Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God the Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen!
I’m not sure if you have realized this by now yet or not, but, have you ever realized that pretty much all of life is one big gigantic struggle?! Like everything you do is met by opposition. Push back. Resistance. Even simple little things that should go nice and easy are most of the time met with some kind of problem, strife, struggle and or suffering. You go out to grab some groceries quick and behold, you have a flat tire. You go to mow the lawn and pull start handle tears off in your hand. You go to put your makeup on and you stab yourself in the eye by accident and end up in the ER for 7 hours. This kind of stuff. It’s like when we lived in Kitimat, BC. Northwest part of the Province along the Douglas channel. You’d watch the salmon runs in wide eyed amazement. These huge fish swim zillions of miles from the ocean, back upstream, struggling against the current, just to spawn and then die. It’s an ultra-depressing microcosm of all of life on planet earth! No matter the context, there is always the struggle.
‘Struggle’ is where we are at today with our Scripture readings too. More specifically, we are talking about spiritual struggle. This is an added dimension of problems and strife for us as God’s people. In the Gospel lesson the Disciples are out trying to spread God’s Kingdom and they can’t cast out this demon that has been afflicting a poor boy from childhood. The boy’s dad comes to Jesus and says “I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able …But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” (MK 9:18, 22). Talk about a struggle. Demonic affliction for this poor kid and his family for years on end. Then the disciples struggle against it but can’t prevail. But Jesus has strong words of encouragement for the father. “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes” (MK 9:23). So the point with all of this is quite clear. The struggle is real. But Jesus is bigger than the struggles. He helped this boy and his family, He will help us too. The One, True God will help those who trust and believe.
It was exactly the same lesson from our Old Testament reading today too. Elijah and the prophets of Baal. Who was Baal? It was the false god of the Canaanites from way back in the day when the Israelites were going in to conquer the land of Canaan. The name Baal means “lord” and was looked on as a fertility god helping people have children and ensuring good crops. When the Israelites arrived at Canaan, they found a land of farmers. They had been shepherds in the wilderness but now they encounter this amazingly fertile land with crops galore. The Canaanites said this was all made possible by their god Baal. This is where the people of Israel started to question. “Could the God who led us out of Egypt provide abundant crops like this too, or do we have to worship Baal instead!?” And here the intense struggle for the hearts and minds of God’s people commenced.
This ‘cycle of struggle’ continued to happen, over and over again. Like a carousel ride at the fair, it went around and around and around. Israel was sucked in to worshiping the false god of fertility. Then the One, True God would lay judgment upon them for their sin. Then they would repent and God would forgive them, and then they would do the whole cycle over again, generation after generation! That’s where our reading is at today from 1 Kings. Baal worship and the fertility cults had become officially sanctioned by the government. King Ahab and Jezebel went so far as to build a temple to Baal in Samaria! All the while the prophets of Yahweh were screaming for repentance at the top of their lungs! Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Elijah their message was always the same. Repent! Do it now and do it often!
The seduction of the fertility cult of Baal was enticing though. The people would offer sacrifices to Baal like sheep or bulls. Some scholars believe that pigs were also sacrificed which might explain God’s banning the Israelites from eating pork. At times of crisis or urgent need, the followers of Baal would also sacrifice their children, most notably their firstborn, in an attempt to gain prosperity. They figured that if they did all these things, then Baal would be obligated to bless them. It’s just good ol’ manipulation of the gods. It’s as old as the hills. People still do this kind of thing all the time. I remember kids in school saying “God, if you help me pass this exam that I didn’t study for, I promise to help the little old lady down the street this winter by shovelling her sidewalk!” This kind of idea. But the stakes were much higher. Deuteronomy 12:31 calls it out very strongly: “31 You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the Lord hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods.”
So this is the back story and context of our reading today. “And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, then follow him” (1Ki 18:21). He was calling them on their spiritual flip-floppin’. You can’t worship both of these deities. You can’t vote for more than one political party at a time. Make your choice. So he proposes a challenge, a veritable ‘spiritual shoot out at the OK Corral’! “Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it. 24 And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken”““ (23-24).
What happens next is just the best! “26 And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made.” Crickets! No response. No answer. Nothing. These people are barking up the wrong tree! And then, Elijah proves that he’s a true snarky Lutheran! “27 And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” 28 And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. 29 And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.” It sure shows how demented the worshipers of Baal were. They went to all these terrible extremes to try and get a response from their false god and all they got in return is suffering and emptiness… And Elijah’s snarky Lutheran mockery!
So now it’s Elijah’s turn. He makes ready his bull for the sacrifice. 12 stones construct the altar, one for each of the 12 tribes of Israel. And around this altar he digs a honkin’ big moat. He tells the people to fill up 4 great big jars full of water and pour the water over the wood and the sacrifice on the altar not once, not twice but thrice! 3 out pourings of water. It’s actually a foreshadowing of Holy Baptism that our Lord Jesus would command, “In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (MT 28:19). Because notice what happens next. Elijah says “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. 37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” 38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.” Wow! The fire from heaven was kindled by the water and the word of the prophet! Through the water comes the fire of the Holy Spirit, burning up impurity and illuminating the hearts of the faithful with the warmth and light from heaven! Talk about an amazing display of God’s power to create faith in the hearts of His people!
This same thing happens every time someone is baptized at the font. Spiritually, sin is consumed and burned away by the fire of the Holy Spirit. Baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection, the promise of new life and salvation bursts forth as a promise from the One, True God who answers His people when they pray. This is an extremely vivid reminder and encouragement for us in our struggles. The same God that answered Elijah is the same God who answered the father of the demon possessed boy. And, He is the same God who answers you, Who baptizes you with water and with fire. Who feeds you with living bread from the altar. Who surrounds you with the entire armour of God, making you stand strong against the schemes of Satan. St. Paul tells us this in our Ephesians reading today: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (6:12).
The struggle of life is real. The spiritual struggle is even greater. But Christ our Lord is bigger than our struggles. You have His promise in His word and in your baptism which makes you stand strong. And in the strength of God, you have peace. Our Messiah promises us exactly this. “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Thanks be to our God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor 15:57). Amen!