The Last Sunday after the Epiphany

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Episcopal Church
February 19, 2012

The Last Sunday after the Epiphany

Every year, I look forward to this particular celebration at Christ Church. Our worship on the last Sunday after the Epiphany lacks the poignancy of All Saints Sunday, or the utter weirdness of Christmas in July, two of my other favorite feast days. But the Burial of the Alleluias has a rich liturgical drama, as we come forward at the end of the service to put our Alleluias in the tomb where they will stay until Easter. Today we sing the great Alleluia hymns, we bury the alleluias, we feast at coffee hour, and march resolutely on toward Ash Wednesday with a sweet detour through Shrove Tuesday. As we sing the hymns this morning and hear the story of Jesus’ transfiguration, I do sometimes feel like I am gathering up strength to conquer the obstacle that lies between today and Easter- the obstacle of Lent. If I soak up enough good music, get one last good look at the beautiful vestments that adorn the church, enjoy the lovely silver vessels, and get the alleluias out of my system I will have the strength to endure, if not conquer, Lent.

So, given that I have a tendency to treat preparation for Lent a bit like some one else might prepare to run a marathon, I am caught up short by the story of Elijah’s ascent in a whirlwind into heaven put together with the story of Jesus’ transfiguration. Clearly the two stories are paired together in the lectionary because they have much in common. Both are stories of great theophanies, or appearances of God. In one, God appears as a chariot of fire and horses of fire to take Elijah up into heaven. In the other, Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus as he is transfigured and the voice of God is heard from a cloud. In both, there is the command to keep silent. When the great company of prophets tells Elisha that the Lord will take his master away from him, Elisha says "Yes, I know. Keep silent." As Jesus comes down the mountain with Peter, James, and John, Jesus tells the disciples to tell no one about what they have seen, until after the Son of Man has risen from the dead. Three times Elijah tries to spare Elisha the sight of Elijah’s departure and three times Elisha says "As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I shall not leave you." Before too long, we will hear Peter promise not to desert Jesus, but then, unlike Elisha, do the opposite and deny Jesus three times. Today we hear Elisha ask to inherit a double share of Elijah’s spirit. In the next chapter of Mark’s gospel, we will hear James and John ask to sit one at Jesus’ right hand and one at Jesus’ left hand in his glory. In this short story from 2 Kings, the parallels abound between the story of Elijah and Elisha, and story about Jesus and the disciples in the rest of Mark’s gospel.

What are we to make of these parallels? Elisha, after all, is not the Messiah, and Jesus is not just a great prophet. Elisha will continue the prophetic ministry of Elijah and will do many miracles over the course of his life until he dies on his bed in his own home. Jesus will come down the mountain and will continue to teach and to heal, but he will keep moving toward Jerusalem and the cross.

Perhaps the various parallels between these two stories actually serve to point us to a greater parallel. Elisha has seen God in the chariot of fire and has received a double mantle of Elijah’s spirit. Jesus has been transfigured with Moses and Elijah and heard the voice of God say "This is my son, my beloved; listen to him." But both men know that neither of these magnificent experiences of God will give them the power they need to overcome the obstacles ahead. Elisha is now the leader of the prophets of Israel, a highly unpopular role in times when the people are straying from God. Jesus will now begin his journey to Jerusalem. Neither the vision of God in the chariots of fire nor the voice of God from the cloud will provide any special skills, strength, or protection to meet the challenges to come. Neither Elisha nor Jesus, nor the disciples for that matter, are gathering up strength to overcome what lies ahead. The sheer memory of the chariots of fire and the transfiguration are not what will provide them with future sustenance. What those powerful visions of God do provide to Elisha, Jesus, and the disciples if they are paying attention, is an experience of the power of God which is absolutely trust worthy. Neither Elijah nor Jesus move ahead because they think they alone have the strength to conquer anything. They are able to move forward into the unknown because they know they can trust in the strength of God to provide all that they need.

So today, as we sing the great hymns and bury the alleluias, we are not trying to inhale a 40 day supply of glory to sustain us through Lent. We are not, actually, gathering up enough strength to run a Lenten marathon. What we are doing is experiencing for ourselves a bit of the power and goodness of God that will sustain us not only in the season of Lent, but whenever we find ourselves in the wilderness. In Lent we are reminded of our vulnerability as humans, and of the great goodness and power of God on whom we depend. We are not called to sustain our weary selves through the holy season of Lent. We are called to rely on God to sustain us. Today, we bury the Alleluias, remembering that in our Burial Service we say "Even at the grave, we make our song ‘Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia." We sing, we bury, and we feast today because we know that God has the power to carry us through the wilderness and God has the power to bring new life.

Amen.