Living in the Spirit

June 20, 2022

Scripture Reading:

2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14

Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Stay here; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.’ But Elisha said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’ So they went down to Bethel.

Then Elijah said to him, ‘Stay here; for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.’ But he said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’ So the two of them went on. Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground.

When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.’ Elisha said, ‘Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.’ He responded, ‘You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.’ As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha kept watching and crying out, ‘Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!’ But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

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.

My mother fell and broke her arm when she was 95. At the emergency room, we were told she had had a small stroke that impacted her sense of balance. She would need 24/7 alert care. My siblings and I had never imagined that she would need nursing care, but there it was. We should have known she would make the best of it. She enjoyed her fellow patients and particularly liked the weekly visits of elementary students who came and did craft projects with her and the others who wished to participate. This move forced us to decide about her home and we eventually realized we would need to sell it. She had prepared the house for just such an event. Everything in her file cabinets was labeled. The bookcases were well organized. It was not hard to discern what she had planned to be donated to the local mission. I thought of that when I read the above scripture. Elijah had groomed Elisha well to take his mantle and continue the work of a prophet in service to the Lord.

That is a part of all our jobs. I watched our youngest children on Father’s Day come to the front of the church for the children’s moment and afterward scattered about the church making sure that every man present got a small gift in recognition of their day. We are all called to pass the legacy of love.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for those who went before us to pave the way for our continuing God’s ministry. 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.