A sermon preached at
Kowloon Union Church on Sunday 30 June
2019, the Third Sunday
after Pentecost,
by Dr. Hope S. Antone. The scripture readings that day were 2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14; Luke 9:51-62.
My son was about 5 years old when, while
watching a cartoon of a superhero (Batman or Superman), he suddenly ran to the
bedroom, took a blanket, and asked me to put it around his back. I did not
think about it then, but I wondered now what it was about the cloak that made
my son think it made the superhero. He is 28 now and I am not sure if he would
remember any of this.
Today, superheroes have more advanced
gadgets than just a cloak. They have special armor, straps, buckles, pouches,
pads, studs and other paraphernalia. Meanwhile, the phrase “take up,” “take on”
or “pick up”…“the mantle” has become an idiomatic expression. It means passing
an office/position from mentor to student; or assuming a role of leadership
that someone else once held. Interestingly, one website attributes the idiom to
the biblical story of Elijah and Elisha which we read today.
In biblical times, the mantle/cloak was
a piece of clothing to protect people from the elements. Usually made of animal
skin (e.g. sheepskin), the mantle was suitable for traveling on foot in the hot
sun and sleeping outside on cold desert nights. The prophets of biblical times
were known to wear hairy mantle as a sign of their calling from God. But there
were also fake prophets at the time who “put on a hairy mantle in order to
deceive.” (Zech 13:4)
Today’s story (2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14) focuses on Elijah and Elisha, two prophets in whose
names no biblical books are attributed to have been written. They are
significant, however, because they highlight a transition in the Israelite
prophetic ministry. While Moses, Deborah or Samuel fulfilled their prophetic
responsibilities as part of their calling as leaders of the community/nation,
Elijah and Elisha had no official recognition/position, and therefore operated
outside the system. The story narrates how the two – Elijah representing older,
and Elisha representing the younger, generations of prophets – worked together
through the transition.
To get a
background on these two prophets, one needs to go back to earlier chapters of
the First Book of Kings (I Kings
18:19-46).
Elijah was uncompromisingly zealous for
Yahweh/God to the point of being brutal, violent. This was during the reign of
King Ahab and his wife Jezebel who worshipped other gods, which was a big No No
for Elijah. In one occasion, Elijah challenged King Ahab to assemble all his
and his wife Jezebel’s idolatrous prophets (850 in all) on Mt. Carmel to settle
once and for all their disagreement over who spoke authentically for the
divine. When Elijah scored victory for Yahweh over Ahab’s Baal and Jezebel’s
Asherah in the contest, the 850 prophets were killed. This angered Jezebel who
vowed to kill Elijah in the same way her prophets were killed (I Kings 19:2).
So Elijah went on a self-imposed exile. It was during that exile that Elijah received
instructions from God, including the anointing of Elisha as the prophet to
succeed him.
Elijah found Elisha, plowing his farm
with 12 yoke of oxen, an indication that he was quite well-to-do. Elijah threw
his mantle over Elisha (I Kings 19:19). Somehow Elisha understood, for he left
the oxen, ran after Elijah, and asked, “Let me kiss my father and my mother,
and then I will follow you.”
This sounds similar to the excuse of a
would-be-follower of Christ Jesus, cited in today’s gospel account (Luke 9:61-62). This
would-be-follower said: "I will follow you,
Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home." Jesus said to
him, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the
kingdom of God."
Jesus’
reply may sound difficult for us who are not familiar with farming. Plowing
behind a draft animal involves controlling the plow with one hand and
goading/guiding the animal with the other hand. While doing so, the farmer must
look at a fixed point ahead in order to ensure straight furrows; looking back
while plowing would surely make crooked furrows. Perhaps a similar example to
plowing is driving – to reach one’s destination, one has to look ahead while
driving (although today there are mirrors to help one see the back occasionally).
As it
turned out, Elisha’s return to his home was not just to kiss his father and
mother goodbye. He slaughtered his oxen; and using the wooden plow and yoke as
firewood, he boiled the meat, fed it to the people, then he followed Elijah as
a servant, a prophet-in-training and companion (I Kings 19:21). In a way, his
going home was an act of respect and honor for his parents; and a public
declaration of his commitment to respond to the call to the prophetic ministry.
