Eastertide
May 31, 2014

He picked up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. He took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, saying, ‘Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?’ When he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over.  

When the company of prophets who were at Jericho saw him at a distance, they declared, ‘The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.’ They came to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.
—2 Kings 2:13-15

 Reading about the prophets can be a great difficulty for those of us steeped in rationalism and scientific methods. We want to stop and figure out how striking water and making a path with an inherited mantle would be possible. If we determine it was not possible and thus that it really did not happen then we question the veracity of the story. This story is not about the physics of moving water. It is about the truth of the forever nature of the mission of God’s people to be God’s people in the world and about the need for mentors to train by example the next generation.

My ancestor William Knott was indentured in 1783 to learn the business of running a forge in the early years of the steel industry in Maryland and Pennsylvania. He also was one of the trustees who help establish the Wasteland Methodist church. His son, John, migrated to Illinois in 1835 and was reported to have been a bit of an eccentric. Old newspaper articles noted that he covered his home with metal plates and installed a water pump in his kitchen to make life easier for his wife. The first worship service among these new residents was held in John’s home. His grandson, my grandfather, Emery; my father Carl; and my brother Erwin all did or do welding on the side as farmers. My nephew, Donald, is a welder by profession, and my grandnephew James just graduated from vo tech as a certified welder. These men have all also carried forth the mission of the Body of Christ. We never knew the history of William and John until recent years yet their spirit was passed forward and still moves among us.

We who profess to follow Jesus Christ are all called to pass the mantle of his spirit to the next generation but we do that as we live fully in the spirit bringing oneness and justice to a divided and broken world.

Prayer: Ancient of Days, grant us a full measure of your spirit and enable us to live in and through it in all that we do. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.