Monthly Archives: June 2025
What Are You Doing Here? A sermon on 1 Kings 19:9b-21 from COncordia
God, who am I?
What Are You Doing Here?
1 Kings 19:9b-21
† In Jesus’ Name †
May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus help you know why you are where you are!
As the people of God, we’ve been given a huge task. It’s called the great commission – the responsibility to help people becoming those who follow, who walk with Jesus. Part of that Commission is that we get to teach people to treasure what God has commanded, how they are to live their lives with him!
In teaching them to treasure this life God has given us, there is an important distinction that is made… that has to be understood.
Do we place greater emphasis on doing what is right, or on why we do what we do?
I mean we’ve all done the right things for the wrong reasons, right?
And have we done the wrong things for the right reasons?
Which is better?
Which do you think you get more blame for, take more heat for?
But what if you do the right thing for the wrong reason, and everybody thinks what you did was wrong – that just by doing what you did, you sinned, without any consideration for why you did it.
You see, most people judge Elijah’s actions in the Old Testament reading as wrong…. and in doing so, we miss the work of God in Elijah’s life, a work that we desperately need in ours.
Was Elijah a Coward.
When I read this passage when I was younger, and when I heard pastors preach on it, the usual observation about Elijah was he was weak, that he should have stayed and battled Jezebel and her armies.
After all, he had, well God had through him, toasted up 450 priests of Ba’al and defeated! He was on a winning streak of winning streaks, able to mock his opponents without mercy. Hey – your idols not answering your prayers? Maybe your god Ba’al is sleeping, or maybe he’s on vacation, or maybe he’s in the restroom?
And after the victory, instead of having a parade, instead of celebrating freeing God people, he runs away and hides… in cave! And then he whines, oh does he whine, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”
Remember a moment ago, when I talked about doing the right thing for the wrong reason?
I think Elijah did exactly what he needed to be doing. I think he needed to hide in that cave and rest.
But the way that He answered God’s question, shows where he sinned.
It wasn’t in the running and hiding and resting – we all need to do that.
But hear what God asked him….
“What are you doing here, Elijah?”
Not why are you here… not what caused you to be here. But what are you doing, here?
And this is where Elijah sin is revealed…
He didn’t know why he was there…..
You see, he couldn’t tie what he knew intellectually and instinctively, to the reality of his situation.
He ran to escape, not to find a refuge, not to find sanctuary, not to find a fortress where he couuld be safe, and heal.
“I’m here because they are evil, I am here because they didn’t listen when I told them “the Lord is with you!” in fact…
Wait Elijah, not what caused you to be here…. What are you doing here?
Through the windstorm, through earthquake, through the fire…and Elijah still didn’t know…
Right action – wrong reason – no reason, and that is where he sinned…
That is where we sin.
The sin isn’t that we shouldn’t run away… the sin is that we don’t know what we are to do when it is time to run. We run an hid and whine just like Elijah did, forgetting we dwell in the presence of an alimighty, all-powerful, all-wise, God who loves us. And had promised to make everything work together for our good.
What Was He Supposed to be doing there?
So what was Elijah supposed to being there?
We heard in in Luther’s most famous hymn, out of the 1000s he wrote, the one we all know – the one that starts,
A mighty fortress is our God,
A bulwark never failing!
Our helper He amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing!
Elijah was provided for, all along the journey. Birds brought him food, he found places to rest. He didn’t realize it, but he was never alone on the journey, he ever was talking to God, when God told him to go outside, to find God.
Typical guy, oblivious to everything going on around him!
God never failed him, no matter how bad the flood, no matter how overwhelming the flood of what ails and torments us, we find our refuge in the love and care of God.
This is the nature of the cross, and the resurrection.
I saw that at the convention, when Jim couldn’t help himself—and spoke up “and therefore” when one of the speakers said “Alleluia! He is Risen!” I saw it again, as I told one of Elizabeth’s teachers about how we got to be part of Edith’s being claimed as one of Jesus’ family in baptism – and he brought it up in his presentation this day – an example of what it meant, not to be educated as a Lutheran, but to live and share your hope in Jesus.
