Question to consider this week: What is your capacity to be the kind of neighbor that Jesus asks you to be?
Being the kind of neighbor that Jesus asks you to be starts with being intentional about finding God’s voice in the midst of the chaos of life. Life has been turned upside down by the pandemic; routines have been disturbed, relationships have been strained, you’re unable to stand side-by-side with your church community to worship God, and yet, God is still present. God’s voice may have been pretty easy for you to identify when you were able to be present in the church building, but now that worshiping from home has become the norm, have you been open to the ways you might hear from God now that are different from before?
“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; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. 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?’”
(1 Kings 19:11-13, NRSV)
In 1 Kings 19, Elijah’s norm had also shifted. His ministry as a prophet had landed him on the bad side of Queen Jezebel and he was fleeing for his life. While hiding in a cave, Elijah was expectantly waiting to hear the voice of God boom into his eardrums. Perhaps he would hear God through fire like Moses and the burning bush, or through thunder and earthquake like is mentioned in several Psalms - he waited. A great wind did blow, the earth did shake, a fire did blaze, but God’s voice was absent. Only in sheer silence did Elijah hear the voice of God. Imagine how this moment changed the way Elijah sought to listen to the voice of God for the rest of his life.
COVID19 has changed many things that might not be sitting well with you, but COVID19 has also presented us as a community with the opportunity to be creative about how we engage with God and our neighbors. As we enter into this new sermon series on neighborliness, may you be surprised by the ways God is speaking into your life without you even realizing it, and may you grow in love toward God so that your love towards others might increase as well.
Prayer:
Gracious God, it is your love that sustains me in these times. Open my ears to hear your voice more clearly; open my eyes to see the ways you're moving in my life; prepare my heart for the growth required to love my neighbors well. Amen.
Written By: Jenny Spidell