That Rascal Elijah
The Prophet Isaiah envisions someone coming from the line of
Jesse, father of David, who will “shall not judge by what his eyes see, or
decide by what his ears hear; but with righteousness he shall judge the
poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth” [i] And Psalm 72 asks on behalf of the people of God
to give their national leader “your justice, O God … that he may rule your
people righteously and the poor with justice.” [ii]
Isaiah and the Psalmist imagine God will send someone to care for the meek and
the poor of the land.
Into this vision of expectation comes a man dressed in
animal skins, eating grasshoppers dipped in honey, addressing some of the more
prominent citizens of Jerusalem, Pharisees and Sadducees, as “a brood of vipers.”
This is probably not the first person we might consider inviting to dinner.
Yet, we are told that all of Jerusalem, and the citizens of all of Judea and
the surrounding countryside were flocking down to the banks of the River Jordon
to “confess their sins” and be baptized by this John, who very much lived “off
the grid” as we might say today. [iii]
John is the quintessential outsider. Anyone looking at him
and listening to him would recognize him as a modern-day Elijah – Elijah of
whom it is written, “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the
great and terrible day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of parents to
their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not
come and strike the land with a curse.” [iv]
Advent anticipates and calls us to reflect on that day of
the Lord we believe the Christ will return “to judge the living and the
dead.” All those flocking to John down by the riverside evidently need to
get a lot of things off of their collective chests before such a time of
reckoning. This story about Elijah that may enlighten our understanding such a
day of judgment.
Elijah was walking past a house in which he could hear the
sounds of a party. Elijah suddenly spun around, and poof, he was dressed in the
rags of a beggar. He knocked on the door and a man opened it and looked at him.
“I was just in the neighborhood and heard the sounds of a party inside your
house. If that is true, I love parties. May I come in?” The man looked at him
up and down in his rags, and said, “You are right, my daughter’s wedding feast
is well under way. But there is no place here for one such as you.” And he
slammed the door in the prophet’s face.
Elijah grinned, and with another spin in the air, he
suddenly was dressed in all the finery of a proper gentleman, carrying a wooden
cane with a gold top. He knocked on the door again. The man opened the door
again. “I was passing by and thought I heard the sounds of a party inside and
was hoping you would let me in.” “You are right,” said the man. “My daughter’s
wedding feast is well under way, but for someone like yourself there is always
room. Come inside.”
Once inside Elijah went to the food buffet. He began
stuffing all his pockets with food. The inside pockets of his coat, the outside
pockets, his pants pockets, his shirt pockets were all just overflowing with
food. Then he began to pour wine all over himself, over his shoulders, down his
arms and legs, wine pouring all over the place! The man came over and said to
the prophet, “Just what do you think you are doing? I invite you to my
daughter’s wedding feast and here you are pouring wine and stuffing food all
over your fine clothes. This makes no sense.”
“Sure it does,” says Elijah. “Just think of it. The first
time I came to your door dressed as a beggar and you turned me away. Then I
came dressed as a gentleman and you let me in. Obviously, I am the same man. So,
you must have invited my clothes in to your feast! And now, I have proceeded to
feed them!”
The host and the guests were all embarrassed and looked down
at the floor. When they looked up the prophet was gone. All that remained was
his fine wooden cane with a gold top. Elijah did not have to judge the man and
his guests. They stood judged by their own behavior. So it is with God and
Christ. They do not need to judge us. Our actions speak for themselves. As did
the actions of those Pharisees and Sadducees who dared to come down by the
river to see what John was up to. For some of them had been collaborating with
the bad shepherds of the Roman occupation – believing they were helping to protect
“their people.” Perhaps John helped to open their eyes as Elijah had of those at
the wedding feast. Elijah who, like Isaiah and the Psalmist, advocates for
justice for the meek and the poor.
Yet, even John does not fully know the “one who is to come,”
suggesting that Jesus will arrive with a “winnowing fork in his hand, and he
will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but
the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” [v]
That is what John is doing by his threatening greeting to the Pharisees and
Sadducees. He sees them as being like the bad shepherds we heard about from
Jeremiah just a few weeks ago: those wicked shepherds who destroy, scatter and
divide the people of the land. Rather, the Christ who also comes down by the
river, heals, repairs, gathers, and unites everyone and everything. All are
welcome. All are his beloved people. The Christ comes as if to say, “Come on
people now, smile on one another, everybody get together, try and love one
another right now.” [vi]
Jesus just does not strike us as a
winnowing fork kind of guy.
One thing John does get right may be summed up in three
words: “God is able…” God is able to and has raised up “children to
Abraham,” not only among Christians, Jews and Muslims, but among people of
all faiths and no faith at all who live the Good News: God loves you. You are
forgiven. All those who act accordingly. All people everywhere who “bear
fruit worthy of repentance,” who strive for justice and peace, and practice
mercy, forgiveness and love; who work to heal, unite and repair a broken world.
We do well to remember: Elijah is one of two people in the Bible who do not
die. When Elijah comes knocking at our door, will we invite him in to the party?
And, if not now, when?
[i]
Isaiah 11:1-10
[ii] Psalm
72:1-7, 18-19
[iii]
Matthew 3:1-12
[iv]
Malachi 4:4-6 NRSVUE
[v]
Ibid, Matthew 3:1-12
[vi]
Get Together, by Chet Powers (aka Dino Valenti of Quicksilver Messenger
Service), released as a single by We Five in 1965 (#31 Hot 100); on Jefferson
Airplane Takes Off in 1966; before the
1967 Youngbloods release (peaking at number 62 and reaching 37 on the US adult
contemporary chart). However, renewed interest in the Youngbloods' version came
when it was used in a radio public service announcement as a call for
brotherhood by the National Conference of Christians and Jews. The Youngbloods'
version was re-released in 1969, peaking at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.)
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