This sermon was preached the week of the shooting at the elementary school at Uvalde. I have been struggling with how to articulate how our Christian responsibility should guide us on the issue of gun violence. is it a mental health issue, as some argue? Is it a gun issue, as others argue? It seems to me that regardless of how we label the problem, we should be able to do better as a country.
“Who’s Up Next?” 2 Kings 2:1-15; SAPC, Denton; May 29, 2022; Richard B. Culp
Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Stay here; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.’ But Elisha said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’ So they went down to Bethel. 3The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, ‘Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?’ And he said, ‘Yes, I know; keep silent.’
4 Elijah said to him, ‘Elisha, stay here; for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.’ But he said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’ So they came to Jericho. 5The company of prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him, ‘Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?’ And he answered, ‘Yes, I know; be silent.’
6 Then Elijah said to him, ‘Stay here; for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.’ But he said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’ So the two of them went on. 7Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. 8Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground.
9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.’ Elisha said, ‘Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.’ 10He responded, ‘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.’ 11As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. 12Elisha kept watching and crying out, ‘Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!’ But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.
13 He picked up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14He took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, saying, ‘Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?’ When he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over.
15 When the company of prophets who were at Jericho saw him at a distance, they declared, ‘The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.’ They came to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.
Introduction: Spent the last two weeks parading around castles and palaces in England and Scotland, which means hearing quite a bit about how the kings succeed one another.
I’m not talking about one king defeating another king so they take over a country. I’m talking about how the throne passes down from king to son, about the pecking order of the sons, and then throw in a daughter or two as well.
Not to mention the changing titles - King James the 6th of Scotland becomes James the I of the United Kingdom.
My wife has watched the Crown so she is an expert on this stuff, but I never quite figured it out.
Give me a presidential election any day!
We have a story of leadership succession today in the passage we read from 2 Kings.
Not quite the tracing of lineage through kings and queens - more like next week’s Pentecost story with fire and whirlwinds leading to heaven.
A few thoughts on leadership from this succession story.
Move 1: hard to give up the mantle of leadership.
a. Elijah has been arguably one of the greatest leaders of the Israelite people; a great prophet.
1. Yet as his time comes to an end, he does want to give up his role.
2. No surprise - Elijah had not exactly welcomed Elisha on board when Elijah was told by God to anoint Elisha back in chapter 19 of I Kings. in fact, we were told that Elijah reluctantly “threw the mantle” on Elisha,”
and we notice that Elisha is continually referred to as a servant of Elijah.
3. as Elijah’s time on earth seems about to end, he continues to push Elisha away.
4. Three times Elijah announces he is going to Bethel, Jericho, or Jordan.
Three times, he tells Elisha, “you stay here.” in other words, do not come with me to this next place.
5. Elijah is not ready to give up his mantle of leadership, even though he knows his time is coming to a close.
b. One of the challenges of leadership is recognizing and welcoming the need to expand leadership,
to include others,
to develop the next generation of leaders.
1. One of the gifts the Presbyterian church offers to the world is the example of shared leadership.
2. We may laugh about all the committee meetings, but we also understand the importance of sharing in the leadership task.
3. Not just one strong leader, but a Session and a Board of Deacons.
4. Ministers and lay leaders working together to vision and do pastoral care.
5. One of the important tasks of leadership is preparing the leaders for the future.
Move 2: this story also shows off the Next person up approach.
a. We hear that phrase, “next person up” in the world of sports.
1. Sort of the phrase of the day: how did you overcome the injury to the star player?
Next man up.
how did you overcome the retirement of so many key people on the UWWNT?
next person up.
2. As Elijah departs in the whirlwind, it is
Next person up, or next prophet up.
Elisha.
b. To his credit, Elisha has been persistent and prepared himself.
1. We see his persistence as he rebuffs Elijah.
Remember those three times Elijah tells Elisha to say behind? Elisha ignores Elijah and persists in going with him.
2. We see Elisha’s desire.
When Elijah asks him what he wants, Elisha knows: “a double portion of your spirit.”
When Elijah makes it a challenge - you must see me being taken away to receive the double portion, Elisha hangs in and watches and gets his double portion.
3. If we were writing a manual on leadership, we could find several chapters worth of material from how Elisha made himself ready for the role of prophet.
b. But, the story also asks the question is it the person or the God who equips the person?
2. The Wounded Healer, Henri Nouwen: A Christian leader is a man [person] of hope whose strength, in the final analysis, is based neither on self-confidence derived from his personality, nor on specific expectations for the future, but on a promise given to him.”
3. Strong, faithful leadership begins with faith in God and a commitment to serving God.
4. The God who calls us into leadership is also the God who equips us for the tasks before us.
5. Perhaps you remember Peter Marshall, a Scottish Presbyterian who came to the United States and became a well-known preacher and later Chaplain of the US Senate.
His wife Catherine wrote about him: "Always Peter felt inadequate for the tasks to which God called him,”
But as Catherine Marshall went on to note about her husband – “because he knew God had called him, he also knew he would get the help he needed" (The Best of Peter Marshall, Catherine Marshall, xi).
Elijah was a great leader; Elisha can be a great leader because God has called them and equipped them.
Move 3: We live in a Critical time for leadership.
a. The world is crying out for good, faithful, creative leadership.
1. on a global front, we see the need for strong leadership.
2. how do we confront and deal with conflicting claims of nations;
or the use of force of to impose one nation’s will on another.
2. In our own country, we see the need for leadership.
3. the shootings in recent weeks in another school (this one close to home in S. Texas) a grocery store in the northeast, and a Presbyterian church in CA remind us that we are a nation full of anger and violence that stretches from coast to coast.
4. in the church setting, we look at failing churches, and falling numbers of members in most denominations, and we struggle to see a way forward.
5. we are at a critical time for leadership.
b. so we read of Elijah passing on the mantle of leadership to Elisha and we wonder who is going to step up in our world and our time to provide strong, faithful leadership.
1. Father Elias Chacour, a Melikite Catholic Priest, an Arab citizen of Israel of Palestinian descent, an author, and a leader in the Peace Movement in Israel, wrote the following memory of his seminary experience:
Father Longere, touched a deeply resonant note, like a voice out of
eternity. I had come to value his wisdom, his remarkable way of challenging us, spurring us to deeper thought on any subject in which we were certain of our opinions. During one of his final lectures, I found myself riveted to his words. "If there is a problem somewhere," he said with his dry chuckle, "this is what happens. Three people will try to do something concrete to settle the issues. Ten people will give a lecture analyzing what the three are doing. One hundred people will commend or condemn the ten for their
lecture. One thousand people will argue about the problem. And one person - only one - will involve himself so deeply in the true solution that he is too busy to listen to any of it." "Now," he asked gently, his penetrating eyes meeting each of ours in turn, "which person are you ?” (Page 129 - Blood Brothers by Elias Chacour. Chosen Books 1984)
2. who among us is hearing God’s call to step forward in leadership, to join with others to tackle the issues before us.
3. the task is not small or easy, but the God of Elijah and Elisha is calling.
Conclusion: did you notice the first thing Elisha did? He picked up Elijah’s mantle and touched the ground.
He did not know yet if God was going to be with him.
But he stepped forward in faith to lead.
The water was parted.
Being the next person up is an act of faith.
you’re up next.
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