Silence & Healing - A Sermon for All Saints Sunday November 2 2025
Last week,
We heard the story of the building of Solomon’s Temple, and part of the reading taught us about Solomon’s wisdom.
We heard that God’s presence filled the Temple,
in dark cloud,
like God’s presence in the Exodus.
I’ve been pondering what it means
to worship our God who is found in darkness,
in thick cloud.
Solomon’s father, King David
through faithfulness
united the Northern and Southern kingdoms
of Israel and Judah.
Solomon was not always faithful.
Through Solomon’s unfaithfulness,
and the the unfaithfulness
of Rehoboam and Jeroboam,
the 12 tribes of Israel were divided.
If you read through the books of Kings,
you’ll see commentary on
the rulers of the kingdoms that followed,
and how bad or good they were,
not to mention the constant war.
Today’s story happens during the reign of king Ahab.
According to 1 Kings 16 -
“he did evil in the sight of the Lord
more than all who were before him.”
Ahab reigned from 873-852 BCE,
about 100 years after David’s death.
You may have heard of Ahab’s wife: Jezebel.
She was a Phoenician princess.
It was a political move to marry her;
solidifying Israel’s relationship
with the powerful Phoenicians.
Jezebel led Ahab
to worship the Phoenician god Baal,
but don’t think of Ahab as
being merely manipulated by Jezebel.
Ahab would have known
the power that the Phoenicians held,
and like any power-hungry ruler,
he wanted that kind of power for himself,
so it is no surprise that
he would forsake the God of Israel
for the god of the more powerful nation.
People do this all the time:
we change our allegiances all too easily
when we believe it will serve our own desires.
Enter the prophet Elijah.
Elijah is the salt of the earth:
and a comedian.
Like John the Baptist,
Elijah crafts his words well
to speak truth to power.
That’s the prophet’s job is
to keep the leaders in line;
to remind them of the covenant.
Prophets are to speak on God’s behalf.
They don’t tell the future,
they tell the truth.
Prophets do not preach for the comfort of the people;
they call people outside of their comfort
and back towards faithfulness to God
and God’s covenant.
The call to love the Lord your God
is not just about God,
but about your neighbours.
Faithfulness to God
has a direct impact on
how you treat those around you.
Elijah foretold the drought
that Israel found itself in:
a drought brought on by Ahab’s sins.
In the third year of the drought.
Jezebel had had the all the prophets of the Lord
killed off,
except for those who were hidden
by Ahab’s servant Obadiah.
King Ahab assembled the prophets of Baal and Elijah
at Mount Carmel.
450 prophets of Baal, and 1 prophet of YHWH.
They held a contest between their gods.
Each side prepared a bull for sacrifice,
but did not light the fire.
The prophets of Baal limped around the altar,
for they called on their god to bring fire
and none came.
Elijah prepared an altar, placed the bull,
and poured water on it.
12 jugs of water in all,
water during a drought, no less.
Elijah prayed,
and YHWH, God, the Spirit of Fire
came and the fire consumed everything.
The God of Israel won the contest.
Because of Elijah, because of God’s power,
all the people return to the Lord,
the God of Israel.
And Elijah then went full eye for an eye
and had all the prophets of Baal captured and killed.
Now Jezebel wants her revenge.
Invite reader forward
When enemies come for us,
we hide,
or we run,
or we fight.
When enemies come for us,
like we will hear in Elijah’s story,
God does not abandon us.
So let us turn to God’s Word
to hear what God is saying to us, today.
Narrative Lectionary Reading: 1 Kings 19:1-18
A reading from 1 Kings.
1 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 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.” 3 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.
4 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.” 5 Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, “Get up and eat.” 6 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. 7 The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him, and said, “Get up and eat, or the journey will be too much for you.” 8 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. 9 At that place he came to a cave and spent the night there.
Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 He answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts, for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.”
