He starts whining that at least when they showed God’s power, the people believed. He begins to feel sorry for himself. Elijah wraps his misery and fear around him like a cloak. He wants to shut off the world. He wants to curl up into a ball and disappear.

And God’s response to this is no. God says to Elijah, “What are you doing here?” And this is where I appreciate the writers of our story. They don’t try to sugar coat Elijah’s complaint. They don’t try to make him something he is not or feel something he doesn’t. Elijah lays it all out for God.
“Look, God, I have been working for you and no one cares. I have been telling the people about you and no one cares. I’m done. I’m the only one who is left that cares about you. I’m the only doing anything around this place and what’s the thanks I get? Death threats. God, this is it. I’m done. Just leave me alone. There is no point in doing all of this.” And Elijah goes back into the cave, once again shutting out the world and trying to shut out God.

I imagine that God, like any good parent does when their child is throwing an irrational fit, takes a deep breath, counts to ten, before speaking “Go, stand on that mountain, and I’ll show you what it is all about.

There is a strong wind. But Elijah remains in his cave, shutting out the world. There is an earthquake, but Elijah remains in his cave, blocking out the world. There is a fire, but Elijah remains in his cave. Each one of these is an impressive show. Each one a way that God has talked to prophets in the past. Each one is way that God has started conversations in the past with prophets, but Elijah remains in the cave.

It is only when things settled down and became a little too quiet does Elijah venture out of the cave. It is only when the soft murmuring of God beckons, does Elijah come out of the cave. It only when the quiet becomes too much for Elijah that he emerges from the cave. Elijah knows that God is not leaving him alone, that God is not letting him stay in that cave, that God is waiting for him to emerge. So Elijah comes out to have a talk with God. And God asks, “What are you doing here?” Why are you sealing yourself off in a cave? Why are blocking off my people? Why are you trying to shut yourself off from me?

And once again, Elijah throws his irrational fit again. He just doesn’t want to let go of his self righteousness. He just doesn’t want to be rational. He just doesn’t want to acknowledge that he is not alone. That there are actually others who care and who are working for God’s purposes.

“Look, God, I have been working for you and no one cares. I have been telling the people about you and no one cares. I’m done. I’m the only one who is left that cares about you. I’m the only doing anything around this place and what’s the thanks I get? Death threats. God, this is it. I’m done. Just leave me alone. There is no point in doing all of this. Just leave me alone!”

And like a good parent, God will only let Elijah wallow in self-pity for only so long. God says Enough! There are still things that I need you do as my prophet. Shake it off. Here is the game plan.

God knows that Elijah wants to give up his office as a prophet because it is hard. And God says no. You’re an adult! You are a great leader of the people. You are not alone. Do something constructive. Don’t just sit there whining! Don’t just sit there in fear! Go! Take care of my family! Here is your mission. Here is your purpose. Now, get to it!

Out of the darkness comes a purpose. Out of the silence comes a mission. Out of the quiet comes a calling.

By giving Elijah a new purpose and mission, “God informs Elijah that the divine plan and purposes do not depend only on him and he is instructed to retrace his steps, return to his ministry, and perform specific tasks on God’s behalf.” It is not always about you or what you want. And when Elijah stands before God, he gets a new perspective on his life and his ministry. Elijah stands before God and is renewed in his service for God.

Throughout Israelite history, God has talked to prophets and the people through earthquakes, fire, and wind and the people believed. And God knows that Elijah is expecting God to repeat that pattern again and redeem the situation, so Elijah can sit back and wash his hands of the situation. It is too hard. Let someone else do it. You are God. You deal with your own people.

However, God won’t accept Elijah’s excuses. God won’t allow Elijah to block God out. So God meets Elijah’s expectations in a totally new and unexpected way. In the quiet. In the silence. In the darkness.

God shows Elijah the wind, the earthquake and the fire but is not a part of these signals of theopanies anymore. These ways are the past ways God used to talk with God’s people. They are not going to work anymore. The situation requires something new.

God uses the quiet as a signal that God wants to talk, that God will do anything to shake Elijah out of the cave because God is not giving up nor going away. God won’t let him stay in his cave forever. God wants Elijah to look beyond the power and the might. God wants Elijah to look beyond his own fears and self-doubt. God wants Elijah to reaffirm his call as a leader and as a part of the community of God.

Out of the darkness, comes a purpose. Out of the silence comes a mission. Out of the quiet, comes a calling.

When God asks Elijah, What are you doing here?, this is Elijah’s wake up call for his ministry and it also serves as our wake up call for our ministry as well. God created us to be a part of a community, to grow together, to worship together, to take care of one another. God will not let us close off the rest of the world. God will not let us make it all about us. When God asks us what are you doing here, God is giving us the chance to stand before God to gain new perspective on our ministries.

God wants to engage us in conversation and God wants us to engage in conversation with others. And all we want to do is remain in our caves, lamenting that no one cares, wrapped in our fear and our doubt. And we really don’t want God to give us answers to our questions. We want the same answers that we were given in the past. that way we can wash our hands of the situation. It didn’t work before. It is not going to work now. There is nothing that I can do. That way we can let go of the job that we claim is too hard for us. Let someone else do it. This is beyond my gifts and talents.

And God says no. God waits for us in the silence. God waits for us in the darkness. God waits for us to emerge.

God uses the silence to beckon us out of our caves. God use the whispering murmurs to quiet our protests. God uses the quiet, the too quiet, to make us uncomfortable in our caves of fear and doubt.

And when we emerge, God asks us what are we doing here. Why have we closed ourselves off to God’s creation? Why have we closed ourselves off from God’s people? Why have we filled our lives with empty noise in the hopes of finding fulfilling relationships? Why are you here?

Out of the darkness comes a purpose. Out of the silence comes a mission. Out of the quiet comes a calling.

when God asks us what are we doing here, there is silence. And it is this silence that follows that allows us to truly think about who we are as people of faith and what is our purpose as people of faith.

What are you doing here? The sound of silence.

What are you doing here?

Out of the darkness comes a purpose. Out of the silence comes a mission. Out of the quiet comes a calling.

God doesn’t want our excuses. God won’t let us stay in our caves of darkness and fear. God won’t let us give our jobs to someone else.

In the silence, God says Enough! You have agreed to be one of my people. You have agreed to give voice to the voiceless. You have agreed to heal the sick and welcome the stranger. Enough! I am not going away. You will not be alone. Here is your mission. Here is your purpose. Go! Take care of my people. Take care of my creation. Go! There are others who are working as well. You are not alone. Go!

May the sound of silence always beckon us from our caves of fear and self-doubt. Amen.

Rev. Heather McColl
Midway Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

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