Passing the Mantle

Dr. D. William McIvor

July 1, 2007

Presbyterian Church in Sudbury

Introduction to the Morning Lesson

In the morning lesson we will read how Elijah, the greatest of all the Old Testament prophets, was taken up into heaven by a whirlwind. The question, was who would succeed him? The answer is Elisha and what we see in this text is the passing of the mantle. The mantle of Elijah’s prophetic authority falls on Elisha. Will Elisha measure up to the task?

Pay particular attention to a cryptic phrase uttered by Elisha in honor of his departing master. As Elijah ascends into the heavens, Elisha cries out, “Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” That means that Elijah, as the true prophet of God, was more important to Israel than its chariots, more important than its horsemen, more important than military might and political valor. Israel’s surest defense and greatest power was in Elijah. Would it also be in Elisha? Let’s read it in 2 Kings 2.

2 Kings 2.1-18 (NRSV)

Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?” And he said, “Yes, I know; keep silent.”

[The next two paragraphs repeat this conversation as Elijah and Elisha first come to Jericho and then approach the Jordan River. In order to cross the Jordan, Elijah strikes the water with his mantle. We pick it up at verse 8.]

When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.” Elisha said, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.” He responded, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.” As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha kept watching and crying out, “Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

He picked up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. He took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, saying, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” When he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over.

[Elisha struck the water with the mantle as a way of testing if he really did now have Elijah’s power.[

When the company of prophets who were at Jericho saw him at a distance, they declared, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” They came to meet him and bowed to the ground before him. They said to him, “See now, we have fifty strong men among your servants; please let them go and seek your master; it may be that the spirit of the Lord has caught him up and thrown him down on some mountain or into some valley.” He responded, “No, do not send them.” But when they urged him until he was ashamed, he said, “Send them.” So they sent fifty men who searched for three days but did not find him. When they came back to him (he had remained at Jericho), he said to them, “Did I not say to you, Do not go?”

[They looked for Elijah but he was really gone. Was Elisha now up to the task?]

Introduction

As we think about passing the mantle today, I want to mention two people who were important in my life.

When the pastor of my home church retired after 25 years of ministry with that particular congregation, I wrote a letter of appreciation to him. I was very conscious then, as I have been many times since, of his influence on my life.

He taught the confirmation class when I was confirmed at the age of 12. He guided me through some of the difficult moments and rough spots of my teenaged years. For awhile in high school I even dated his daughter. He never told me what he thought of that and perhaps that’s just as well. He influenced where I went to college and seminary. He married Merrie and me and he preached at my ordination. Since my first church was very near my home church, he continued to influence me throughout the early years of my ministry. Even after I moved elsewhere in the country, I valued the times we were able to see each other. There is no question that much of what I understand about being a Christian I learned from him and certainly he instilled in me a sense of what it means to be a pastor.

When he retired and even more so when he passed away some years later, I was aware of the passage, of the passing of one era into another. The giants who have gone before will one day leave us and we must walk on alone.

About the same time that my pastor retired, I learned of another passage: the death of my seminary preaching professor. I think it is fair to say that much of whatever little I know about preaching was taught to me by him. Certainly others had their influence but the central vision of the art of preaching, the conviction of both the power of preaching and the humility of preaching, and most of all, the passion of preaching — these are the things that he passed on to me. I don’t even know how because we were not especially close personally. Still I was saddened to learn of his death because it signaled that another giant in my life was gone.

Now of course, I was neither my pastor’s nor my professor’s successor. Their mantles of authority and power did not descend on me. Nonetheless, such passages as these in my life and others in yours make us wonder if we are worthy of the tasks placed into our hands.

So I want to ask two questions today. First, are we worthy of the mantle that we have received from others? Second, what mantle will we pass on to the Elishas who will follow after us?

ONE: Are we worthy of the mantle?

Are we worthy of the Elijahs who have gone ahead of us and the vision they have instilled in our hearts and minds? We have all walked among giants. Oh, they may not be famous or powerful or known to anyone but ourselves. Perhaps most of the time even we are unconscious of their deep influence on us. Nonetheless, we have been Elisha to their Elijah. They have given a vision of living life deeply and in a worthy fashion. From time to time we must think about whether or not we are living up to the best of that which has been given to us.