As a young
apprentice, Elisha had so much to learn from Elijah. Yet there were times when
Elijah asked Elisha not to accompany him, e.g. in going to Bethel, Jericho, and
the Jordan. Each time Elijah asked him to stay, Elisha replied, “As the Lord
lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.”
There must
have been occasions when Elisha felt unsure about succeeding Elijah. He
probably felt that Elijah’s shoes (or, sandals) were too big for him to fill.
He witnessed how Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, and struck the River Jordan
that it parted to let them cross on dry ground. He must have been worried
whether he could do the same.
Elisha
must have many unspoken questions and requests. When Elijah asked him what he
might do for him before he would be taken away, Elisha said: “Please let me
inherit a double share of your spirit.” Now that may make us wonder what he
meant by that. In biblical times, it was normal for the eldest son to
expect/get a double portion of the inheritance. Elijah replied: "You have
asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be
granted you; if not, it will not." I wonder what Elisha made of that
response…
Nevertheless,
Elisha kept watching closely. He witnessed Elijah ascending in a whirlwind into
heaven until he could no longer see him. Then he picked up the mantle that had
fallen from Elijah. As he went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan, he
struck the water with the mantle of Elijah, saying, "Where is the LORD,
the God of Elijah?" As the story goes, the water was parted, and Elisha
crossed the River Jordan again on dry ground. Wasn’t that enough to show that
he did inherit a good share of Elijah’s spirit?
Perhaps
some of us can identify with Elijah – those who are old or experienced enough
to be thinking about passing on the mantle to the next in line. Some can
identify with Elisha – those who are young and ready to take up the mantle, to
be leaders in different areas of our life as a church or a community.
However,
leaders do not need to be single individuals, standing out and above others –
that is the traditional/patriarchal/hierarchical view of being a leader. As we
could see in the story of Elijah, it made for a very lonely and sad position.
Nowadays, we can and should think of leaders as a group of people sharing their
various gifts, talents, and abilities. Leadership should be communal, shared,
supportive and uplifting.
Today, the
leader that we need is not the one who can attract followers but the one who
can create/mentor more leaders of others. We do not need only one Elijah or one
Elisha at a time. We need more Elijahs and more Elishas, working together in
partnership with everyone who’s ready to take up the mantle.
What is the mantle for you today? The
mantle comes in different shapes, sizes or images. It comes at various points
in our lives. I think that in 2014, the mantle came in the form of a yellow
umbrella in Hong Kong. And the yellow umbrellas bloomed because many came out,
contributing/sharing/offering what they could:
“Doctors treated the injured, lawyers advised the
arrested, carpenters made furniture, construction workers built bamboo
scaffolding, musicians played music, bankers gave money, teachers taught,
counselors counseled, mothers cooked, grandmothers knitted.” (Jason Ng, 167).
Just when some people felt that the
Yellow Umbrella Movement failed, Jason Ng, author of Umbrellas in Bloom, gives us a more positive outlook:
“Flowers bloom and flowers wilt. They flourish,
wither and die, before new buds reappear in the next season. In this endless
cycle of birth and rebirth, there are two truths we hold to be self-evident –
that change is the only constant, and that beauty is not diminished but
magnified by its transience.”
So, are we not
seeing/witnessing/experiencing the unfolding of the next blooming season…?
What is the mantle for you today? In
the story of Elisha, it is not so much the hairy mantle, as it is the call from
God to continue the prophetic ministry of seeking justice, loving kindness, and
walking humbly with God (Micah 6:8); of sharing and living out the good news of
God’s will for fullness of life for all (“that they may have life, and have it
abundantly,” John 10:10b).
Keep watching. Keep listening. We can
tell it is God’s call when it serves the common good, when it is for the
flourishing of life in its wholeness, for all, rather than just a few.
May we be grateful for the prophets of
today who have taken up the mantle – despite risk, danger, and difficulty.
Gracious God, thank you for the Elijahs
and Elishas of our day, who dare to speak truth to power, who take and share
the mantle of prophetic ministry – despite the risk, danger and difficulty.
Help us take up our own mantles bravely, relying on our share of your Spirit.
Amen.
# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Sunday, June 30, 2019