What are you doing here?
Spending time with my heavenly Father, with Jesus Christ, my brother, being comforted and healed by the Holy Spirit.
The great thing—that even as Elijah forgot this, God was at work doing it!
We might forget—but He doesn’t.
When it’s time, when Elijah remembers who he is—the one God loves—it is time to get back to the mission – to train up another generation of believers, of leaders, of those who worship and are thankful to God—willing to sacrifice their lives, as we have been, when we don’t need to run away and let God be God…
And then it is time to get back to work, sharing the love of God with people who are so broken, they don’t even realize how broken they are. Who have been turned inside out and ravaged by sin. Not only do we bring them news of God’s love, but we prepare the next generation to do so…
For we know why we are here, we know why we run to the Father…and fall on His grace… AMEN!
Know Thyself…Socrates Said. (It was simpler than he thought!)
“Then in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought to me, I took the wine and gave it to the king. Previously I had not been depressed in the king’s presence.So the king said to me, “Why do you appear to be depressed when you aren’t sick? What can this be other than sadness of heart?” This made me very fearful.” (Nehemiah 2:1–2, NET)
Neo-Platonism provided him (Augustine) with a vocabulary, and stirred in him a desire, for mystical union. Yet the One to whom Augustine aspired was not the remote, indifferent reality of Plotinus, but the God who constantly seeks, attracts, guides, heals, stoops toward us, forgives and loves us. He is the humble God of the incarnation. The Neo-Platonists had glimpsed the country Augustine sought, but could not show him the way there (VII,20,26; 21,27).
The God revealed in the Old and New Testaments is, moreover, the God who forms a people. He is the God encountered in the Church.
Benedict’s encyclicals and other papal writings invite the reader to have a personal relationship with Christ. “Encountering Christ” is the phrase that pervades all of his texts. In this light, Benedict’s Christocentric approach offers a fresh and deeper understanding of the concept of revelation. Benedict prioritizes Christ the Logos over Scripture and Tradition.
One might venture to conclude that Ratzinger’s /Pope Benedict XVI’s lasting legacy is to state vigorously that revelation in Christ is the definitive, personal self-disclosure of the triune God—and thereby, also as the identity of the human being.
“Remember, Tozer,” he said, “death is not the worst thing that can happen to a person!”
For the Christian, death is a journey to the eternal world. It is a victory, a rest, a delight. I am sure my small amount of physical suffering has been mild compared to Paul’s, but I feel as Paul did: “I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far!” (Philippians 2:23).
Nehemiah was not himself
It was so obvious that the King he was enslaved to serve noticed, and was concerned over a relatively minor person in his Kingdom. We use the phrase, “he wasn’t himself,” rarely these days, but it is a growing phenomenon as people try to identify themselves with this movement or that movement, with this star, or that politician, Often the “not being themselves” draw them into more extreme positions, even within the church, as they look for their true identity.
They are correct in their realization that relationship defines their existence, that it gives a picture of who we are. To often these relationships become idolatrous, as we define our identities by one different than our primary relationship- our relationship with the Father through Jesus.
Like Augustine, the existence of the search for identity can be part of what helps us find (actually be found by) Jesus – who is our identity. HIs dabbling with Neo-Platonism would leave him with a desire to be with God, even as its vision of God was not right,..it led him to the place where, when God came to him, he was ready to see his need for God.
That’s why Pope Benedict championed the cause of encountering Jesus. All of his knowledge, all of his theological understanding, all of it was only valuable if he recognized at the end of the day the presence of Jesus. It doesn’t take much imagination to see Pope Benedicts or Augustine, Luther or Melanchthon or Josemaria Escriva smile as they heard Philippians 1:21 read ““For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain.” (Philippians 1:21, NET) or to see the sigh of relief as people respond “and also with you,” during the mass or daily gatherings for prayer.
