Picking up the Mantle

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Pray with me. Startle us, o God, with your truth. And open our hearts and our minds to your wondrous love this morning. Speak your word to us. Silence in us, any voice but your own. Show us your way as we turn our attention, our minds and our hearts to you. Now, in Christ's name, we pray together. Amen. Our scripture this morning is found in two kings, two verses, one through 15. And it's found on page 290 in your pew Bible. You're welcome to follow along, and you might want to. All right. Here we go now. When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah 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. The 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. 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. The 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. Keep silent. 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. 50 men of the company of prophets also went and stood at some distance from them as they both were standing by the Jordan. Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up and stuck it and struck the water. The water was parted to the one side and to the other, and the two of them crossed on dry ground. When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, tell me what I may do for you before I am taken from you. And Elisha said, please let me inherit a double share of your spirit. He 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. As 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. Elisha 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. He picked up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. He took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the water. And he said, where is the Lord, the God of Elijah? Where is he? He struck the water again. And the water was parted to one side and to the other. And Elisha crossed over. 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. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. [00:04:43] Speaker B: So last Sunday, I missed getting to see a lot of you. I was not here. I was off with Jill and my extended family in Michigan. Why Michigan, you might wonder? Well, years ago, my dad's grandfather, John General Caldwell, immigrated from Canada to Flint, Michigan, to work on the Buick line. His son, my grandfather, chose to pursue a career not in cars, but in medicine. And he developed a medical practice in Flint. His son, my father, grew up in Flint. And followed his dad's footsteps in pursuing medicine. My dad then met my mom at the unit, University of Michigan. My dad was attending medical school, my mom nursing school. The pair would eventually move to San Diego, where I would grow up. But most every summer for a week or more, we would all fly out to Flint and spend a day or two with my dad's mother and father at their home in Flint. And then we would all travel up to a cottage that my grandfather had built years ago by a small body of water called Higgins Lake. It's located in the northern section of the lower peninsula. And those of you who are in Michigan know you gotta point to it with a hand. It was about 2 hours drive from Flint to get to that cottage. Well, that tradition of getting together for a week or so at Higgins Lake has continued. And now that my brother and sister and I and our spouses have children, they are part of the mix, too. So this is a shot of our whole crew. The cottage we have is over to the left. Our neighbor's cottage is over to the right. And here is most of our crew getting ice cream. And here's the sunset out on the lake. Now, one of the things we discussed during our time together in Michigan was this precious gift, but also the responsibility that the cottage represents. That place we gather in Michigan, my grandfather and grandmother passed on to their two sons that cottage and to their spouses. And at some point it will be passed on to their kids, which will include not only my brother, my sister and I, but also my uncle's two kids and their kids and their grandkids. That's a lot of people sharing a little college, a little cottage, a lot to negotiate. And we discussed altogether the challenges with having that cottage, the maintenance, the taxes, the management of it. There are also the challenges of cultivating good relationships with the neighbors and caring for the local community. We are working on supporting a nearby nature reserve and explored other ways to support the local community of Roscommon. If you have a place you want to be good neighbors there. A lot of responsibility comes with co owning any kind of property. It's an incredible inheritance we kids are preparing for, but a big responsibility, too. And I thought of that gift of a family property passed on from one generation to another as I studied today's passage from two kings. Today's sermon is the first in a series where we'll be going through the book of Second Kings. And this story happens very near the beginning. And the imagery in today's passage is precisely that of a parenthood passing on an inheritance to a child. Only that inheritance is not a cottage or land or house of any kind. It's a mantle. Elijah had placed a mantle on Elisha. You remember, back in the book of first kings, Elisha was plowing a field with oxen, that field that belonged to his mother and father and their family. And Elijah had come by him, passed by him, and placed a mantle on his shoulders. That mantle was like a summons. At least that's how Elisha read it. For he told Elijah, let me say farewell to my mother and father, and I will follow you. And then Elisha goes and does just that, bids his mother and father farewell, and becomes Elijah's servant or disciple. And it's like he's leaving one household and joining up with another one. That household of Elijah. And in many ways, that mantle that Elijah places on Elisha, it represents the very office of prophet. You know, prophet lifts up the plumb line of God's justice and righteousness, of God's Torah to the people and to their rulers. Prophets call a people to repent of sin and turn to God. They call a people and their leaders to practice justice, mercy, and righteousness, to defend the cause of the