11 He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind, and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake, 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire, and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14 He answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts, for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.” 15 Then the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. 16 Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel, and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place. 17 Whoever escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall kill, and whoever escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall kill. 18 Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
Word of God, word of life.
Thanks be to God.
This is quite a journey Elijah takes on.
A mountain top experience on Mount Carmel, up in the north.
The God of Israel winning the contest.
In fear, he went to Beersheba
and all the way down to mount Horeb,
also known as mount Sinai
all the way in the south.
When threats come,
it’s fight or flight.
Elijah already fought.
He had the prophets of Baal captured and killed.
now in fear, he runs and hides.
He came to a solitary bloom tree,
it is enough, let me die.
I am no better than my ancestors.
I’m wondering what he meant by this.
Is he acknowledging that he gave into violence?
Does he feel like a failure in prophetic ministry?
Is he just trying to deprive Jezebel
of the chance for revenge?
Elijah sounds like someone having a mental health crisis.
He’s not eating,
he’s scared,
and death is the release he craves.
God came to him,
or at least an angel of the Lord
a messenger of Good News came to him,
woke him from sleep
and reminded him to eat.
God wasn’t finished with Elijah, yet.
Sometimes when we aren’t doing so well,
when enemies surround;
enemies from the outside and the inside,
and life gets too hard
we forget to care for ourselves.
Sometimes we just need a little poke
and a reminder to have lunch.
The angel says - have a bite to eat.
gain some strength.
It is a miracle,
food appears in the dessert,
and it sustains Elijah for forty days
as he continues to journey to Horeb.
Perhaps there is a call here for people of faith
to be the messengers of good news,
to be the angels
who bring bread to those who hunger,
to care for those who are on the run.
And there’s a reminder,
when you hear the voice of enemies,
listen more for the voice of God.
Elijah arrives at Horeb, at Mount Sinai
and finds refuge in a cave.
And God speaks to him -
Hey, Elijah,
what are you doing here?
He’s gone all the way from Mount Carmel north
to Mount Horeb south,
He may be running from Jezebel,
but maybe he’s running from God, too.
But you can’t hide from God too long,
especially at Mount Sinai,
This is where Moses met God in the burning bush.
God says to Elijah get up,
God is about to pass by.
But God was not found in the way Elijah expected.
This is the God who is found in darkness,
in thick cloud.
God was not in the wind.
God was not in the fire.
God was not in the earthquake.
God was in silence.
Sheer silence.
In the old translation - the still small voice.
And again, God says “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
Elijah answers in self indignation.
I’m the only one left,
I’ve been faithful.
They’re going to kill me.
God reframes the situation,
God assures Elijah of the plan.
Elijah isn’t the last one left,
there are others.
When enemies surround,
it can feel pretty lonely.
You are never the last one.
you are never alone.
Elijah wanted to die,
and God said no.
you’ve got to finish your work.
I’ve known enough people who want to die,
generally elderly people,
but also people afflicted with other illnesses.
Sometimes death doesn't come to us until our work is finished.
Elijah had to get to work,
he had to name a successor,
he had to anoint new kings.
If God hasn’t taken you, yet,
then God’s not done with you yet.
Perhaps Elijah ran because he did not want to contend with God,
so God contended with Elijah:
Go - don't feel sorry for yourself,
just Go.
You can only run from God so long.
If you don’t contend with God,
God will contend with you.
In the end, Elijah doesn’t die,
he is just taken to be with God.
We find our hope here,
we seek to be faithful,
and in the end we can trust God’s promise
to take us to Godself when we die.
God was the healer for Elijah.
In hunger,
he was fed.
In his fear,
he was protected.
In his despair,
he was called.
When enemies surround you,
come to the table of mercy.
Be fed by Manna from heaven,
be sustained with Christ’s body and blood.
When enemies surround you,
when fear overtakes you,
when those voices swarm,
listen more for God’s voice
because God is speaking.
May we all listen for God’s voice,
in darkness,
in thick cloud,
in silence.