Ultimately, defining our identities, finding our identity in Christ leads us to recognize what Tozer’s mentor was pointing out. Death becomes less and less a threat, as we long to be in the presence of God the Father. If we knwo as ourselves as children of God, then it becomes natural to want to be home with Him, to enjoy His presence.
This is to know ourselves, to recognize that we are simply His children, His people, His beloved.
Saint Augustine. (2012). The Confessions, Part I (J. E. Rotelle, Ed.; M. Boulding, Trans.; Second Edition, Vol. 1, p. 19). New City Press.
De Gaál, E. (2018). O Lord, I Seek Your Countenance: Explorations and Discoveries in Pope Benedict XVI’s Theology (M. Levering, Ed.; pp. 201–202). Emmaus Academic.
Tozer, A. W., & Smith, G. B. (2008). Mornings with Tozer: Daily Devotional Readings. Moody Publishers.
Navigating the Revitalization and Renewal of the Church
The church, is always in the midst of a storm… but safe in Him
Thoughts which drive me to Jesus, and to His Cross
“With antiphonal response they sang, praising and glorifying the LORD: “For he is good; his loyal love toward Israel is forever.” All the people gave a loud shout as they praised the LORD when the temple of the LORD was established. Many of the priests, the Levites, and the leaders—older people who had seen with their own eyes the former temple while it was still established—were weeping loudly, and many others raised their voice in a joyous shout. People were unable to tell the difference between the sound of joyous shouting and the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people were shouting so loudly that the sound was heard a long way off.” (Ezra 3:11–13, NET)
Falsely are our churches accused of abolishing the Mass; for the Mass is retained among us, and celebrated with the highest reverence. Nearly all the usual ceremonies are also preserved, save that the parts sung in Latin are interspersed here and there with German hymns, which have been added to teach the people. For ceremonies are needed to this end alone that the unlearned be taught [what they need to know of Christ].
In promoting development, the Christian faith does not rely on privilege or positions of power, nor even on the merits of Christians … but only on Christ, to whom every authentic vocation to integral human development must be directed. The Gospel is fundamental for development, because in the Gospel, Christ, “in the very revelation of the mystery of the Father and of his love, fully reveals humanity to itself.”
I have been thinking about my “career” as a pastor recently. It was 27 years ago this month I went from being a part-time to a full-time pastor. It’s been 23 years in August that I moved from being a non-denom pastor to becoming a Lutheran one, and last week-it was seventeen years since I received the call to become pastor in this place.
In that time I have seen a lot of changes in the world, the church at large and in my Lutheran group. Some of them quite good, some of them heartbreaking. I know the joy of Ezra’s people, as they saw God’s promises re-established for them, and I also understand the heartbreak of those who remember the past and its glories.
I am the one who wails over the losses, and yet I am the one who screams for joy at the renewal I see. A foot in both worlds, a foot which wants to deny the existence of the other….
I have tried to help both sides realize the other exists, not because i want to create a form of toleration, for that is worthless, and to be honest, vain.
In my devotional reading this morning, I came back to the answer–provided by the Lutheran Confessions and Pope Benedict. The answer isn’t to dwell in the past, failing to recognize its failure. It isn’t about just rejoicing in the victories of the moment–ignoring its shortcomings.
The answer is simply this – living in Christ, and revealing Him to those who so desperately need Him. To revoice in the enlightenment the Spirit provides in them–the relationship that is reformed, renewed, reborn! To sound more academic — to rejoice in the delivery and reception of grace, rather than comment on the color, texture and design. To dance with God and the angels over new life.
To be revitalized, not just an interested observer of it.
Then the church weeps and rejoices together, for God is good, and His mercy is forever!
Melancthon, P. (2006). The Augsburg Confession (1530). WORDsearch.
De Gaál, E. (2018). O Lord, I Seek Your Countenance: Explorations and Discoveries in Pope Benedict XVI’s Theology (M. Levering, Ed.; p. 197). Emmaus Academic.
