The God who answers by fire

1st Kings 18: 30-39, OT page 325 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come closer to me”; and all the people came closer to him. First he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down; Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, “Israel shall be your name”; with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, large enough to contain two measures of seed. Next he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood. He said, “Fill the jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” Then he said, “Do it a second time”; and they did it a second time. Again he said, “Do it a third time”; and they did it a third time, so that the water ran all around the altar, and filled the trench also with water. At the time of the offering of the oblation, the prophet Elijah came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your bidding. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and even licked up the water that was in the trench. When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord indeed is God; the Lord in deed is God.” Sermon “Which religion will win?” Such a question would make a fine title for the 1st and 2nd scripture lessons we’ve read this morning, as these lessons describe the great clerical battle between the priest of Baal who numbered four hundred and fifty, and God’s sole prophet Elijah who stands alone. They build up competing alters, and the god who lights their respective alter on fire when called on prevails. “Which religion will win?” - Our scripture lesson for this morning answers this question, but in our world today too many wonder. In the mind of many, our world is the stage for the battle against Islam. This battle has been raging in Israel and Palestine, Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan; it has even spread to New York City, London, Paris, Nigeria, and the Sudan. “Which religion will win?” many ask. And a look back on history is the sure sign that this battle has been raging for hundreds of years. The Muslim occupation of much of Western Europe is a memory that lives on in the minds of many. The French croissant is a legacy to the Crescent of Islam, the Muslim occupiers having left their mark. In Turkey, the great seat of Eastern Christianity was a city once known as Constantinople, now known as Istanbul. The great cathedral there was the Hagia Sophia, turned into a mosque and a mosque it remained for over 500 years. Sometimes we forget just how long it has been that human beings have been fighting over religious supremacy. The truth of evangelism is that it can turn violent; coercion by the sword can replace the joyful choice to be baptized. Constantine invades Rome with Christian symbols on his army’s shields and eventually Christianity becomes the official religion of the Roman Empire; Crusaders invade Jerusalem in the name of the Prince of Peace in an attempt to call the birthplace of Christianity theirs; and the last words out of the mouths of terrorists are words of scripture for violence in the name of religious conquest is a common idea and an effective tool for conversion; but our first and second scripture lessons from 1st Kings is not the story of military conquest or terrorism fueled by religion. The nation of Israel was not forced to turn to another religion at the hand of a wicked and vengeful army from some foreign land. No, the move away from God and towards the worship of Baal was gradual and was launched, not by a foreign army, but came from within and began with Israel’s own king. There was a wedding that started it – the King of Israel married Jezebel and, maybe to keep his new wife happy, he joined her in worshiping her gods. Then Jezebel began killing off the prophets of God and replaced them with priests of her own, but that is not the Prophet Elijah’s primary concern. What concerns the prophet is that the hearts of the people turned away. Without their prophets to speak words of truth the people went looking for guidance elsewhere. When faith in God became unfashionable, when being a worshiper of Baal made it easier to make good social and business connections, promotions and job opportunities, too quickly the people left behind the God who took them out of Egypt into the Promised Land in favor of a new god who promised to see them into a bright future. But what is more, is that Elijah proclaimed that there would be a drought in the land – that because King Ahab turned away and worshiped the gods of his wife Jezebel there “shall be neither dew nor rain.” When farmers know that their crops are failing, that their families face starvation, the question is not where to turn, but where will they not turn? When parents have hungry children and hear the voice of some foreign priest proclaiming a message of deliverance and provision, the question is not whether or not they will turn to idolatry, but what idols won’t they turn to. And while our world is asking, “Which religion will win?” the real question is not about which extremist group trying their hand at conquering the world will end up on top, but just how many individuals will leave Christianity in favor of something – anything – that promises to get them where they want to go? Where won’t people turn in times of need? Have people not been drawn to Scientology because they don’t know where to turn, they lack any kind of direction, but they sure like the idea of being like John Travolta or Tom Cruise? Have smart kids not been seduced by atheism because of the idea that no self-respecting scientist believes the stories told in scripture? Has the idea that religion is nothing more than superstition that causes more harm than good not gained traction among the high minded of the academy and the humanitarians seeking rights