What does it mean to live up to the best that has been given to us? Think of the whole matter of service, the peculiar notion that life depends more on what we give than what we get. Which of your Elijahs taught you to give and are you living up to it? I’m convinced that one of the main things that so fascinates about Jesus Christ is that more than any other, he is truly the man for others. His life was not lived at all for himself. It was lived solely for others and that attracts us to him.

How do we, like Jesus, live more for others? It means more than just coming to church or being religious. It means how we live in a Christlike way in the world, in all that we do.

I read somewhere about a Methodist church — this was back in the 1970s I think — in Bismarck, the capital of North Dakota remodeled its sanctuary. The architects designed the new chancel to be made of glass and hung a large cross right in the middle. So people in the congregation saw the cross superimposed on the capitol building in the background … the cross superimposed on the world. That’s a vision of service, of living for others: bringing the cross of Jesus Christ to bear on all the world. Are we living up to that kind of legacy?

Or think of the matter of passion. What is it that we must do in life and are we worthy of it? I think back again to my preaching professor. If his teaching had a theme it was this: “Find out what the Bible is saying and as simply as possible say it so the people will hear it and not you. People don’t need you but they do need God’s word. So be the messenger but stay out of the way.”

I’m sure I haven’t always lived up to that legacy. But my teacher’s passion for preaching did become my passion. It’s what I must do.

Who instilled in you the passion to do things right, a passion that sticks with you even when you do things wrong? What is it that you must do in life and is it worthy of your living and are you worthy of it?

Or take the matter of joy. Who is your Elijah of joy? I think of another good friend who many years ago began a Christian retreat and study center. I remember one day walking with him down the path of the farm and I was chattering away about nothing important. He stopped just to behold and enjoy the way two flowers had grown beside the path. I would have missed that, me with my ceaseless talking and planning and doing and goals and activity. But I needed my friend to stop me and to point out the flowers along the way; that at the center of life is a joy and beauty. If we do not see it and love it and live for it, then all our goals and doings don’t amount to a pile of beans. Are we living up to those who have taught us the joy of life?

Oh, it’s hard to live up to such things as these. It’s hard to follow the Elijahs who have gone before. Elisha himself saw that. He said to his master, “give me a double share of your spirit.” “That’s hard,” said Elijah. “But if you see me ascend, that is, if you see with eyes tuned in to what God is doing, then your request will be granted.” We cannot on our own live up to the best that is given us. We must be tuned in to the way God is present in the world and then we will be blessed.

TWO: What mantle will we pass?

A second question today is what mantle will we pass on? Elisha said of his departing master, “Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” But who would say that of Elisha and who will say it of us? We are not only Elishas to other Elijahs, but we too become Elijahs to the Elishas who follow us. What mantle will we pass on? Will we pass on the mantle of faith and hope? How will joy and service, passion for and love of God and humankind be a part of tomorrow’s world if we do not pass the mantle effectively?

I’m not ready for it to be the political season but it is. So think of it this way. A child born today will be eligible to become President of the United States at age 35 and could run in the election of 2044. Between now and then we will have, at a minimum, at least five different presidents, probably more than that. All of these future presidents are alive today. Who is teaching them? Who is instilling in them a sense of morality and justice? A sense of wisdom and fairness? A capacity for leadership and vision and, most importantly, a faith in the providence and mercy of God? What legacy would we offer to those — alive today — who will lead and govern us in the next 35 years?

It’s not just the future presidents who are alive today. It’s the future teachers and preachers, the managers and corporate executives, the mothers and fathers, the doctors and drivers, the clerks and secretaries, the mayors and shopkeepers, and the butchers, bakers, and candlestick makers. What are we giving to them? Are we giving them a world of designer kitsch and video games, of raging war and grotesque celebrity worship, of unresolved hunger, and mindless relativism? Are we teaching those who will be future leaders that America is closed to immigrants, which is an attitude if applied in the past that would have kept out most of our families? Or can we find it in ourselves to pass on faith, hope, love and the things of God which make life worth living? We will pass on one kind of mantle or another to those who follow us. What kind will it be?

Conclusion

Think of the best that has come to you. Who are your Elijahs? Thank God for them. And resolve today to honor them by living worthily now to pass on to those who will follow a faith and a service, a passion and a joy that shall endure.

Many years after he had received the prophetic mantle, Elisha himself fell sick. Just before he died, King Joash of Israel said to him, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen.” (2 Kings 13.14) Elisha had lived up to what he had received. May it be so with us.

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