It is good to be back from my sabbatical, my summer of pilgrimage. Last Thursday, the “Mutts” comic in the Inquirer had the dog thinking, “Sometimes the best part of going for a walk is coming home.” I can relate to that dog.
But, unlike the dog, I don’t feel like having a bite of home-cooked Alpo and taking a nap. Much the contrary, I have already been flooding my friends with new ideas and recharged convictions. I’m eager to see what God will do next.
Just this morning, the reading from Celtic Daily Prayer, which many people have begun to use with me, led me to 2 Kings 2:11-14 which describes a lot of what I feel.
As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them apart.
He picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. Then he took the cloak that had fallen from him and struck the water with it. “Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.
The idea of Elijah’s cloak/mantle moves me for two main reasons, right now:.
1) I am so grateful to the people who took up my “mantle” while I was away: Nate, Tracey, Ben, and Nathan, in particular. And the staff needed to do so much of what I would normally do: Joshua, Liz, Jeremiah, Kristen, Amanda. They did very well, don’t you think?
2) I am excited to know that God will be present in what is next. Elisha is freaked out about Elijah’s strange, wonderful and powerful departure. He’s left with the cloak Elijah had thrown around him earlier as a symbol of Elisha’s future as an agent of transformation and truth in Israel. But Elisha hadn’t really worn it yet, and he hadn’t moved into what is next.
When he struck the Jordan, maybe he was throwing the cloak away in frustration or fear. I doubt that, but the result might have been the same, anyway. Maybe he was striking the water as a test to see if God would show up for him when he used the “magic cloak” pulsing with Elijah’s prophet power. I doubt that too, but the result might have been the same. I think he struck the water with an honest cry of anguish and loss, “Where are you now, God?” God was in Elijah, but that was the past. “Are you here, now?” The result was very exciting.
While on my pilgrimage, I saw a LOT of where God HAS been. The more I learned about the Celts and felt the power of the places they made holy, the more impressed and inspired I became. I think they responded to their era in many of the ways we need to respond to ours, too. I am ready to strike the water and see where God is.
What will happen in the new buildings on Frankford? What will happen in Camden? What will happen as Broad and Washington moves into a new era, as our neighborhood keeps changing around us, as we learn to use the amazing capacity we have built up over many years, and as the next disaster arrives to test us? What will Circle Thrift, Circle Counseling, and all the other mission teams of Circle Venture do? What will Shalom House and all the other intentional communities create? What will all the Cell Leaders cause through their amazing disciple making and pastoring? What will God do with my next fifteen years? I am excited to find out.
I really enjoyed reading about how you connected the story of Elisha in 2nd Kings with what was going on behind the scenes while you were gone and what you are excited about for the future.
I just recently read through the story in 2nd Kings and Elijah’s ascension stood out for me as a departure from old and a new era for Elisha.