Sermon for 7/20/25: Fifth Sunday After Trinity

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“On the Mountain Before the Lord…”

I Kings 19:11-21

 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. 

 

To use the language of modern psychology, Elijah was a victim of spiritual burnout. With the help of God, he had just won a great victory over the prophets of Baal. After such a contest, you might think that everyone would end up confessing that the Lord is God. But that didn’t happen, and Elijah saw that as just one more piece of evidence that he was a failure as a prophet. And on top of that, Queen Jezebel, infuriated by Elijah’s victory over her prophets, issued a death warrant against Elijah. Understandably, Elijah ran for his life.

It’s important to understand why Elijah ran. His flight was not really prompted by fear. Far from Jezebel and her agents, out in the wilderness all by himself, Elijah plunked down in the dirt and asked the Lord to take his life; he wanted to die. His courage and determination had melted away—not so much because of the threats of his enemies, but because his spirit had been broken by their impenitence. Elijah had faithfully done the work the Lord had given him to do. But in spite of much good that had been done, the people still rejected the Lord and His way. They had taken away the joy of Elijah’s work, and so he grew severely disillusioned and depressed. In response, God’s angel told Elijah to rest, and he provided the prophet with food and drink in the wilderness; then he told the burned-out Elijah to keep going. The Lord was not yet finished with Elijah. The Lord spoke to Elijah in a whisper—“a still small voice”—and Elijah heard and recognized the Word of the Lord.

You and I have experienced times and situations in which we have extended ourselves greatly, above and beyond the call of duty, only to end up bitterly disappointed and disillusioned. Whether here at the church or at home or work or school, we’ve made great plans. We executed those plans with near-flawless precision. We did everything we thought we could, but it seemed as though we found little or no success. The people whom we thought would faithfully receive our work and even God’s Word wouldn’t listen or act as we desired. After a while, we had the opportunity to step back and analyze. And what did we see? While aspects of that situation stood outside the realm of our control, we also had to admit that our own sins and flaws helped to mess things up. We did not completely trust the Lord to take care of the matter, instead focusing on our work and effort. We can be left, sort of like Elijah, stewing in our own juices, indignant with God, even as guilt comes crashing down upon us for faithlessly presuming that God must dance to the tunes we choose.

          We are told in Epistle to the Hebrews, “In many and various ways, God spoke to the people of old by the prophets; but now in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son.” The Apostle John called Jesus “the Word.” In Him we have the Word from God that we need most of all: the word of forgiveness that comes from His cross. “It is finished,” Jesus said there. After He rose from death, He breathed on His disciples and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.” It may be a comparatively quiet voice that speaks the word of forgiveness to us today; it may seem almost inaudible due to the noise of this evil and dying world and our own selfish thoughts and words; yet this is the very Word we need to hear. The Lord is in this Word with all His saving power.

          God’s Word works! To Elijah’s surprise, there were still seven thousand faithful people in Israel who had not bowed the knee to Baal. By God’s grace, these people had kept the faith. All of them were going about their business quietly, like a low whisper, staying under the radar. And they could do this because they had heard the Lord’s voice in His Word, and His Word worked the way God meant it to work.

          God’s Word works today, too, when God’s people make the good confession. This is true even in times of adversity—and sometimes especially when they confess God’s Word in times of adversity. When our way seems difficult; when there isn’t that calm and quiet that really should characterize life in the Church; when there seems to be so little, if any, tranquility; we can still be comforted to know that the Lord is at hand in the midst of our difficulties. Like Elijah, we may not like where we find ourselves after some especially bitter experience. But do not underestimate God’s power in this. If we are driven back to His Word and the comfort it gives, then the bitterness becomes a blessing, however well disguised.

You will never go wrong clinging to the Lord and His Word. Even though He does not seem to bring decisive victories in this world, the fact remains that, in Jesus Christ, He has overcome this world. God’s Word yields the victory for all eternity. As St. Paul said: “Whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.” So keep your ears open. Listen for His Word. God isn’t finished with you yet. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.