Hope for a Nation with Questionable Leadership… and struggling people.
Thoughts which carry me to Jesus, and to the Cross….
“In his pain Manasseh asked the LORD his God for mercy and truly humbled himself before the God of his ancestors. When he prayed to the LORD, the LORD responded to him and answered favorably his cry for mercy. The LORD brought him back to Jerusalem to his kingdom. Then Manasseh realized that the LORD is the true God. After this Manasseh built up the outer wall of the City of David on the west side of the Gihon in the valley to the entrance of the Fish Gate and all around the terrace; he made it much higher. He placed army officers in all the fortified cities in Judah. He removed the foreign gods and images from the LORD’s temple and all the altars he had built on the hill of the LORD’s temple and in Jerusalem; he threw them outside the city. He erected the altar of the LORD and offered on it peace offerings and thank offerings. He told the people of Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel. The people continued to offer sacrifices at the high places, but only to the LORD their God.” (2 Chronicles 33:12–17, NET)
“Certainly you will see it with your very own eyes— you will see the wicked paid back. For you have taken refuge in the LORD, my shelter, the sovereign One.” (Psalm 91:8–9, NET)
For they do not believe that the time of their affliction is at hand, and they do not want to believe it, even though they can see it, hear it, smell it, taste it, touch it, and feel it.
(It is the position of some would-be teachers that everyone who comes into the kingdom of God by faith immediately obtains all there is of God’s spiritual provision.
I believe that such a teaching is as deadly as cyanide to the individual Christian life. It kills all hope of spiritual advance and causes many believers to adopt what I call “the creed of contentment.”
One day as he was walking with blessed Francis, the saint said to him: “Brother, I tell you that from now on you do not have to confess your tribulation to anyone. Do not be afraid. Whatever happens to you that is not your doing will not be to your blame, but to your credit. Whenever you are troubled, I give you my permission just to say seven Our Fathers.” The brother wondered how the saint could have known about this; smiling and overjoyed, he got over the temptation in a short time.
Oftentimes in his encyclicals, Benedict invites the faithful to encounter Christ through Scripture and the sacraments. The theme of encountering Christ pervades all his writings. A selection of these papal writings illuminates the concept of revelation and the Christocentric approach that he already unfolded profoundly at Vatican II.
I look at the news this morning and social media, and to be honest, I don’t know what to do with it. I see so much that is a a fulfillment of Luther’s words in the first quote, where the affliction is denied, as we are told if this sie gets their way, everything will be okay, only to be echoed by the other side. And the tension and trauma that increases where the two sides collide is written off, as justifiable. Further, many on both sides are described by Tozer, as those who count themselves as good, llving Chirstians because of something that happened in the past, a baptism, a prayer, a moment of enlightenment that guarantees their being in the right, apart from anything meaningful in their interaction with God today.
They know something is wrong, but they see it as completely outside of their own lives, their own relationship with God. Maybe it is because of that they cry out for God’s vengeance without seeing Christ’s desire to save all, their adversaries and themselves.
Francis’s advise to a man caught in such tribulation is simple. Pray, and pray intimately to the Father. Say the pray Jesus taught, not as a rote, magical incantation, but as a prayer…intimately seeking the intercession of God in your life, to see His will be accomplished, to see His care for all come into being.
Benedict encourages the same thing – for people to encounter and relate to Jesus through the conduits God has provided for just that purpose, for only that purpose. The word of God (aka the scriptures) and the Sacraments are their for us to fulfil some duty, to ring up enough points that we gain some prize. They are times where God opens up His heart, that the Spirit can operate on ours, opening it up and bringing a life that we lack.
This is what happened with Manasseh, the son of King Hezekiah. Completely overwhelmed by the consequences of his, and his people’s sin, he finally cries out to God, and as God responds to his cries, Manasseh realizes that God is the only true God, the only God that can save and transform him. The broken king, looking for hope finds it–not as we look for hope, but in simply praying to a God he did not know well, who responded.
