Faith On Fire

He checks all the boxes for a superhero. Superpowers? He turned a jar of flour into a perpetual bread machine, brought fire down from heaven, and resurrected a kid. Nemesis? King Ahab. Costume? He wore animal skin garments with the hair still on the outside and a distinctive leather belt. Sidekick/mentee? Elisha. Sweet ride? Iron Man was so proud of his suit that could take him into space. Elisha’s chariot of fire took him to heaven, or infinity and beyond. And like any superhero, he has his moments of reluctance and realization of the personal cost his position requires of him.

The older generation shared epic stories of figures like Elijah to light up the imagination and cultivate the value of standing up for what is right, especially when facing overwhelming opposition, when it seemed like evil was about to prevail. Sure some of the details may have been elaborated as the story passed through the oral tradition. That’s what makes them fun. The value of hero stories isn’t found in the realism of their scenes, but in the messages they convey about working for good, no matter what stands against you.

Cause “Good Trouble” to the Villains

Enter King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. I Kings 16 describes him as the most corrupt and evil king ever, and she was worse.

She promoted the worship of the idol Baal, a fertility god believed to bring prosperity, good crops, and rain without all of the morality and good behavior in Judaism. And the Israelites loved Baal. Show me the money! They gave lip service to Yahweh, but Baal’s promise of individual wealth without looking out for anyone else won their hearts. Yahweh tried to show the ineptness of Baal by sending a drought.

Today’s episode begins with Elijah confronting Ahab. When Elijah walks through the door, Ahab knows Elijah is going to throw a wrench into his plans. “When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, ‘Is it you, you troubler of Israel?’” 

This is a sermon series about how Elijah shows us how to navigate times like these. Civil Rights leader and congressman, John Lewis, talked about how sometimes you have to cause “good trouble” when evil and injustice flourish—lesson one. Cause good trouble. Resist. Annoy the powers that be. Don’t give in, but stand up.

Today’s False Prophets

Elijah says, You are the trouble. You forsake the commandments and follow Baal. After calling him out, he arranges for the contest where he challenges 450 Baal prophets. One against 450.

I suppose that’s how I’m feeling these days. It feels like the false prophets have taken over, leading folks to the idols of greed, materialism, and cruelty. Folks look at what has happened to the Christian message and what they see pastors doing, as Pastor Joe Smith points out, is:

• It’s praying for revival while voting to strip healthcare from the poor.
• It’s claiming to be pro-life while gutting food programs for working families.
• It’s shouting law and order at Black protesters while pardoning white insurrectionists.
• It’s posting the Ten Commandments in classrooms while refusing to feed the children who sit beneath them.
• It’s megachurches with six-figure light shows, ignoring the unhoused outside their doors.
• It’s calling Jesus “Lord” on Sunday while betraying everything he taught by Monday. https://www.tiktok.com/@therealjoesmith/video/7527042588747025677

Yes, it feels like a lonely battle. But like Elijah, God is calling us to model a more faithful way. The good news is we are not alone. But our job is to be faithful to the gospel of love, kindness, looking out for the needy, and telling the truth.

Learning to Walk Right

In the contest, Elijah calls on his nation to stop limping between worshiping God and pledging allegiance to idols. It’s also a call to us. We don’t worship idols of stone. Our idols are personal portfolios, power, popularity, and looking out for #1.

You can spot an idol by what it demands. Idols demand sacrifice—but not of ourselves. Of others. They tell us to climb upward by stepping over those who suffer. They teach us to preserve our way of life, even if it means someone else’s gets dismantled.

What actually works? What leads to life? What bears fruit?

Is it wealth? Fame? Influence?

Or is it mercy? Justice? Purpose?

We live in an era where he people who get celebrated are the ones who game the system, live in megamansions, divide and demean people, appear on social media, and shout at people rather than listening to them. We could stop limping and walk right when we focus on the helpers, the truth tellers, the peacemakers instead. In the end, the idols we gravitate toward are as inept as Baal.

Is God Different in the Old Testament?

In the story, Elijah taunts the false prophets. He was Deadpool before Deadpool. When they dance and flail around making all kinds of racket, Elijah says Shout louder, I don’t think your god can hear you, maybe he’s indisposed, that is, going to the bathroom. After they exhaust themselves, Elijah ups the stakes, immerses the ox, and calls down fire from heaven. And they all live happily ever after. Psych! Elijah has the false prophets slaughtered.

When I first heard this story as a kid, I was like. “Cool!” Bad guys get unalived in the movies. But this is the Bible. I asked my teacher what about that business of loving your enemies. “Why is God violent in the Old Testament but peaceful in the New Testament?” She sent me to talk to Rev. Miller, who told me that perhaps people develop their understanding of God over time. They moved from adolescent fantasies of wiping out their enemies into a more mature understanding.

Three bad takeaways from this story

A more mature reading of this story is needed because people are forever drawing conclusions that are undercut by the larger story of Elijah.

First, when Elijah calls down fire from heaven, some folks gravitate toward thinking miracles are something we can conjure on demand. Later in the story (that we will explore in a couple of weeks), Elijah discovers that God isn’t in the spectacles of earthquake, wind, and fire but in the still small voice. It’s about listening to God rather than commanding God to serve us.

Second, they want to eliminate anything they dislike. In researching what other preachers do with this story, I found people saying things like, “Purge the prophets. Cleanse the land. Burn away the evil.” And what they mean is:

 Ban the books. Erase the history. Crush the opposition. Demonize the different.

All of it in God’s name.

They ignore last week’s story about Elijah visiting the widow in Zarephath, who worships a different God. The story of the contest on Mt. Carmel is about encouraging people who worship Yahweh to commit fully, rather than seeking security and well-being elsewhere.

Third, they use it to justify religious violence. But my reading of the story is to say that religious violence does not work. The purge failed. The spectacle was fleeting. The prophets of Baal rise again. It seems to be a story that says violence was tried, but it does not achieve anything good. It only leads to more violence. In retaliation, Jezebel orders a hit on Elijah.

Because the real battle isn’t between Elijah and the prophets of Baal, it’s the one inside us. The test that still matters isn’t about what principles we want to stand for. It’s about what kind of faith can change a heart.

I need a hero.

Give me the still small voice over the stage lights and smoke machines.
Give me the faith that feeds the hungry over the faith that builds empires.
Give me the God who whispers over the god who shouts.

Because the real miracle isn’t fire from the sky, it’s a changed heart.

This week, when I see Superman, I’ll be reminded of truth, justice, and the American Way as it should be, not as it is right now. It will be an afternoon. But what I’m really excited to see is all of you using your superpowers of listening, kindness, compassion, and living for something beyond yourself, and standing up for what is right, no matter how overwhelming the opposition may seem. Those are the kind of stories I’m interested in sharing with my grandson. Amen.

n-Universe Textual Notes
 – WorkingPreacher: Elijah’s challenge of “limping between two opinions,” the trench strategy, and the irony of Baal’s priests’ frenzy Working Preacher from Luther Seminary+11Working Preacher from Luther Seminary+11Working Preacher from Luther Seminary+11

Still Small Voice
 – WorkingPreacher captures the contrast: God not in fire/wind/quake, but in the silence Thinking Out Loud+15Working Preacher from Luther Seminary+15Working Preacher from Luther Seminary+15