Prayers:

Confession and words of assurance:   

Oh Lord, we are so sorry for not seeing things as clearly as we should. We sometimes forget how amazing and powerful you are. It is hard to imagine you creating the heavens and the earth at the very start of time.  We forget to look to Jesus as our example and guide, ignoring his love revealed in the cross.  We fail to welcome your Holy Spirit who strengthens us to serve you.  Lord we have sinned.  Forgive us and set us free.  Amen.  The Lord who reigns for ever and whose throne endures from generation to generation has not forgotten us.  He forgives the sins we confess and restores us to himself.  Amen, thanks be to God.

Reading:  1 Kings 19:9-18

Reflection:

Elijah, the last remaining prophet of the living God was spent.  He was exhausted, alone, and abandoned by his people.  He wondered if God had abandoned him too.  He wished he were dead.  Elijah had just triumphed over the prophets of Baal, but his victory only led to trouble.  Queen Jezebel wanted him dead, so Elijah ran for his life into the desert until he collapsed exhausted.  Here we see him sheltering in a cave on mount Sinai, and speaking to God.  These are agonising moments, because it seems at first that God will ignore Elijah.  Elijah is on the verge of giving up.  

‘All I have ever done’ he says to God, ‘is be zealous for you.  I have served you faithfully, but now the Israelites have thrown down your altars and killed your prophets with the sword.  I alone am left and they want to take my life too.’

Although this story belongs to another world, there is something familiar about it.  How often have we felt as though we are carrying everything alone?  How often have we felt that there is no hope for our future, for our work, or for our Church?  How often have we cried into our pillows and said those despairing prayers to God for help, not really expecting any help at all.  

In the end God did help Elijah, by setting him out on a new path with a new plan.  He is to go from that place and anoint two kings, one for the North and one for the South.  He is also to find Elisha and anoint him as his assistant.  There is a familiar pattern in this story and a message of hope.  Those who fear they are lost and alone and oppressed by overwhelming forces outside their control, discover that if they remain faithful and look to God, he is there all along.  He stands ready to give a plan and a purpose to those who seek him.  Above all, we need to remember that we are not alone.

Hymn:  StF 158, “Lord you sometimes speak in wonders”