Preaching the Scriptures

  The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson I Kings 19:15-16, 19-21   Next Christ Church, Walton   This was not exactly an appealing offer.   That is, if it was an offer at all.   It was more like a high-stakes game of tag.   And Elisha was now “it”.   Elisha was working the plow, sweating it out at the family farm.   Elijah, the prophet, the extremely controversial prophet, finds Elisha at work and, without a word, tosses his mantle, his vocational cloak, onto the younger man, who was probably sufficiently hot without an extra cloak.   Relieved of his mantle, the prophet just keeps walking.   No negotiation.   No sales pitch.   No carefully constructed succession plan. No explanation.   Just some thrown clothes.   But apparently the message was clear.   Elisha knew he was next.   Though I’m not quite sure Elisha fully understood what it meant to be next.   If he knew what he was really g...

  The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson 1 Kings 17:8-16   Desperate Strangers St. Timothy’s, Westford   The excitement was overwhelming…until it suddenly and decisively abated.   The hometown crowd had been buzzing about the return of their rising star.   Jesus was making a name for himself in the surrounding villages.   And now, he was coming home, to do his thing.     It started off strong.   Jesus was amazing.   They were impressed; it was impossible not to be impressed.   His beginnings were humble but you would never know that, the way he held the crowd, the way he exuded otherworldly wisdom.   They were hanging on his every word.   He was even better than they imagined.   Jesus should have quit while he was ahead – pulled a George Costanza and walked off on the high note.   But Jesus stood back up.   He played the encore.   After wowing the crowd, Jesus decided to add a little somet...

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson 1 Kings 19:1-15a Done I think I know what is going on here: Elijah is trying to get fired.   He’s done.   He wants out and he wants out now.   I mean just look at the story we heard this morning from the first book of Kings.   Elijah runs away from the job site, falls asleep on the job, and then tells his boss that he would rather be dead than punch the clock one more time.   This prophet is practically daring God to hand him his walking papers. But it wasn’t always like this.   In fact, Elijah is coming directly off of his biggest professional triumph.   The chapter preceding today’s Old Testament lesson details his epic showdown with the prophets of Baal and with the royals of the Northern Kingdom of Israel.   You might remember that one: in an astounding display Elijah calls down fire from heaven to devour offering and altar after the whimpering prophets of the Canaanite deity Baal fail to conjure as...