widow, the immigrant, and the orphan, to turn from false gods and idols to the one true God. And ordinarily, this mantle or yoke is handed by God to a person. There's not a father figure involved that wasn't the case with Isaiah, for example. There wasn't this father apparent like figure. But in today's passage comes this time, Elijah is about to leave this world. And so with Elisha depicted like a son of this prophet Elijah, the question of inheritance comes up. If he, Elisha, is to take up the mantle Elijah placed on him Elijah wore before him, what will he receive from Elijah to help him carry that mantle? Surely the mantle will not be his sole inheritance. That's just something you wrap around yourself. He needs more. As Elijah prepares to leave this world, three times he encourages Elisha to let him go on alone. But three times Elisha says no, Elisha says, like Ruth did to Naomi, where you go, I will go. Your God will be my God. Elisha stays with Elijah in the journey. And then right near the end, right in Elijah's final moments, he asks Elisha, like a father might to a son, is there any last wish you have before I depart? And Elisha has one, he says to Elijah, let me inherit a double portion of your spirit. Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit. Now, that language of double portion, it recalls language from the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 21, when it speaks of the inheritance of the firstborn son as like a double portion. Back in the patriarchal times, we read of in Deuteronomy, back when the father was the head of the larger family household and sometimes a large extended kingdom kinship network, the mantle of leadership and being household manager was passed on from father to firstborn son. It was deemed a big responsibility, ensuring that all in the household were cared for, that servants and workers were treated fairly, that the vulnerable were protected, and that taxes were paid, maintenance performed. And with that responsibility came an added benefit. Instead of the same portion other children received, the firstborn son would get a double portion. But Elisha requests for this double portion, not a cottage or farm, not oxen, nor land, nor material wealth of any kind. And Elijah, from what we can tell, had none of that to give. Elisha asks for a double portion of Elijah's spirit. Spirit. Now, in Hebrew, that word is ruah. Ruach, which means wind or breath. It's that internal, animating, life giving quality of something or someone that makes them what they are, that gives them life, their life. It's one thing to pass on a farm or a cottage to your biological or adopted children. It's another to pass on Ruah. But ruah may be just what we want as an inheritance. I'm preparing right now for the memorial service for Bill and Mary Ellen Hansen. That'll take place this coming Saturday at 02:00 p.m. over at Monte Vista Grove's Marwick Place. You all are welcome to that. Bill and Mary Ellen, you might recall, were active at this church. Bill was a part of our outreach team and a longtime pastor. Both of them served churches like Apple Valley Presbyterian Church. They were both residents at nearby Monte Vista Grove, and Bill went to be with the Lord in 2022. Mary Ellen did so this past July. And as I prepare for that moment memorial service, as I talk to their son Scott, it's reminiscent for me of conversations I've had with some of you and many adult children as we prepare for memorial service celebrating the promise of resurrection and the life of a parent. What the adult child so often wants to lift up as a precious inheritance is not stuff or a house or home. Instead, what they want to lift up in the memorial service is something else, a spirit of that person. Maybe it's their perseverance, their love of beauty. Maybe it's their faith or their commitment to a particular organization. Maybe it's their love of family or something that they love to do. But some spirit about the person is what that adult child wants to name and say. Even if there's maybe some things about this parent figure I hope don't get passed on, at least these things, at least this quality, this invisible quality I like to think got passed on to me and that I hold today like an inheritance. Isn't that what you want in so many ways, from generations that have preceded you? Quality, a spirit, a life, something that makes us, that makes those who've gone before us who we are, particularly when it comes to justice, mercy, and love, to what we aspire to. That's what Elisha asks from Elijah. Ruah, spirit, the firstborn's inheritance of that spirit. Elijah says to Elisha, you've asked for a hard thing. If you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you. If not, it will not. And with that statement, it's like Elijah is saying, elisha, that spirit God has given me, I can't pass it on to you like a farm or a cottage. It's God's to give. But if God will open your eyes, if God will allow you to see what a prophet sees, to behold the wondrous workings of Goddesse and God's realm right here on earth, then you will be able to carry that mantle of prophet, the mantle I first put on your shoulder so long ago, and with it, a spirit. As they continue walking, God opens Elishas eyes. He sees not just a teacher or parent figure departing from this world. Elisha sees chariots of fire, horses of fire. He sees not only a parent departing from this world. He sees his mentor ascending into heaven in a whirlwind. And he says, father, father. And then he tears his clothes like a child would when their parent has passed from this world. And then on the ground lies that mantle that Elijah had placed on Elisha's shoulders so long ago. Elisha earlier had rolled. Elijah had rolled it up and used it to strike the Jordan river. And the water parted, allowing him and Elisha to cross over on dry ground. It had been like Moses at the parting of the Red Sea, where Joshua, as the people of God, prepared to cross over to the Jordan, over the Jordan river. And with that mantle, Elijah was revealed to be an Egypt of God's powerful, liberating, loving justice, seeking redeeming work in the world. And after Elijah left this world, there lay the mantle at Elisha's feet. I