Reflection: What Are We Doing Here (June 30, 2013)

The 6th Sunday after Pentecost
1 Kings 19:9b-21; Galatians 5:1, 13-25; Luke 9:51-62

If you’ve ever experienced the euphoria of an exciting experience, then you’ve also experienced the let down that follows. It seems that the more intense that excitement is, the more disappointing the realities of going forward with ordinary living are. This is especially the case when those realities don’t line up with the expectations that we had beforehand. When the excitement of a promotion trails off into the daily headaches of new responsibilities, or the thrill of a baby being born is lost in a series of sleepless nights, or the idealism of newlyweds collides with the eye-opening experiences of sharing one’s whole life with another person, we understand what the prophet Elijah was going through.

Before going on the run, Elijah had confronted 400 prophets of Baal. He experienced an incredible display of God’s power and a resounding victory over God’s enemies. Although people had rallied around him during this confrontation, the queen was bent on capturing and killing Elijah for his actions. The thrill of victory quickly faded into the fear of defeat and destruction. Elijah ran for his life and hid in a cave. But God called him out of his cave and questioned him. “What are you doing here, Elijah?” It was a powerful question. It forced Elijah to realize how foolish he was being. He had no reason to run away. He should not have been afraid. The Lord was on his side. Victory was certain.

Like Elijah, we can let our circumstances draw us away from God’s promises and into the despair of the things that could go wrong and the possible outcomes that would be undesirable. When God finds us in the caves hallowed out by our doubts, fears, and worries, He calls us out into the light of His love and grace. “What are you doing here?” reminds us that we are called to rise above our circumstances to share in the greater purpose that God has planned for us and for which He has crafted us, our lives, and the very circumstances in which we find ourselves. When we ask ourselves “What are we doing here?” we’re seeking to align our lives and our wills with the life to which Christ has called us and the work that He has prepared for us. And we’ve opened ourselves to the euphoria of exciting experiences that do not diminish and cannot lead us to disappointment because they are based in the certainty of God’s victory in Christ Jesus.

Audio file of the sermon "What Are We Doing Here?"