Martyrs for the Cause
Ecclesia Semper Reformanda Est • Sermon • Submitted
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Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, including a detailed account of how he killed all the prophets with the sword. Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah with this warning, “May the gods judge me severely if by this time tomorrow I do not take your life as you did theirs!”
Elijah was afraid, so he got up and fled for his life to Beer Sheba in Judah. He left his servant there, while he went a day’s journey into the desert. He went and sat down under a shrub and asked the Lord to take his life: “I’ve had enough! Now, O Lord, take my life. After all, I’m no better than my ancestors.”He stretched out and fell asleep under the shrub. All of a sudden an angelic messenger touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” He looked and right there by his head was a cake baking on hot coals and a jug of water. He ate and drank and then slept some more.The Lord’s angelic messenger came back again, touched him, and said, “Get up and eat, for otherwise you won’t be able to make the journey.”So he got up and ate and drank. That meal gave him the strength to travel forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.
He went into a cave there and spent the night. All of a sudden the Lord spoke to him, “Why are you here, Elijah?” He answered, “I have been absolutely loyal to the Lord, the sovereign God, even though the Israelites have abandoned the agreement they made with you, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left and now they want to take my life.”The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord. Look, the Lord is ready to pass by.”
A very powerful wind went before the Lord, digging into the mountain and causing landslides, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the windstorm there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire, there was a soft whisper.When Elijah heard it, he covered his face with his robe and went out and stood at the entrance to the cave. All of a sudden a voice asked him, “Why are you here, Elijah?” He answered, “I have been absolutely loyal to the Lord, the sovereign God, even though the Israelites have abandoned the agreement they made with you, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left and now they want to take my life.”The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came and then head for the Desert of Damascus. Go and anoint Hazael king over Syria. You must anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to take your place as prophet. Jehu will kill anyone who escapes Hazael’s sword, and Elisha will kill anyone who escapes Jehu’s sword. I still have left in Israel seven thousand followers who have not bowed their knees to Baal or kissed the images of him.”
The prophet Elijah was something of a firebrand. Ministering in a time when the king of Israel, as well as most of the people, had stopped worshiping the God of Israel, Elijah called them to return to right worship. The king and queen use every threat in their arsenal to keep the people worshiping Ba’al and Ashera, up to and including threatening Elijah with death, yet he persists. And he doesn’t do this simply through preaching and cajoling and begging the people to come back. No, he goes on the offensive.
[Tell story of Elijah vs. 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah, ending with all 850 dead at Elijah’s hand]
After this, he has to run for his life, but God meets him in the mountains and shows that God is far more powerful than the king and queen of Israel. And while the king and queen are out to get Elijah for his message of reform, God is on his side.
The very powerful did not like Elijah’s message of Reform, but the Most Powerful loved it.
The very powerful did not like Elijah’s message of Reform, but the Most Powerful loved it.
Ulrich Zwingli also lived in a time when those in power had turned away from worshiping God in favor of a different deity. Not Ba’al or Asherah this time, but money. Corrupt political and religious leaders set out to take every last penny they could get their hands on, and they too did it by threats. But their threats didn’t stop at death. No, they went beyond the grave, promising people that if they did not pay, they would suffer eternally in Hell, as would their children, who would not be baptized.
Zwingli challenged these leaders on all counts. He questioned whether the forgiveness they were trying to sell could even have the effect they promised. He questioned whether the Church had the ability to send unbaptized children to burn in eternal Hellfire. More than that, he questioned whether eternal Hellfire was even a thing that existed at all.
And like Elijah, Zwingli was willing to take up arms for his cause. When the leaders of neighboring states tried to silence him, he continued to speak. When they declared war, he met them in battle and was ultimately martyred for his faith.
But like Elijah, his teaching lived on past him. Those who had followed him during his life continued to spread it after he died, and it took root, sparking a revival of faith and devotion whose legacy lasts to this very day.
The very powerful did not like Zwingli’s reform, but the most powerful loved it.
The very powerful did not like Zwingli’s reform, but the most powerful loved it.
On this day, when we celebrate the lives of the saints and martyrs of the church, we are reminded of all the voices of reformation which dared address the very powerful. The voices of those over the years who have spoken against injustice in all its forms. Against abuse of power. Against the iniquity of wealth inequality. Against slavery. Against racism. Against Sexism. Against Homophobia. We remember the early leaders of each of these reform movements, many of whom paid with their very lives. And we remember that we are called to carry on their legacy. That we, too, must be voices of reform. The very powerful will not like what we have to say. But the Most Powerful one will love it.