1 Kings 19:1-8 (NRSV)
Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow." Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah; he left his servant there.
But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: "It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors." Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, "Get up and eat." He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. The angel of the LORD came a second time, touched him, and said, "Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you." He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.
But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: "It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors." Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, "Get up and eat." He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. The angel of the LORD came a second time, touched him, and said, "Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you." He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.
from:http://scienceandfaithmatters.wordpress.com/2013/12/07/trees-of-israel-broom-tree/
Scripture has a long tradition of 40 day journeys in the wilderness. Moses, Elijah, Jesus. Elijah's journey here evokes strong compassion. He's tired. He's done what God has asked of him and it has sent Jezebel after him with a vengeance. It's enough to make him want to lie down and die.
Like Jesus, Elijah gets a visitor during his 40 days. Like Satan did with Jesus, the Angel here offers Elijah sustenance. Only the tone is very different, isn't it?
Is our time in Lent one of being in a Wilderness? In some ways, yes, I think so. I certainly used to think so, but in perhaps a different way. Lent had the earmarks for me of Jesus' temptation story in the wilderness. It seemed an endless time where everything I wanted was a temptation that I couldn't or shouldn't give in to. A wilderness of misery waiting for Easter to come.
But now? Now Elijah's story hits marks in ways that have transformed the time of Lent for me. Elijah is broken, and I admit there are times when thinking of my own brokenness becomes exhausting. Life can be exhausting.
Lent for me now is more like this broom tree - a patch of green in a wilderness that offers shelter and hope and renewal. The spiritual practices and disciplines of Lent no longer seem for ways to avoid temptation or even doorways into temptation. Instead they feel like balm for healing.
The wilderness metaphor for Lent still exists for me, but rather than the period of Lent being the wilderness, now for me I see it as the broom tree and as balm from the wilderness of my own sin, my own brokenness, my own sorrows. Lent is a time of healing and hope and rest. It is a means to connect to God in fresh and new ways.
Earlier this week, I heard someone, perhaps half joking, say to someone else "Happy Lent!" Historically, that would be almost a ludicrous thing to say. But this time I heard it and I realized that Lent is a time of happiness for me. It has become my favorite season on the church calendar. A time of healing and hope and also a time of anticipation for Easter day.
Happy Lent!
But now? Now Elijah's story hits marks in ways that have transformed the time of Lent for me. Elijah is broken, and I admit there are times when thinking of my own brokenness becomes exhausting. Life can be exhausting.
Lent for me now is more like this broom tree - a patch of green in a wilderness that offers shelter and hope and renewal. The spiritual practices and disciplines of Lent no longer seem for ways to avoid temptation or even doorways into temptation. Instead they feel like balm for healing.
The wilderness metaphor for Lent still exists for me, but rather than the period of Lent being the wilderness, now for me I see it as the broom tree and as balm from the wilderness of my own sin, my own brokenness, my own sorrows. Lent is a time of healing and hope and rest. It is a means to connect to God in fresh and new ways.
Earlier this week, I heard someone, perhaps half joking, say to someone else "Happy Lent!" Historically, that would be almost a ludicrous thing to say. But this time I heard it and I realized that Lent is a time of happiness for me. It has become my favorite season on the church calendar. A time of healing and hope and also a time of anticipation for Easter day.
Happy Lent!
God of new beginnings, walk with me this Lent providing me the sustenance I need and the time and place to spend with you for cleansing and healing. Amen.
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