You shall say to him

Scripture Lesson: 1 Kings 21: 1-21a, OT pages 328-329 Sermon Title: You shall say to him Preached on June 12, 2016 D-Day was last Monday, and last Monday veterans like our own David Locke remembered that day 72 years ago when an invasion force of 4,000 ships, 11,000 planes, and nearly three million soldiers, marines, airmen, and sailors was assembled in England to invade the German occupied beach of Normandy. Just before the first attempted to set foot on the sand, David Locke remembered the voice of the ship’s chaplain over the PA system as he read this letter from General Eisenhower: Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed people of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world. Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely. But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-1941. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our Home Fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to Victory! I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory! Good Luck! And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble Undertaking. Dwight Eisenhower. There is so much power in words like these – and I’m thankful for people who say the word – who are chosen by God to say just the right words at just the right time – because words like these are a force against evil. Think about the words of President Ronald Regan, who on the 40th anniversary of D-Day stood there on that lonely, windswept point on the northern shore of France and said [today] “The air is soft, but 40 years ago at this moment, the air was dense with smoke and the cries of men, and the air was filled with the crack of rifle fire and the roar of cannon.” Then he referred to those veterans present and quoted the poet: you are men who in you “lives fought for life . . . and left the vivid air signed with your honor.'' Maybe you are among those who, knowing the power of words, wonder which of the current presidential candidates would be able to motivate the fighting men and women of our armed forces to face death in the name of liberty – wonder which, if either, of the presidential candidates would be able to commemorate the next D-Day Anniversary with words that honor those who gave their lives and warn the world to the cost of war. Maybe you are among the many who, knowing the power of words – fear what will become of our nation if either one is elected because neither Donald nor Hilary represent your values or inspire you to think not of what your country can do for you but of what you can do for your country. Words. It takes courage to say the right words at the right time and as we read our 2nd Scripture Lesson for this morning I realize how grateful we all must be for the example of the Prophet Elijah. His nation was governed by King Ahab of Samaria – a man influenced by the voice of his pagan wife Jezebel who had no respect for the Laws that governed Israel because she was one of those who believed that there should be no law but the will of the king. She was bold to wonder: If he wanted a vineyard for his vegetable garden than who would ever stand in his way? You’ve now heard the story of how she conspired to have Naboth stoned, and once owner of the land was dead, Queen Jezebel said to King Ahab, “Go, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead.” In these words, I hear the confidence of all those who put their trust in intimidation and fear – all those who fail to believe in the power of the empty tomb – but Christians know that the powers of sin and death never get the last word so it comes as no surprise to us that “the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying: Go down to meet King Ahab of Israel, who rules in Samaria; he is now in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession. You shall say to him, “Thus says the Lord: have you killed, and also taken possession? Thus says the Lord: In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, dogs will also lick up your blood.” These are the words that stop absolute power in its tracks, and remind people that even the king can be stopped in his tracks. These are the courageous words that finally call tyranny - tyranny Oppression - oppression And one must be brave to say them – so some wonder - who will be there to say them now? In years past we knew, but I stood at the grave of Roscoe Stephens last week, and Raymond, the man who dug his grave looked me in the eye and said, “This generation is leaving us and they’re taking everything with them: honesty, decency, courage.” Today we want a president who will say the things we long to say – and that makes sense because we all want a hero who will bravely say the things we long to say. So also we want a president who can articulate the faith that lives in our hearts - one who will stand up to the oppressor, not held captive to the fear that holds us captive and fuels our capitulation. So many wonder: will either of our candidates be able to do so? That is yet to be known, but for the purpose of this sermon – let’s all wonder if sometimes we want our president to do these things so that we don’t have to do them ourselves. Last Sunday a friend of mine, Brandom Gengelbach, was called on to preach at his church out on Pulaski Pike. He preached a sermon on leadership, and pointed out that Jesus didn’t ask anyone to kneel and worship him. What he asked instead, again and again, was for any who would be his disciples to follow him. In reading this passage celebrating the Prophet Elijah I remembered the tradition of leaving a seat open at the Passover table should Elijah choose to join – but what if we’re guilty of hoping that a president will fill a vacant seat that we should be filling ourselves. In our nation today I believe that we are too often indifferent, too willingly apathetic, because we want everything done for us – we fear we don’t have the words, so we’re afraid to speak – and I’m not just talking about the big things because me – I’m afraid to ask the waitress to take back my coke when I asked for a sprite. I can’t even think about giving a speech to address a fighting force poised to throw itself on the enemy’s shore because I’m afraid to stand up to the rude man in line at the store, preferring instead to apologize to the clerk once he’s gone. Thinking of myself – I wonder if we have all bought the lie that we are weak – and that’s why so many bullies rule the schools and tyrants run the nations – because we’ve forgotten who is always on the side of justice. We have to remember – that Moses was sure no one would listen – but by the power of God Pharaoh’s army was thrown into the sea. That Jeremiah told God that he was only a boy. That Amos said “he was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but a mere herdsman and dresser of sycamore trees” and on the one hand they were both right but on the other they were wrong for we read in Scripture again and again that those of weak frame and fumbling words triumphed over tyranny because a power that was greater than themselves stood by them. This is the power of God you see – so even King Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my enemy?” And the lone prophet answered, “I have found you. Because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord,” and these words resounded with the power of angels – for speaking truth always has more force than we ever imagined it did. Remember this: the powerful will always over step their bounds – and those who are willing to speak the truth will always be needed. The question is – will you be bold enough to speak up? Amen.