004: Human Frailty

This is the text of an address I gave to the Praise Meeting at Sutton-in-Ashfield Methodist Church on Wednesday January 29^th. The Bible readings were Matthew 16:13-20 and 1 Kings 19:9-18.

It was during an ‘awayday’ with his disciples in a place named Caesarea Philippi, away from the madding crowd, that Jesus turned to his disciples and asked, “who do people say I am?” A strange question in many respects. Was Jesus having a mind-blank, or perhaps an identity crisis? The people of the Galilee region knew him, the miracles he had performed, his authoritative teaching on the Kingdom of God and his brilliant exchanges with the religious authorities. So, what did they make of him? The reply was revealing, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” I don’t know what response Jesus expected but it could have been along the lines of “a Galilean peasant”, “the carpenter from Nazareth”, “a great teacher and preacher”, or “a subversive trouble-maker”. All would be spot on but the word on the street was different. He was hailed alongside some of the greatest figures in Jewish history – the prophets.

This made me think about some of the prophetic figures of the modern day – people like Martin Luther King Jr., the famous civil rights activist who is remembered for his address to thousands from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. During what was quite a heavy address, his favourite gospel singer, Mahalia Jackson, shouted out, “tell them about your dream, Martin”. He then departed from his script and with his vibrating Pentecostal-style voice embarked upon his “I have a dream” speech for which he is so widely and warmly remembered. His dream was for his children to grow up with the same rights as white children and be free to live without discrimination and prejudice on account of the colour of their skin. They shot him.

And then there’s Nelson Mandela who spent 27 years imprisoned initially on Robben Island because he was branded as subversive. On his release, without a trace of bitterness, he worked his way back into the political system and they made him president. And another great figure is Malala Yousafzai, the young Pakistani girl who campaigned for the rights of girls and women to be educated without fear of violence from extremist Islamic groups. They shot her but mercifully, thanks to the prompt medical attention in Pakistan and later in Birmingham UK, she survived an horrific head wound.

The thing about prophetic figures is that they are ‘game-changers’. They are totally consumed by their message and spend themselves, even at risk to their lives, in seeing their dream become a reality. When their work is done, nothing is ever the same again. So when Jesus is considered to be ‘one of the prophets’ it was by no means an insult.

But one of the prophets mentioned in the list was Elijah. Here is a larger than life character whose primary passion was to restore true religious beliefs to a nation which had been hoodwinked into following false gods. The pinnacle of his career was the contest on Mount Carmel where he upstaged 450 prophets of Baal and had them slaughtered. Yes, it’s blood-thirsty but that’s what life was like in those days, you only have to watch the recent Channel 5 series ‘The Bible’ to see that. But the passage we read depicts Elijah in a very different situation. This man of enormous faith was suddenly reduced to a quivering wreck and cocooned in a cave on Mount Horeb in a state of suicidal depression. He was afraid of the death threats from Queen Jezebel, he felt his ministry had been a failure as everyone had abandoned the true religion, he felt abandoned by God who failed to come to his rescue and, with Elisha waiting in the wings to take over his role, he saw his future in terms of the scrap-heap of prophets. Not a pleasant state to be in, especially for a man of such high standing.

Elijah in the cave

But there was one other problem which Elijah faced, and it is one which some Christians are prone to. He was wedded to sensationalism – he expected God to always respond to his prayers in a miraculous or sensational way. Back in the 1980s I made several trips to the USA and watched with horror as the TV evangelists did their bit on prime-time TV. With their emotional addresses, high-profile celebrities and strong appeals for money, some of them built their kingdoms and tried to out-do their rivals. One such TV evangelist was Jim Bakker (yes with 2 k’s in his name). He was the founder of Heritage USA, a Disneyland-style theme park for Christians. He also had his organisation, PTL Power Ministries and his prime-time TV show onto which he would invite some top names. Sadly the names he invited were renowned more for their celebrity status and crowd-pulling power than their flimsy Christian credentials. But Bakker was a man wedded to sensationalism. Very soon his sexual misdemeanours and embezzlement led him to prison where, to his credit, he reflected long and hard about his downfall. Aided by people like Billy Graham, he looked again at the teachings of Jesus and realised how little he understood of the true gospel message. In his book, aptly entitled “I Was Wrong”, he unfolds the gruesome details of his human frailty.

A significant part of the reading from 1 Kings 19 talks about Elijah’s encounter with God in the cave. There was a mighty wind which dashed the rocks in pieces, a great earthquake and then a fire. But God was in none of these sensational occurrences. No, they were followed by ‘a still, small voice’ through which God finally got through to his prophet. Overawed by the holiness of the moment, Elijah hid his face but finally listened to the God who loved him. It was in that moment that God revealed the truth. He had not written him off or abandoned him but still had work for him to do, including the anointing of Elisha as his successor. Oh yes, and he affirmed his ministry by revealing that 7,000 had remained faithful – a fitting tribute to Elijah’s ministry.

And then there’s the question which God poses to Elijah twice – “what are you doing here Elijah?” It would be interesting to know whether the emphasis is on the word doing or the word here. I favour the latter because it wasn’t right for a man of God to be hiding away in a cave. Sometimes we sense God is distant, not because he has moved, but because we are in the wrong place. I remember a time when my son was revising for his A Levels and I was working away from home on contract. I became painfully aware that being away from home was the wrong choice when my rightful place was at his side helping and encouraging him.

So, why did all this happen to such a great man of God? The answer is simple – because he was human, and human beings are frail. Any one of us can fall victim to fear and depression. As we get older, the body starts to decompose and no amount of prayer can reverse that process. St. Paul, in one of his letters to the church at Corinth tells about his ‘thorn in the flesh’. We don’t know for sure what this ailment was but three times he pleaded with God for its removal only to be told, “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Corinthians 12:9). God’s response could be interpreted in many ways but essentially I believe God was saying to Paul, “don’t worry about your human frailty, I can use you mightily as you are”. Indeed Paul stresses that his own weakness is an opportunity for God to demonstrate his strength.

So Elijah had to learn the lesson about experiencing God in the non-sensational moments too. As preachers or teachers, preparing a sermon or talk when the well is dry, or as parents having to battle with unruly children or deal with the pressure of highly dependent elderly relatives, we too need to realise that God is just as close to us in these times as when the miraculous and sensational things are happening. Our human frailty is not an excuse for running away into a cave in a fit of depression. Basically we need to be real about life. We are ordinary Christian disciples serving an extraordinary God.