The post-midnight dark was terrifying! As a little kid, if I woke and the night-light was out, I KNEW that monsters and vampires were in the corner! Straining toward the grayness of the window, it occurred to me that I was blind! Maybe I was prematurely buried! Maybe there wasn’t anyone else in the whole world! MOM!!
Just in case there are other scared folks, our Sunday readings discuss how near God really is. The Hebrew Bible lends us the familiar story of Elijah on the lam from Queen Jezebel, found in I Kings 19. Discouraged and alone, he ran off to Mt. Sinai to talk to the Chief face-to-face. “What are you doing HERE?” asked Yahweh. Elijah replied, “The Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left (sigh), and they are seeking my life, to take it away.” (v.10 & 14) A wind, an earthquake, a fire! And the Sound of Silence… There were yet seven thousand faithful–so get on with it, Elijah!
Paul assures the Roman Christians of a generous Lord of all: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13) Paul moves us away from individual angst to a world-community of both Jew & Greek. Today’s disciples need to hear this often, especially dealing with immigration and ethnic mistrust. Can red-states and blue leave our regional cultural deities for a greater allegiance? Our bumper sticker says that Jesus loves the 99%…AND those 1%ers?
Jesus finally got an opportunity to go up the mountain by himself. In his absence, the Twelve managed to get themselves in trouble again, this time in one of those sudden windstorms on the Sea of Galilee. (Matthew 14:22-33) Already frightened by the dark and the high waves, they really freaked when they saw Jesus WALKING ON THE WATER! Peter, speaking for the rest of us, quavered, “Lord, IF IT IS YOU, command me to come to you on the water.” “Come on, then.” This called Peter’s bluff; what could he do to save face but get out of the boat? Sinking, he called, “Lord, save me!” And Jesus did, of course.
We humans are a strange bunch. Constantly threatened by “fightings and fears without, within” amplified by assorted things that go Bump in the night, we often have enough sense to call on God for assurance and a Way Out. Our night-terrors are not to be scoffed at, but rather to be experienced within a greater faith-community where many will admit to the same alarms, if we’re honest. Thanks for these stories!
God Bless Us, Every One Horace Brown King
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