Two hobbits, Merry and Pippin, are dilly dallying, and Aragorn (in most films he’d be the classic hero,
but one of the fun things about the Lord of the Rings series is that the traditional hero type plays second fiddle to a bunch of Hobbits—silly little gentlemen in waist coats),
Mr. Hero’s hero, Aragorn, says, “Gentleman we do not stop until nightfall.”
To which Pippin replies, “What about breakfast.”
“You’ve already had it!”
Pippin scoffs, “We’ve had one yes, but what about second breakfast?”
Worried, Merry replies, “I don’t think he knows about 2nd breakfast, Pippin.”
And this Angel of the Lord is offering a similar thing to Elijah
—you need second breakfast,
you need to be hydrated again,
you need two naps…
By this I mean we need to receive from God that which allows us to heal, recover, and salvage our lives from the humiliations and despair of this world….
And also, we need to receive from God that which prepares, fortifies, and sustains us for the journey of faith…
Prayer
The Prophet Elijah arrives at that solitary broom tree, which we read of in 1stKings,
after an awful confrontation with the Prophets of the pagan deity Ba’al.
He and a few of his countryman executed these pagan prophets (450 of them in total)…
and the King and Queen respond by threatening to Execute Elijah…
that’s why he’s run off into the wilderness.
And he’s had enough…
like a child caught on a carnival ride that is too much for him,
Elijah just wants it all to end…
“They want me dead, what if I do it myself!”
Or perhaps he suffers from moral injury
—killing another person can wreak havoc on your soul,
and Elijah did just order the slaughter of 450 human beings…
Did you know one of the most common artifacts from the Civil War are rifles stuffed full with bullets
—the majority of civil war soldiers never fired at another person,
instead they just kept loading and loading their guns until one side ran away from the battle field…
so you can imagine Elijah
—heart ripped to shreds over what he has done.
Or perhaps Elijah is just dead tired
—a friend who is more into Biblical Geography than I, pointed out that when Elijah goes for runs in scripture, it is a super-hero kind of endeavor
—going like 45 miles an hour or so…
so perhaps he’s just spent.
Or, taking a plain reading of scripture,
the nasty cycle of God’s people failing to be faithful is too much for him…
he finds himself in the same place as his ancestors,
“Why do we always find ourselves in the desert
—the wilderness?”
Stripped bare, out there and all alone.
Why does this keep happening?
We wonder that too, sometimes, right?
When we’re exhausted,
mentally unwell, physically sick,
taking care of loved one,
at our wits end,
the end of our patience, or rope
—those times when we’re in danger of thinking poorly and make bad decisions,
When we don’t show up as our best self
—exhaustion and despair…
we are often not fully there
—fully present and careful.
Now, this was a tricky sermon to write as a Lutheran,
because this incident in scripture can so easily be hijacked as mere advice about self-care.
If I say things wrong, you all will assume that Elijah just needs to boot strap himself into wholeness…
that this whole thing is about taking care of YOURSELF…
do these three things and you’ll be healthy, wealthy, and wise…
And to be clear, self-awareness and taking things slow when need be, is holy and good
(what I said in the children’s sermon still stand)
—our body is a temple of God,
Sabbath is a Commandment,
and we’re made in the image of God,
so ignoring our self can be unholy…
but the Gospel is more than a self-help philosophy.
The Gospel is also a blessing of human weakness
—it is calling us into our need…
Elijah isn’t okay, and he can’t get up and eat save outside intervention,
he can’t have second breakfast, or even first, save this divine messenger who cares for him!
Elijah is stripped bare, in the desert, and he has to rely on God!
He receives rest, food, and water to heal him in his hurt.
He receives a second-time rest, food, and water to fortify him for the journey.
Fortify him to encounter the very voice of God! Because you see, what happens next is he goes through thunder and fire and earthquake,
only to find God in utter silence,
in a still small voice!
This re-affirms that God acts in the small stuff,
blessing is found in weakness, not tumult.
No amount of doing, of self-care, can move Elijah from despair to new life
—but Despair and New Life is surely the Goodness given to him as a gift. As Christians, we can unashamedly say that is the Gospel! God moves us from death to life!
God feeds and frees us from despair,
and God feeds and frees us for the journey of faith,
a journey where we encounter God’s very voice
—God’s Word
—Jesus Christ,
in common simple things.
As Luther strikingly points out, when we notice that which is necessary and nourishing for our life, we are receiving our prayed for daily bread!
And here’s the corollary to that
—just as the common stuff of this world contains the voice of God,
when we cease to struggle to save ourselves,
no longer assuming that we just need to do one more thing,
that we just need to be or do enough and despair will vanish,
we find a new bedrock for self-care work
—you are enough,
because you are undergirded by the God who ALREADY loves you!
Not because we’ve been given a task, but because we are loved.
Loved in our despair and loved on our journey.
Loved through community, word and water, bread and wine—common gifts.
And any theory of change, of transformation—of moving from despair to new life, that is worth its salt, has to go through that—love.
Anti-depressants and Love!
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Love!
Regular sleep and exercise and Love!
NA, AA, ACA, Al Anon and Love!
People don’t change because you to-do them to death,
people change because they have a stable loving place to begin their journey
—second breakfast, hydrated again, two naps.
Now that Fellowship of the Rings scene has one more moment that most people miss
—as Merry and Pippin groan over their singular breakfast,
Aragorn throws them each an apple.
A small thing, but a sign of understanding and care.
To close here is one final Lord of the Rings Quote, this time from the wizard Gandalf, “Some believes that it is only great power that can hold evil in check. But that is not what I have found. I've found it is the small things, everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keeps the darkness at bay.” Amen.
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