That change is Manasseh was truly revolutionary. He became the King, the leader he should have been, with the absolute priority of helping people grow in their relationship to God. He removed the obstacles, the false gods they were tempted to worship and look to for assistance. He restored the offerings that were given, not to appease God, but to recognize and receive the gifts God poured out on His people! To go from being one of the most evil of kings, to being a holy king–perhaps one of the best.
Not through his own efforts, but because God heard his cry for help, and he came to know this was the one true God.
May all our leaders, all of them, find God answering them, as we see the consequences of sin blow up around us. And I pray, that they lead us, as do all leader, to see the LORD our God. Amen.
Robinson, P. W. (1539). On the Councils and the Church. In H. J. Hillerbrand, K. I. Stjerna, T. J. Wengert, & P. W. Robinson (Eds.), Church and Sacraments (Vol. 3, p. 329). Fortress Press.
Tozer, A. W., & Smith, G. B. (2008). Mornings with Tozer: Daily Devotional Readings. Moody Publishers.
Pasquale, G., ed. (2011). Day by Day with Saint Francis: 365 Meditations (p. 167). New City Press.
De Gaál, E. (2018). O Lord, I Seek Your Countenance: Explorations and Discoveries in Pope Benedict XVI’s Theology (M. Levering, Ed.; p. 194). Emmaus Academic.
Will Anyone Miss You When You Are Gone?
Thoughts which carry me to Jesus, and to the Cross:
“After about two years his intestines came out because of the disease, so that he died a very painful death. His people did not make a bonfire to honor him, as they had done for his ancestors. Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. No one regretted his death; he was buried in the City of David, but not in the royal tombs.” (2 Chronicles 21:19–20, NET)
Finally, after a pleasant conversation, the abbot, as he left, humbly asked him to pray for him. The dear man of God replied: “I will willingly pray.” When the abbot had ridden away a short distance, the faithful Francis said to his companion: “Wait a little, brother, because I want to pay the debt I promised.” As he prayed, suddenly the abbot felt in spirit unusual warmth and sweetness like nothing he felt before, and rapt in ecstasy, he totally fainted away into God. This lasted for a short time, and then he returned to his senses and realized the power of Saint Francis’s prayer. From that time on, he always burned with ever greater love for the Order, and told many about this miraculous event.
When doing our morning devotions this morning, we were talking about the people who built the tower of Babel, and their ambition, creativity and focus. All praiseworthy characteristics, except that you were used in self-interest and to achieve personal fame.
Then in my private devotions, I came across the passage about Jehoram, and it is grievous. No one cared that this king died, and perhaps no one cared about the pain he was in.
I can’t imagine that fate, and I certainly would not want it for any of my friends, or even some of my adversaries. It’s not about seeking fame and fortune, it is about life have meaning and value…about making a difference in other people’s lives.
Nothing could be better than hearing something like this about somone… “He went out of his way to pray for me, and because of that, I knew that God was with me…” Which is basically what St Francis did for the rich abbot. He didn’t give him wise advise, he didn’t donate millions (though our preschool would willing accept a few million in donations – then we could not charge tuition!) he simply prayed for him, and the abbot knew it, and never forgot.
That’s the point, being there in a time of need, because Jesus is there for us, make the largest difference in the world. And it causes us to be remembered, and God to be praised. It may be the teacher given a hug, it might be the elder who made people laugh, it might be the night caregiver, who changes the bedpan and comforts the one infirm. It might be the manager – who invests her faith in her people, and gets to see the results, as they come to love the God, who comes to them.
IF you have a moment, think of those people, and give thanks to God for those whose passing you would regret, whose life you value because of their impact on you. Give thought as to why they have that value, and thank God for them… and maybe even tell them you are thanking God for them!
And if some abbot asks you to pray for them, surely do it! (anyone else that asks you should pray for as well!)
Pasquale, G., ed. (2011). Day by Day with Saint Francis: 365 Meditations (pp. 160–161). New City Press.
