Sermon Series, Readings from the Prophets — Lectionary 18 (B) — 2 Kings 4:42–44
In the weeks ahead, we’re going to hear from the lesser-known prophets of the Bible. As they speak to their time, and hope for Israel’s future, we’ll journey with them and look for hope for our future as well. If you would like to know more about these prophets, you’re welcome to join our weekly Bible study at 4:00 on Wednesdays. We have a good group of people gathering on the computer, and all are welcome to participate—or just to sit in and listen!
Today, we have the prophet Elisha. His name is easy to confuse with his teacher, Elijah. Elijah was the greatest prophet, a miracle worker who battled against the priests of the foreign god Ba’al, and one of the few people who never died, but was taken into heaven in a chariot with horses of flame. He passes his mantle, the sign of prophetic authority, to Elisha at the end of his earthly life.
But while Elijah is more famous, Elisha is arguably more powerful. He performs more miracles, and more interesting ones at that. He makes a heavy iron axe head float to the top of a river, removes poison from a pot of stew, and brings back a boy from the dead. And in today’s reading, he feeds a hundred people with twenty little loaves of barley bread and a little extra grain.
Miracle stories are exciting. The idea that some people have been the power to do impossible things has long provided entertainment and wonder. And hope. Who among us hasn’t heard fairy tales of magic or might, and secretly hoped they were real? Our Bible’s stories aren’t magic, but the feel is similar enough.
But what purpose do miracle stories serve? Elisha’s mission isn’t just to do wonders. His miracles try to bring Israel’s attention to the relationship between God and his people. Elisha’s great desire is to stop Israel from worshiping the false gods of their neighbors, and remind them that it’s their real God who has power.
A man comes from the town of Ba’al-Shalishah, bringing an offering to Elisha. There are a few strange things about this. First, we have the name of the town. Many places were named after the gods they worshiped. This town bears the name of Ba’al, the Cana’anite storm god. This place has turned so far away from God that they’ve renamed their town after Ba’al.
This man brings gifts for God’s true servant. The very first part of the harvest has been baked into loaves, and is now given to the true God of Israel. But usually, the gift is supposed to be given to a priest, not a prophet. Perhaps there IS no priest left nearby to receive the gift; the prophet is the best he can do.
Elisha receives the gift, and uses it to feed the whole crowd around him. There are a hundred people there, too many for this amount of food. Elisha’s own servant, Gehazi, is horrified. “How can I set this before a hundred people?” he asks. “Anyone can see this isn’t enough. How do you think they’ll treat me if I give them this?”
Gehazi has been traveling with Elisha and has seen everything he’s already done. All these other miracles, feeding people and supplying their needs, even raising the dead. How can he be so foolish?
[This portion of the sermon has been redacted for posting on the Internet.]
This is the truth that the prophets, and especially Jesus, invite us into. The kingdom of God is much bigger than we can possibly imagine. God doesn’t feed just ten people with twenty little loaves, or even a hundred. God feeds a crowd of thousands with barely anything at all. God feeds hundreds of millions across the generations of the Church with one single loaf made out of his own self. There is no end to what our God can do, and to what we can do through our incredible God.
After all, God made you. The most incredible, imaginative, wondrous miracle, a work of art more complex and beautiful than anything from Da Vinci or Van Gogh. And God loves you so deeply that he refuses to let even death have victory over his artistry. If God can do this, what could possibly be beyond his capabilities?
As we consider the future of our church and our world, will we be able to find God’s kingdom in our imaginations? What will be our question? Will we be like Gahazi, “What is this little bit before so many people?” Or will we imagine bigger, and proclaim with Elisha, “They will eat, and have some left”?