wonder if Elisha thought twice before picking it up. I wonder if he wrestled in that moment. Do I really want this? We read Elijah's story. We read it last fall as we went through the book of one kings. And you'll recall there were times Elijah endured in the desert, nearly dead from thirst and hunger. It would often, it would seem some days, for Elijah, like he was the only one who cared about God and God's ways anymore. He was the only one who remained faithful. And so many forces were working against him, it felt futile. He wanted to just give up. Elijah endured cataclysmic conflict with the rulers and powers of his time. I wonder if Elisha looked over that mantle for a while and asked himself, do I want this? Whether he thought twice or not, Elisha picks it up. And like Elijah before him, Elisha strikes the water with it. And the waters parted. And the company of prophets that had surrounded Elijah now says this, the ruah, the spirit of Elijah now rests on Elisha. Elisha had his double portion, a spirit, a ruah, a life giving, animated spirit that's lifted up so often. And scripture is the true gift of God's inheritance, the great inheritance that God bestows on a people. You'll remember when the apostle Paul writes to the roman church about the rich inheritance that we have received as believers. Paul doesn't speak of land or possessions or of material wealth. He doesn't write of farms or oxen. Instead, Paul writes of a spirit, a spirit of life in Christ Jesus. And this spirit has set believers free from sin and death. Paul writes of how God did what the law could not do. God sent his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh to deal with sin, condemn sin, and allowing that the law might be fulfilled in us, not according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. The spirit of God, Paul writes, dwells in you. He writes to the roman church, the very spirit of the God who raised Jesus from the dead. And this makes you children by adoption. And if you are children, you are heirs. You are inheritors with Christ of God's spirit. A spirit which is not subject to decay, but is a spirit of renewal, a spirit of glory, a spirit of righteousness, a spirit of life eternal. Are given the spirit of God like an inheritance. And it makes us God's own children through Christ. Now, this inheritance, it comes with a burden. We see it going back all the way to Elijah and Elisha, back yet further to Ruth and Naomi, to Moses and Joshua. God's spirit, when it's on you, will lead you into spaces of vulnerability and want, into new relationships with the world and your neighbor, into tough times when you'll be called to choose faithfulness over convenience, God and neighbor over self interest, justice over self protection. You'll find yourself in times and places where you wonder if you're the only one who cares anymore about God and God's ways. It's a heavy mantle, a heavy spirit that is given to us, that spirit of God we receive as an inheritance that makes us God's own children. What a precious inheritance to. Well, as a church, we get to be like Elijah and pass on this inheritance of ours to subsequent generations. Okay, we can't truly pass it on ourselves. No more than Elijah could pass on the gift of God's spirit to Elisha. The inheritance of God's spirit is something only God can give. Only God has the power to bestow it. But we can point people to that God and to that God's lavish promises that such an inheritance is available to all. We can show people that prophetic spirit Elijah once put on display where truth and God's word are heart and center. We can proclaim the wondrous works of that God who opens our eyes to see things we had never seen before. When a loved one departs in the faith, we get to see not just a person breathing their last. We get to see chariots of fire, horses of fire, a saint of the church ascending into heaven like a whirlwind. We see an invisible God calling people to know a love so deep even death couldn't separate us from it. When we see someone hurting or broken by the side of the road, we see more than just a hurting soul. We see the call of Christ to love our neighborhood, to defend the cause of the vulnerable, heal the sick, clothe the naked, challenge unjust systems and structures with a prophetic faith, like a spirit passed on from parent to child. We get to proclaim the wondrous workings of God in our midst, that we know in Christ that the very realm of heaven came near and was opened up for us in him like a lavish table to which all are welcome to enjoy God's provision. We don't have the power to pass on that inheritance ourselves. Only God can do that. But we can cherish it, sing about it, celebrate it, savor it. And we can leave the mantle for other generations yet to come. They may pick it up. They may look at it and wonder, do I really want this? They may leave it. But to the best of our ability, we can pass it on. We can point to it and say this. This is the greatest treasure we can leave you. In many ways, those who became new members today are part owners in a cottage. It's a family cottage. We share it together. This place, that atrium, that Northside house, the presbyterian church. These things are. Are shared in common and owned. And we make decisions about them. They're maintenance. We do that at a family meeting. And there are challenging maintenance issues always to deal with. If you don't believe me, ask Tom or Patrick or Nick or Kent or Alice or Max or any member of our facilities committee. Or you can ask our staff, Javier, Josiah, any of us. But it's a precious inheritance, too, that I hope our whole family can enjoy here in worship, out there after church, when we enjoy pizza and conversation, when our children play on the lawn, it's all of ours but friends. The real gift that our members hold and that we honored earlier in baptism, the real gift that we hope our children will grow to cherish. It's not a cottage or a sanctuary or any kind of property. It's a spirit. It's a spirit. It's the very spirit that makes us children of God through Christ. That's the treasure we hold and that's the mantle we pass on. In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, amen. [00:25:03] Speaker A: I.