Get up and Eat

Dear Friends,

As many of you know, the focus of our Gospel readings is on The Bread of Life, and how it feeds, sustains and guides us in our life’s journey.  This week, we are provided a classic story from the Hebrew Bible about the prophet Elijah, and how he is given bread for his own journey.

You may know the story.  Elijah has just decimated hundreds of King Ahab’s prophets to prove to everyone present that God, not the foreign god Baal, is the true God. This makes Ahab’s Queen Jezebel angry, and Elijah flees for his life.  We find him after many hours of running, as he finally collapses under a solitary broom tree, prays for death, and falls asleep.  

However, it appears that God has different plans for Elijah and sends an angel who awakens him and says, “Get up and eat.”  When Elijah looks around, he sees that the angel has prepared “a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water,” for him to eat and drink. This simple meal is the encouragement that Elijah needs to complete a journey that is just beginning. And a reminder that God isn’t done with Elijah, yet.

It seems to me that Elijah under his solitary broom tree is precisely the story we all need right now during this time of ongoing Pandemic.  Like Elijah, we have pushed through this far, we have done more than we ever thought we could, we have faced adversaries inside and out, and we have woken up to realize that we are not nearly done yet.  Perhaps, like Elijah, we need to recognize the angels who encourage us to get up and eat the simple meals laid out for us, and the reminder that God is not done with us, either

I cannot speak for you, but I can say for myself that I have met these “get up and eat” angels countless times over this past year, in the form of encouraging ones who make the phone call, or drop the note, or show up with soup or cookies. More than ever, I understand that those small nudges to “get up and eat” were everything I needed at the moment, as they were for Elijah.  I’m also aware that Elijah might not have even been able to see the meal right in front of him had the angel not tapped on his shoulder, urging him to wakefulness, and inviting him to receive these basic, essential gifts.

For those of you who have been these angels, you may have no idea what a difference your simple gestures can make for those of us who are trying to finish out the work God has called us to do.  Your presence reminds us that God is not done yet and we are not alone, especially in those times we think we may just be “done.” 

And for those of you who have received the blessings of such angels, I hope you will join me in thanking God for these gentle reminders to eat or drink, to rest a while, to take a walk. And to recognize that in our “only humanness” it is okay to depend on God’s good, sometimes physical, gifts to be strengthened for the journey wherever it may lead. 

I don’t know where any of us would be without our “get up and eat” angels.  And if you haven’t seen one in a while, be on the lookout.  I bet there is one getting ready to tap you on the shoulder.

In Christ,

Amelie+