Coming into Focus

Photo by Devin Avery on Unsplash

This is the sermon that was offered up during Morning Prayer on August 9, 2020. This service was held via the zoom platform for St John's Episcopal Church in Dubuque, Iowa. The reason that services weren't held in person was due to the COVID-19 pandemic that prevented the congregation from gathering together. The scripture readings were 1 Kings 19:9-18, Psalm 85:8-13, Romans 10:5-15, and Matthew 14:22-33.

Dear God, may we not be distracted when we pray, may we be able to focus on you and in the silence, hear your voice. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 Awkward.  Uncomfortable.  Embarrassing.  We all feel these emotions that we see in today's readings.

Like the time in the elevator when someone's stomach makes noises and we pretend we don't hear.

At the dinner where two family members with different political opinions stray from the script and start speaking of topics sure to lead to uncomfortable glances. People shift their eyes to the mashed potatoes and make small talk trying to change the subject.

And it’s that moment when you have put your foot in your mouth during a conversation and you are desperately trying to find a way out of the dilemma. But you can’t think. Silence reigns and your cheeks grow hot with embarrassment.  Definitely one of the most awkward things of all.

Awkward moments are moments when we have lost focus. We don’t know what to do.

Focus. Be still. Listen for the voice of God.

Today, Elijah struggles with prayer and focus at a mountain called Horeb,  the dry place, in the wilderness, in the desert.  His starting prayer is a laundry list of what he wants to say to make his case. He is asking God to protect him and keep him safe because of what he has done in the past for God. The focus is on Elijah and his personal value to God.

Do you ever find yourself in a dry place, out somewhere in the wilderness, where you feel that your worth is dependent on your past actions?  Here, we see Elijah taking great pains to remind God that he is not one of Them, the people who follow false gods.

God doesn't answer right away, which is Infuriating.  I mean, Elijah wouldn't have asked God if he didn't feel it was justified.  However, God doesn't not operate on our time table.  He leaves Elijah to focus.

Wind and earthquakes and fire come and turmoil reigns, both outside the cave and in Elijah's mind. Swirling emotions distract Elijah from understanding God's purpose for him.

God will not be rushed.

But Elijah Is  a prophet on the run, having denounced the worshippers of Baal who now want to kill him. 

Focus. Be still. Listen for the voice of God.

But what is going on outside the cave?  The odds of trouble grow even greater, as the opening to the cave could easily be blocked or the path up the mountain to the cave could be blocked by a rockslide and would trap Elijah on the mountain top. 

But God is not in a hurry, 

Elijah can wait.

And then comes the moment of sheer silence.  That's the moment where Elijah knows that it's time to hear the answer, whatever it is, and accept it.

It's a profoundly human moment. 

That moment when an anticipation of an answer and the dread of not liking what will be said push against one another. The moment when we are humble enough and ready to hear what God has been saying becomes the moment we gain focus.

Jesus understood that need for sheer silence and models prayer for us. He regularly withdrew to pray, often leaving his disciples behind to wait, or sleep, or in this case, to spend a night out on the water in a boat. Jesus knew the value of humbleness, of the sheer silence that welcomed in the Presence of God. 

Prayer strengthens us.  Elijah focusing on prayer, leads to that Sheer silence that welcomed in God's voice.  Only then was Elijah ready to receive an answer.  And God tells him to go back into danger.  It’s not about him.  It’s about the faithful and ordinary people of Israel.

Focus. Be still. Listen for the voice of God.

That’s what Jesus models for us today. He sends his apostles on their way and goes to intentionally look for that time with his Father.  Prayer time was important to Jesus, and going up on a steep hill by himself certainly gave that focus and quiet missing in his public ministry.  So often when Jesus is praying, his disciples are getting on with the business of living, whether it be sleeping, talking, or even spending the night on a boat.  That contrast is repeated so many times in the Bible that it seems an intentional choice for us.  The outside world will always be there to distract us.

When we pray, when we strive to hear God’s voice, we are wanting an answer and we want it now. But God will not be rushed.

In the meantime, the disciples have their winds and waves battering their boat.  They aren’t focused on God, they’re not focused on the silence that lets in the Holy Voice of God.  When Jesus walks towards them on the sea, their focus is on their exhaustion and fear, not the idea of God coming to meet them where they are at.  Peter trusts Jesus and, keeping eyes on his Lord, does what Jesus asks.

Well Peter keeps his eyes on Jesus for a moment. Until the very real factors of this world frighten Peter.  And he loses focus.  How awkward is it to be in the very presence of God and not be able to be sustained by that?

Peter and Elijah are human, and they provide several lessons for us today.  

Focus on God, not yourself.  It is only then that the sheer silence will allow you to hear what God is saying. You may not like the answer, because God is not a vending machine, allowing us to select a cure for a disease or a promise that everything will be ok.  

Listen.  It’s easy to be distracted by swirling emotional storms and outside disasters. Awkwardly grasping for answers.  God is still there. Relationship with God is guaranteed, personal safety is not.

Focus. 

Be still. 

Listen for the voice of God.

Amen.