Jesus and Elijah

Jesus and Elijah (1 Kings 17: 17-24 and Luke 7 : 11-17)

You remember the great popularity of Merlin on TV not so long ago.  We seem to go through various stages of interest in that distant period of British history after the fall of the Roman Empire , the details of which are as insubstantial as the mists surrounding the Isle of Avalon.

“Hic jacet Arthurus, Rex quondam, Rexque futurus.”

This Latin phrase was supposedly carved upon Arthur's tomb at Glastonbury, according to Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur:

“Yet some men say in many parts of England that King Arthur is not dead, but had by the will of our Lord Jesus into another place... many men say that there is written upon his tomb this verse: Translated in full, the phrase is "Here lies Arthur, King Once, and King in the Future"--or as T.H. White so succinctly translates it, "The Once and Future King."  He makes that the title of a novel based on the old legends that K Arthur will one day return from the dead to fight for his country. It takes its title from that reputed inscription on the tomb of Arthur at Glastonbury Abbey.

And this morning I’m wearing a cross in the shape of Arthur’s grave that Angela and I gave to my late father years ago when he lived in Somerset. He wore it till the day he died.

Of course, the Glastonbury Cross has a different inscription, usually given as: "HIC IACET SEPULTUS INCLITUS REX ARTURIUS IN INSULA AVALONIA": Here Lies the Tomb of the Famous King Arthur on the Isle of Avalon.

As for the return of King Arthur, the messianic element of the Arthurian myth is not to be overlooked. While a common theme in medieval  literature, (Charlemagne is also said to sleep under a mountain) --the reason for its attachment to King Arthur is clear.  It is not of course uncommon for an oppressed people, in this case, the Britons, soon to be Welsh, to have a type of messianic figure in King Arthur, the last great British king, who waits on Avalon and will return in the time of greatest peril.

Other religions have their messiahs. Jesus will have a second coming, and this element of Christianity is most emphasized during times of crisis.

In similar way, the Jewish people expected that Elijah would return one day. Had he perhaps never died?  They remembered that he was taken at end of his life up to heaven in a chariot of fire and whirlwind. One of my favourite choruses from oratorios  is that of the musical rendering of that scene in Mendelssohn’s Elijah .

In OT book of Malachi, God says: “Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes”

There was a firm expectation among the Jews that the appearance of Elijah would come before the promise of the Messiah.

So when Jesus raised the widow’s son at Nain, it is hardly surprising that, alongside all the other signs and miracles being performed, they said : “a great prophet has arisen among us!”

No wonder when Jesus was transfigured on the Mountain that Peter and James and John saw with him Moses and Elijah, the Law Giver and the Life Bringer.

Now Elijah had once done something v similar to what J did on that day. There was a rich woman in the village of Shunem whose only son had died and she sent for Elijah.  After Elijah gives God a telling-off for causing evil, he breathes into the child and the child comes back to life. He is given back to the grieving mother who is filled with joy. Now if you look in the atlas of biblical sites you’ll see that Shunem is only a few miles from Nain. No wonder the people in those parts remembered the story. No wonder they thought that Elijah had indeed returned.

Jesus arrived at Nain in his home region of Galilee just as the funeral was taking place. Funerals are not uncommon. We all have to die sometime. Older people like my father look forward to that day when the promise of new life will be realised. Death is the price we pay for the privilege of life.

What makes it doubly tragic for the young man’s mother is that she is a widow. Her husband is dead  – now her only son is taken – nobody is left to support her. Perhaps she was driven onto the streets in search of money to support herself like many unfortunate women on the streets of Bradford and our cities today. The alternative was starvation. Jesus must have realised what an awful situation she was in a, like many of the instances in the gospels part. Luke, he shows compassion. Jesus  is not some super-human distant lofty figure. Jesus is a human being with fellow feelings for those who suffer

·        For the victims of aggressive actions by the Israeli government who seek to snuff out the hopes of the oppressed peoples of Gaza and Palestine who too are starving and mourning the loss of their children 

·        For the relatives of victims of violence in Bradford and West Cumbria, lives snuffed out by cruel and viscious actions of sad and twisted lives 

·        For the peoples of the Gulf of Mexico subjected to the waves of oil polluting their shores and killing life, from the greed of companies and carelessness of individuals seeking profit over a simple lifestyle

Jesus feels for the woman in our story. He knows how unbearably sad life can be for some people. He shares her feelings of grief and hopelessness. Because the character of Jesus reflects that of God our Heavenly Father, we know that our God is not a remote, distant uncaring God but one who gives us Jesus who “sympathises with us in our weakness”. When human beings go through the depths of sadness and the agonies of grief, it helps us to remember that heaven is weeping with us and the angels come through the ministers of God who comfort and support us.

Jesus,  like Elijah before him, raises the dead son to life. He is given back to his mother. A miracle which demonstrates that Jesus is at least as great as Elijah. He didn’t disappoint them. Prophets were supposed to perform miracles. And the instances retold make it clear that the boys came to life. Only later to die again in their earthly bodies.

These stories prefigure the resurrection of J who foretold his ultimate triumph over life and death. “I am the Resurrection and the Life” says the Lord. Jesus died but was raised to anew quality of life. The Sprit of God through him breathed new life into those frightened apostles. He ascended into heaven like Elijah where he lives and reigns with the Father for ever.

We shall all die sometime. Perhaps that something that those around us fear. We hope and pray that as Christian believers our faith that this is not the end will see us through. God weeps with those who weep in times of sadness and bereavement. God has compassion on us, he strengthens us,  he breathes new life into us. We are never alone in our pilgrimage through life even to the end.

When we are bereaved, our dead are with God and so they are close to us, as part of that communion of saints (which you celebrated two weeks ago in our series). They are close to us every time we pray.

Jesus is the once and future king. He conquered death once for all 2,000 years ago. He reigns over our lives now. He’ll see us safely through the gateway into eternity as he did with my father with whom I was privileged to share those final precious moments in this life. Not the end but the beginning of something yet more glorious which he and countless others before him have been looking forward to – that promise of eternal life, life everlasting, the hope of heaven. Praise be to our great God. Amen