Loving God, you make us your own in baptism and come to us throughout our lives.  Help us to recognize you wherever we meet you and to be aware of your voice amidst the clamour of this world; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

            You may have noticed this morning that you practically tripped over the baptismal font as you came in.  It is at the entrance to the nave as a reminder that our entrance into the communion of saints is through baptism.  God adopts us and makes us holy through water and the Spirit, covering us over with the righteous life of Jesus.  After that, we grow in faith and in wisdom and knowledge as we seek to grow up into Christ.

         Symbolically speaking, we are given these new white robes and are asked to grow into them.  This growth happens by the power of the Holy Spirit – the same Spirit who was active when we were baptized.  As we live with Jesus and continue to learn from him, we soon discover that life is different with Jesus than it would be otherwise.  And so today I invite Stefan to come and share how it is different for him….

         For us, we can talk about how life is different when we believe in Jesus.  However, we also heard about Elijah today, who lived many years before Jesus and served the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  Elijah, unlike a young person who might affirm their faith, had already been serving as God’s prophet for many years. He had performed miracles in the name of the Lord and had stood alone against the 450 prophets of Baal.  Yet, Elijah was a tired servant of God.  In fact, he was so tired that he was ready to throw in the towel entirely.  However, God had a little bit of affirmation waiting for Elijah.

         First, God makes sure that his physical needs are attended to – something that all of us need during times of great stress.  Elijah spends some time under a tree sleeping and eating and drinking, as he is fed by angels in preparation for his journey into the wilderness.  Then, after a long journey, he comes to Horeb, the mount of God, and finds a cave where he can safely spend the night.  All things considered, it’s a pretty good place to go when you’re all worn out, for God had been known to show up there before.

         In the past, God had shown up in thunder and lightning, in earthquakes and fire, in clouds and whirlwinds.  A number of these things happen while Elijah is standing at the mouth of the cave, but God is not in them.  Essentially, there is a whole bunch of noise and then a thin, quiet voice.  It is a difficult phrase to translate, but it’s kind of like the sound of silence.  It is in the quiet that God shows up, and hears Elijah’s complaint for a second time, and sends Elijah back to work.

         It is a story that asks us the question of where it is that we encounter God.  Is God in the clamour of the storm and in the noise of daily life, or is God in the stillness and the quiet?  Possibly there are times when we can answer this question both ways.  However, in a society in which noise surrounds us almost constantly and in which people take electronics with them even into the bush, what are the things that are drowning out God’s voice in our lives?

         Many of us talk to God in prayer, but do we stop long enough to listen?  Do we even look for God’s direction when we are making major decisions, or do we value our own counsel more than God’s?  Are there ways in which we can make some stillness in our lives, not only to listen to the Spirit, but also to regenerate our spirits?

         I mentioned earlier how Elijah was a tired servant of God and needed a little affirmation in his life in order to keep going.  In the gospels, there are also times when Jesus receives (and most likely needs) some affirmation.  At his baptism, the voice from heaven affirms that he is God’s own dear Son and that God is pleased with him.  A similar message is heard when he is on the mount of transfiguration with Moses and Elijah and the voice speaks from the cloud.  Even today, we hear just briefly of Jesus’ consideration of the suffering that lays ahead for him.  Yet, he asks his Father to glorify his name rather than asking to be saved from suffering, and a voice from heaven affirms him in this request (Jn. 12:27-28).

         God also affirms us at our baptism and at our confirmation, and at other times when we need it and pray about it.  Today we give thanks for this gift, as we also affirm our baptism and affirm our faith.  Thanks be to God for Jesus, who affirms us in his coming and leads us into the communion of saints. Amen.

All Saints’ Sunday / Confirmation (NL 4)                                                1 Kings 19:1-18

November 5, 2017-11-04                                                                          John 12:27-28

St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison

© 2017 Lynne Hutchison  All Rights Reserved