Last Epiphany, Yr B (2024) The Rev. Karen C. Barfield
2 Kings 2:1-12 St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
Mark 9:2-9
In the name of the one, holy, and living God:
in whom we live, and move, and have our being. Amen.
Today is a pivotal day.
Today is a pivotal day in the journey of Elijah and Elisha.
Today is a pivotal day in the journey of Jesus and his disciples.
Today is a pivotal day in the life of Cherie James.
Today is a pivotal day in our own liturgical journeys as we bring Epiphany to a close
and look ahead to Lent.
And three key ingredients for these pivotal moments seem to be:
silence,
listening to the voice of God,
and following in faithful discipleship.
In today’s readings we hear a great deal about silence:
keeping silent…
and not keeping silent.
Silence seems to pave the way,
or create the space,
to experience God.
In today’s Old Testament reading,
as Elijah nears the end of his earthly life,
he wanders from place to place, responding to the voice of God.
When he and his faithful companion arrive at each new place,
Elijah says to Elisha,
“Stay here, for God has sent me to [another place].”
And each time Elisha responds,
“As the Lord lives,
and as you yourself live,
I will not leave you.”
Each time they arrive in a new city,
the prophets come out to tell Elisha and say:
“today the Lord will take your master away from you.”
“Yes, I know.
Be silent.”
“Be silent.”
With these words we hear echoed the first place Elijah heard God’s voice many years before.
In a cave on Mount Horeb,
the holy mountain of God,
Elijah was seeking refuge from his enemies.
Elijah was told to go out of the cave,
to go out of his sheltered space,
to go out from his "safe" haven
and to stand on the mountain before God because the LORD was about to pass by.
A great wind arose,
a wind so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces,
but Elijah did not go out.
Then there was a great earthquake which shook the very ground Elijah stood on,
but he did not go out.
Then there was a great fire,
likely consuming everything in its path,
but again Elijah did not go out.
He waited.
After all these magnificent showings of creation,
there was the sound of sheer silence.
It was then
that Elijah wrapped his face in his mantle
and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.
It was out of this sheer silence that God's voice came and gave Elijah his direction.
Having heard God's voice,
Elijah then knew the direction his life was to take.
In that moment of transfiguration in resounding silence at the mouth of the cave,
Elijah was emboldened to come out of hiding and follow where God led him.
So now, at the end of his earthly pilgrimage,
it is not surprising to hear of the faithfulness of his companion, Elisha.
Elisha is emboldened to continue to journey with Elijah,
despite Elijah’s commands at each place along the journey to “stay here.”
Elisha is emboldened to continue to journey with Elijah
despite all the prophets telling him that
“today the LORD will take your master away from you.”
In response to the prophets,
Elisha commands their silence.
He was committed to the journey until the end.
“As the Lord lives,
and as you yourself live,
I will not leave you.”
As Elisha watches Elijah being taken up into heaven in a whirlwind,
he knows he will receive a double share of Elijah’s spirit,
with which he will carry on Elijah’s work.
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Today's Gospel tells a similar story.
Jesus is nearing the end of his earthly life….
Jesus has just asked the disciples who the crowds say that he is
and then asks his disciples who they think he is.
Who is Jesus?
Not to some unnamed, unknown passerby,
but to those who claim to follow Jesus and follow him daily.
After they proclaim him the Messiah,
Jesus tells his disciples that he must first suffer,
be rejected and killed,
and will then, after three days, rise again.
After Peter rebukes Jesus for saying such things,
Jesus commands him: “Be silent.”
Be silent.
You see, when the prophets tell Elisha that his master will be taken away,
Elisha knows this truth
but knows that it is a necessary part of the journey.
Jesus, too, knows that suffering and death are part of the journey.
Suffering and death are part of the journey of life.
Jesus takes with him Peter and James and John high up on a mountain,
at this pivotal moment in each of their lives.
And the voice of God speaks:
“This is my son, the Beloved; listen to him!”
Be silent,
and listen.
I wonder if this is not a baptismal moment for Peter and James and John…
a moment in which these disciples are infused with the spirit and courage of God,
as they witness Moses and Elijah standing with Jesus.
At Jesus’ baptism (according to Mark),
only Jesus heard God’s voice calling him the beloved,
and then the Spirit drove him into the wilderness.
This time, high up on the mountain,
perhaps God’s voice heard by all present is meant to engender each of them with courage
for all the events that are to follow.
The disciples’ leader will be taken away from them,
just as Elijah was taken from Elisha.
Will they have the courage to follow Jesus to the very end?
It is a pivotal moment.
Today is a pivotal moment for Cherie James.
For the past three months she has been studying and listening for the voice of God in her life,
and she has chosen to pick up and daily wear the cross
as a member of the Order of the Daughters of the King,
making a lifetime commitment to prayer, service, and evangelism.
May God grant her the courage and Grace to follow where the Spirit leads!
Today is a pivotal moment in our lives, too.
Today we stand at the threshold of Lent,
having been witnesses to the Light of Christ in the world and in our lives.
Our journey ahead is the journey with Jesus,
walking with him in his suffering and death,
acknowledging our own pain and brokenness,
as well as the eternal hope of resurrection.
Will we follow to the very end,
bearing our crosses along with Jesus?
I close with the motto of the Daughters of the King…
a statement and question that is worth each of us offering daily:
For His Sake…
I am but one, but I am one.
I cannot do everything, but I can do something.
What I can do, I ought to do.
What I ought to do, by the grace of God I will do.
Lord, what will you have me do?
Amen.
