Hearken and Heed

The Rev. Dr. Skip Ferguson

Manassas Presbyterian Church

Manassas, Virginia

October 25, 2015

Hearken and Heed

1 Kings 19:11-13

He said, “Go out and

stand on the mountain before the Lord,

for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Now there was a great wind,

so strong that it was splitting mountains

and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord;

but the Lord was not in the wind;

and after the wind an earthquake;

but the Lord was not in the earthquake;

and after the earthquake a fire,

but the Lord was not in the fire;

and after the fire a sound of sheer silence.

“a sound of fine silence”

When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle

and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.

Then there came a voice to him that said,

“What are you doing here, Elijah?”

*************************************************

Elijah was afraid,

afraid for his very life.

He was a man on the run,

hiding from an angry king and queen:

King Ahab and Queen Jezebel,

who ruled not long after King Solomon.

Elijah was especially afraid of Jezebel,

who was furious with the prophet

because Elijah had challenged Jezebel’s prophets,

prophets of the pagan god Baal,

the god Jezebel worshiped.

The queen had made it clear:

she wanted Elijah dead,

uttering her own prophecy

in a solemn oath

that she would see to Elijah’s death

“… by this time tomorrow.”

(1 Kings 19:2)

Could anyone blame Elijah for running,

fleeing for safety,

fleeing for his life?

He went south, down in the desert

to Beersheba in the Negev,

the land that leads to Egypt.

Elijah knew the desert

to be a place hostile to all life.

He knew that if he went further south

he would surely die in the desert

from hunger, heat, and thirst.

But the road back was also a road

that would lead to death.

So Elijah sat down under a bush

and lifted up a prayer to the Lord God,

words that expressed Elijah’s hopelessness:

“It is enough.

Now, O Lord, take away my life.”

(1 Kings 19:4)

Exhaustion, both physical and emotional,

overwhelmed Elijah

and he fell asleep.

Twice he found his sleep disturbed;

Had it been a dream, a vision,

or had it been real?

Had an angel of the Lord

brought him food and water

not just once, but twice?

It had been real; it was real:

an angel fed Elijah and then called him,

called him to travel further south,

deeper into the desert.

For 40 days and 40 nights Elijah journeyed,

until he reached Mount Horeb,

also known as Mount Sinai.

And there Elijah found shelter

in a cave on the mountain.

Elijah was alone in the cave,

utterly alone.

But then, in the silence came a voice

a voice that asked him,

“What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Elijah responded as though

he thought the voice to be God’s.

the voice of the Lord God himself,

for he was on God’s holy mountain:

“I have been very zealous for the Lord,

the God of hosts;

for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant,

thrown down your altars,

and killed your prophets.

I alone am left,

and they are seeking my life,

to take it away.”

The voice responded:

“Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord,

for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Elijah did as he was told.

And then came “…a great wind,

so strong that it was splitting mountains

and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord;

but the Lord was not in the wind;

and after the wind an earthquake;

but the Lord was not in the earthquake;

and after the earthquake a fire;

but the Lord was not in the fire;

and after the fire a sound of sheer silence.

[“a sound of fine silence”]

When Elijah heard it,

he wrapped his face in his mantle

and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.

Then there came a voice to him that said, [again]

“What are you doing here, Elijah?”

We have all had moments in our lives

when we strained to hear,

when we might even have been desperate to hear,

hear the sound of God’s voice,

to hear and then feel God’s

reassuring presence in our lives.

We strained to hear,

only to have heard nothing,

only to have felt nothing.

The only sound we knew

was the sound of silence.

We lift up our prayers in hope,

wanting nothing more than

the “still small voice” to respond to us,

to say to us, “you have been heard;

I am here with you.”

But God does hear us;

God is with us.

God speaks to us constantly,

in a hundred different ways,

a thousand different ways.

But if we hope to hear that voice

we need to make room for it,

we need to make a calm,

quiet place in our lives

so we can hear.

We live in a world of noise,

a world of busy-ness,

a world of frenetic activity.

How can we hope to hear God’s voice

in the sheer silence, the fine silence,

when other sounds overwhelm us?

How often did Jesus leave his disciples,

his followers,

so he could go and have a few quiet moments,

quiet for prayer,

quiet for listening for his Father’s voice,

his Father’s will?

I’ve spent a great deal of time in “fine silence”

this past year as the many projects we hope to support

through our capital campaign have been shaped,

discussed, and prayed over.

I’ve spent time in silence listening,

listening for God’s guiding words,

listening for God’s wisdom:

“are these the things this body of Christ

is called to do?”

I’ve also spent a great deal of time in prayer

seeking God’s will and guidance

for my own involvement,

for what God is calling me to do,

for my financial contribution to our campaign.

The words “sacrificial giving”

and the scriptural call to be a “cheerful giver”

have been swirling around me for months

like the winds outside Elijah’s cave,

swirling winds speaking to me,

telling me of God’s will for me.

I am at an age where logic, rational thinking,

careful planning, my MBA

all combine in their own whirlwind

telling me I should be setting aside as much as I can

for my retirement.  

I have the same financial concerns we all do:

a mortgage payment, utility bills,

expenses for food, clothing,

repairs and upkeep for the house, the car.

Like all of us,

I try to set money aside for vacations,

for special needs,

and of course, retirement.

In fact, these days,

saving for retirement is top of the list.

So as I’ve prayed about how I should respond

to our Capital Campaign

the whirling wind of sacrificial giving

and cheerful giving,

has been all around me,

but underneath my feet

I’ve felt the ground shaking

as though trying to shake financial sense into me:

“the prudent course is for you to

save for your retirement.”

The voice,

that still small voice,

the voice in the silence

has been clear,

leaving me with no doubt

as to what God has called me to do.

And so, a week ago,

in response to God’s clear call,

and with great joy –

yes, truly cheerfully,

I filled out my pledge card for the campaign

and returned it to Lisa Faust.

I sent a note to our campaign chairs,

Monique Ford and Jeff Cooke,

telling them that I felt God had called me

to make a leadership commitment,

to stretch myself well beyond

what I’ve ever done before

in my life in the church.

God was in the whirlwind,

the voice calling me to sacrificial giving,

the voice calling me to cheerful giving.

and so, I filled out my pledge card joyfully

knowing that I was responding

to God’s will for me.

I filled out my pledge card joyfully

as my legacy to the future of our church,

as my legacy to the young people,

to the children,

to the stranger who hasn’t yet

even set foot in this place,

but will someday

when the Spirit guides him, guides her here,

for worship, for prayer,

for learning in our adult education classes,

for the music,

for fellowship,

for opportunities for his or her children.

I filled out my pledge card joyfully

as my expression of gratitude to all those saints

on whose shoulders I stand,

pastors and parishioners alike,

who built this church over the past 148 years.

We are called to hearken to God’s word,

and then heed God’s word,

to use two quaint words.

We are called to hearken – to listen,

and then heed and follow,…

just as Elijah did.

        

In the silence, we can hear it,

the voice speaking to us,

calling us to respond

joyfully, faithfully.                   

Hearken to these words from the psalmist:

“The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
 you hold my lot. …

I have a goodly heritage.

I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;

in the night also my heart instructs me.

I keep the Lord always before me;

because he is at my right hand,

I shall not be moved.

Therefore my heart is glad,

and my soul rejoices;

my body also rests secure.
…You show me the path of life.

 In your presence there is fullness of joy.”

(Psalm 16)

To God be the glory!

AMEN