for women and children? And has the idea of celebrity not seduced the talented with promises of wealth and fame? Will parents not sacrifice the wellbeing of their children to get on TV? Has the lottery not fooled too many with its razor thin chance at riches? Will the ones who don’t have enough not give up what they do have on the chance of making it big? Does television not corrupt all our minds with easy fixes for problems we didn’t even know we had? Does advertising for medicine not sound more than a little bit creepy? It’s easy to see this battle between the priests of Baal and the prophet Elijah as an ancient equivalent to the religious wars of today – but the greatest enemy of Christianity today is not the fundamentalist terrorist? The priests I worry about are not preaching to bowed converts through loud speakers. The enemy that Elijah battles with is the enemy who polluted the hearts of the people of Israel, and this enemy is dangerous because this enemy has seduced our very culture and has stolen the hearts of all of us. We Christians know that the first will be last and the last will be first – that the only way to be somebody in the Kingdom of God is to humble yourself – to identify with the poor and the helpless, to serve the sick and the afflicted. But have you not been persuaded by the cult of fame telling you that to be somebody you must associate with the people who can do something for you – that to really count you need to drive the right car, live in the right neighborhood, have the right clothes as though the model for our lives was a well-heeled socialite and not a poor carpenter from some backwater town in Israel. We Christians know that wealth will not solve all our problems, that riches cannot buy happiness, and we all follow Jesus who said that the one who has two coats should give one away to the one who has none – but – have you not been persuaded by the gods of commerce to overspend and to buy more than you need? Have advertisements not informed you of what you really need? And have you not been made to feel inferior because you can’t buy it all as though status in the Kingdom of Heaven had to do with the size of your bank account and not the size of your heart. And we Christians naturally desire peace – but how quickly will we turn to violence to solve our problems? Have the gods of violence not infiltrated your religion? Has the idea that the only real way problems get solved is through the use of intimidation and force not completely infiltrated our minds as though our guns were more powerful than our words. The Israelites left the God of their ancestors, not out of a baseless whim, but because the God of their ancestors seemed unable to put food on their tables. They left the God who brought them out of Egypt, gave them the Promised Land, because plants can grow without history, but they cannot grow without water and the priests of Baal promised to bring rain. So Elijah does not try to convince them with his words. He does not prophecy. He does not try to kindle fear with fire and brimstone preaching. Instead he lays the groundwork for a contest – appealing to the people’s need he forces the people to choose and challenges the prophets of Baal to make good on their promises. Can they bring the rain? Can they provide for the people? Who is the God who can bring fire on the mountain? Elijah, it would seem is the last of the faithful, but with a faith stronger than fear, wagering his very life on the provision of God not only sets the stage for this battle of faith, but ups the ante by pouring water over a sacrifice the people didn’t expect to burn in the first place. And the fire the people didn’t expect to burn doesn’t simply burn, but burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and also licked up the water in the trench. And as the smoke raised from the flames the doubt of the people, their idolatries, and the authority they gave to the false prophets of Baal rose with it as the flames burned a fiery purity among the people of God. Unfortunately for us though, the prophets of Baal are still alive and well, and they still have a voice. They have convinced many, who, out of a desire to be recognized and to matter will do whatever it takes to make a good impression on those who our culture says are important. Out of a desire to be happy they will shop and shop in a world of consumers where we are all told that anything that anyone needs can be bought if you just have enough money. And out of fear too many turn to violence, but the god of violence has not provided what was promised, only what we should have expected. So here we are again – and Elijah calls us to come closer – to recognize that while promises have been made by our celebrity obsessed, advertisement driven, and violence obsessed culture, our culture cannot make good on the promises it has made – for there is only one true God for you and for me, and this God calls you back today even if your mind and your heart have turned away. Are you not desperate for something real? Are you not longing for one who makes good on promises? When you are cast aside by the prophets of Baal: laid off by the job you gave your heart and soul to, up to your neck in debt having chased happiness in what you did not have without ever finding it, when violence rears its ugly head, your helper will be ever near. For just as God rained down fire for the sake of the people of Israel, so God came to earth, took human form, and offered his life, his very body and blood so that you would see that while there are many powers in this world who desire your allegiance, there is only one God. To get your attention, not because he might get anything in return, Christ went to the cross to call you back. “The Lord indeed is God; the Lord indeed is God.” Amen.