Last week we were with Elijah on Mount Horeb listening to the Lord in the silence…when Elijah came to know that he was not actually alone as he had thought. There were thousands more doing the same work he was doing.
He heard from the Lord that he should find a man called Elisha, son of Shaphat of Abel-mehola, and anoint him prophet. Elisha would be the one to take Elijah’s place.
So Elijah went off in search of Elisha. He found him out plowing a field. Elijah walked by the other man and threw his mantle over him. Elisha stepped away from the plow and followed him. And from that point on they were a pair – teacher and disciple.
Until the day when Elijah’s time was up. It seems they both knew it. In fact, it seems like everyone knew; the company of prophets followed them to bear witness to this particular ending and what new beginning there might then be.
They journeyed on together. As they approached the Jordan River, Elijah rolled up his mantle and used it to strike the water. The waters parted for them to cross – a demonstration of the power of God at work in him.
After they crossed, Elijah paused and asked Elisha, “what parting gift may I give to you?” Elisha didn’t hesitate; he knew what he wanted: a double share of his teacher’s spirit. A double share is the inheritance given to the first-born son. Elisha was claiming this relationship with Elijah and wanted nothing more than to carry on his legacy.
When the time came, he watched Elijah being taken up to heaven – a chariot of fire ascending into a whirlwind, very dramatic. Then, when he could no longer see him, Elisha looked down at the ground and saw Elijah’s mantle –
The mantle he had laid over Elisha’s shoulders the first time he saw him. The mantle he had used to part the Jordan. Elisha picked up Elijah’s mantle. He struck the mantle against the river and watched the waters part.
The time of Elisha had begun. He would serve as a prophet of Israel for the rest of his years. He would remain close to the word of God and the work of this world. Elisha, like Elijah before him, would do the hard work of his ministry, the work of bearing the word of God into the world. This is our work as well, those of us who claim the name of Christ Jesus.
Just as Elijah sought out a disciple, Jesus sought out his disciples, who would stay close to him and learn from him by watching, listening, and doing. And when the time came for him to be taken from them, they too picked up his mantle. They carried on in his name, the work they had learned at his side, bearing the word of God into the world.
In every age the work continues, thanks be to God. There are the teachers and the disciples. Eventually the disciples take up the mantle and lead. They become the teachers to more disciples. Each one of us here has been the disciple, and most of us have, in some way large or small, been asked to lead.
Today we celebrate this beautiful rhythm of life: the passing of the mantle from one to another, down through the ages.
It begins with the children. We provide for them, giving them what they need: to learn the stories of Jesus, to participate in worship with us and service to others. and then, when the time comes, we hand over the mantle to them. We let them see what the power of God can do.
It begins with baptism, where we all find our beginning.
Today is Lena May’s turn. She will be baptized at this font that has baptized countless children of God over many, many years. If the day ever comes when this church falls, I think the font will still be here, standing among the ruins, because it is solid. Immovable. A fitting sign of the steadfast and immovable love of God.
Baptism is a simple thing. Nothing more than walking into the river of life, getting dunked in the water of community and love and forgiveness, and being given a new name: Beloved. That’s it.
And confirmation is a simple thing as well. It is the moment when those who have been baptized stand up and say in the congregation, “Here I am. Send me.”
What beautiful things will God do through them? What gifts is God providing to Kate and Jenna that will enable them to bring more love, more grace, more peace to this world?
O what delight we have ahead of us, to wait and see.
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Photo by Melissa Askew on Unsplash
