Sermon by Fr Peter Wolton, 11 February 2018, United Benefice of Holland Park, Sunday before Lent

Sermon by Fr Peter Wolton, 11 February 2018, United Benefice of Holland Park, Sunday before Lent

Tonight I would like us to reflect on the importance of the Old Testament and of finishing well.

Last week we celebrated Candlemas and Simeon and Anna meeting the baby Jesus in the Temple and he utters the immortal words

“Now, Lord, you let your servant go in peace,”

The importance of finishing at peace and finishing well. – of being a good finisher, both at the end of our lives - if that is possible - and in all things we do during our lives.

The England rugby coach, Eddie Jones believes in strong finishing. He calls his substitutes, his “finishers” and certainly in yesterday’s match against Wales, they did just that.

Contrast all this with the chilling words “we have unfinished business.”

It could be argued that the Kingdom of Heaven is built on earth by finishing well.

Tonight, let us to reflect on two things.

·       the importance of finishing well ( because I think that Elijah, by trying to give Elisha the slip – did not do so well on this front)

·       But first, thinking about Elijah, and the references made to him in Jesus’s time, let us remind ourselves of the importance of keeping our Old Testament reading up to date.

At the Transfiguration Jesus converses with Elijah. Peter suggests making three tabernacles one of which is to be dedicated to Elijah. Why?

Elijah is mentioned 30 times in the New Testament. Why?

Why in reply to Jesus‘s question: “who do people say I am?” the response was often Elijah.

Or that John the Baptist was the re-incarnated Elijah.

If we know our Old Testament, or old Israel as it has been called, we understand the New Testament so much better.

And the relationship between God in Israel and God in Christ

The response to the revelation of Christ in the community of the New Israel – the Christian church is discerned so much better.

So to return to the relationship between Elijah and Christ.

Elijah is a pivotal figure in the story of old Israel. He comes into prominence during the reign of King Ahab –that’s around 850 BC.

So, in the time of Jesus, Elijah was as far back in time for those listening to Jesus as the last of the Norman kings or first Plantagenet kings are for us. But his reputation was very much alive –more so than our Norman or Plantagenet rulers

At the time of Elijah, traditional Jewish religion was under severe threat from the presence of King Ahab’s scheming wife Jezebel who brought her fertility gods and associated prophets with her. The Israelite altars had been torn down and people were worshipping fertility gods, led by the prophets of Baal.

It is Elijah who takes a stand, this man of the desert, dressed similarly to John the Baptist. He assembles the people and prophets on Mt. Carmel.

You probably remember the story. I don’t have time to go into detail There is a contest between Elijah and the prophets of Baal to see who can light a sacrificial pyre on which sits a freshly slaughtered bull.

Elijah shows that the God of Israel is the true God and the prophets of Baal are false prophets.

This is just one of his actions. It is Elijah who stands up to Ahab and Jezebel. It is Elijah who as the agent of God, signifies the end of the three and half year drought induced by God’s anger with Ahab and Jezebel. It is Elijah who is fed in the desert during the drought by ravens, it is Elijah who restores to life to the son of the widow of Zarephath.

All this is wonderfully described in the books of Kings. It is in this book the Jezebel encourages her husband to seize Naboth’s vineyard by murder and subterfuge.

It is only when we know the narrative of the book of Kings and the other books of old Israel that the New Testament becomes so much more alive –to give one example, all Jesus’s parables about vineyards would have been understood by his Jewish audience in the context of the story of Naboth.

Let’s move onto Elijah’s finishing and how it contrasts with that of our Lord, both in Gethsemane, (Jesus in prayer) and then submitting to the cross.

Elijah is not prepared to let go or submit.

He is not prepared to be part of God’s plan. He prefers to be the plan itself.

It is interesting that he tries to deny the will of God thrice, by escaping to Bethel, then to Jericho, and then to the Jordan. He is fallible, rather like thrice denying Peter who will build Christ’s church and who at the Transfiguration, suggests building a tabernacle to Elijah.

To conclude:

During Lent could I ask you to consider doing two things:

First, about finishing well. During Lent and the run up to Good Friday we reflect on our own mortality. With the passing of Elijah and the example of Simeon, and my own experience of taking funerals and service of thanksgiving, can I ask you to consider what sort of funeral arrangements you want, your favourite hymns and readings and music. It is incredibly helpful to those left behind to have this knowledge.

And if you have not already done so, and I expect many of you will have, and if you are in a position to do so, do please consider legacies to charities and the church.

And secondly, do consider reading more of the Old Testament. Maybe start with the Book of Kings. Give the Old Testament more prominence in your personal worship.

Let me finish with a short prayer – Lord, we thank you for the gift of your holy prophets, for their courage to make your saving power known to future generations. We thank you for the gift of your Son, who finished life perfectly and we pray that both in life and in death, we too may be good finishers in all we do.

Fr. Peter Wolton

Sunday before Lent 2018