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Spiritual Physics

            The jokes, tricks, and gags with props got them rolling in the aisles with laughter, but this is what they had been waiting for the whole show.  The spotlight bathed the center of the stage in bright light.  As the oversized mallet was raised, the hands of the people in the first three rows grasped at the edges of clear plastic sheets and yanked them up over their heads – and just in time because Gallagher swung the mallet and SPLAT!  The sheer force and speed of the wide, flat-edged sledge hammer obliterated the watermelon.  Maybe obliterated is the wrong word because its molecules did not disappear.  All the juicy red pulp, seeds, and rind still existed only now in another form and another place.  That watermelon was no longer a melon.  It was mush, splattered on the plastic sheets and on the clothing of any poor soul without cover.

            The laws of physics come into play here in several ways.  Do you know what I mean by the laws of physics?  For example, “An object at rest tends to stay at rest,” or “An object in motion tends to stay in motion,” or “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.”  The laws of physics indicate that the blunt force applied to an object like a watermelon will not change the existence of that object’s molecules, just rearrange them.  The laws of physics can also predict the speed and direction in which the watermelon shards are headed in case anyone wanted to know in advance of a Gallagher show where to sit to avoid getting goosh all over.

            Did you know that there is such a thing as spiritual physics?  In the first lesson today from 1 Kings chapter seventeen, that’s exactly what we see; Spiritual Physics at work.

So that we go where we wouldn’t normally go

            Wicked, wretched, revolting!  There are probably several more adjectives to describe King Ahab, the king who ruled in northern Israel about eight hundred seventy years before Jesus was born.  Corruption cascaded from the palace to the people like the swine flu, and Ahab’s official state religion encouraged every one to behave like Tiger Woods.  Yet, like a rock in the middle of moral quicksand there stood Elijah. He was a rough looking character with a harsh sounding message, “Ahab, as the LORD lives … there will be neither rain nor dew in the next few years.”  Famine took its toll on everyone, including Elijah.  But there were bigger fish being fried – and he was the mackerel.  Queen Jezebel ordered the execution of God’s prophets.  What was Elijah to do?  Hunker down in a bunker?  Hide until arrested?

            No!  God’s spiritual physics came into play.  Persecution by the royals and the rabble did not mean the end for Elijah and his message.  Instead, like a smashed watermelon God shot Elijah off in another direction to go where he would not normally go, to Zarephath, beyond the northern border of Israel into the hotbed of Baal worship.  And it’s not as though God supplied Elijah with frequent flier points to stay at a five-star hotel.  God sent him to the home of a widow who had no connection with the true God.  Elijah could have come up with a host of excuses, “Why should I go there?  The famine is just as bad there as it in here.”  But Elijah made no excuses.  God sent him.  He went.  God’s spiritual physics propelled him to go where he would not normally go.

            Imagine what was going through Elijah’s mind when he shuffled toward this poor widow’s door.  “Now I get it, Lord!  Famine and persecution are no fun, but without them I would not be here.  Now I can see that you want this woman to hear of your promises, to learn about you, how you work, how you care, how you forgive, how you save.”  So, he called to the woman to bring him a little water and a piece of bread.  When she replied that her cupboards were bare, Elijah pressed on her heart the most wonderful message she could hear, “Don’t be afraid … this is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry.”  In other words, “The true God, the only God there is, is making you a promise, and you can count on it because he keeps every promise he makes.  This promise about flour and oil is actually just a little one.  The big one has to do with food for your soul and the water of everlasting life.  God is going to keep that promise, too.”  Then, I can just see Elijah turning his face to heaven and praying, “Dear Lord, thank you for the pressure and persecution which you allowed to come my way.  They were not fun and still aren’t, but your spiritual physics propelled me to go where I would not normally go.  Thank you for using me to tell this woman about you.”

            How did Elijah know about God’s spiritual physics, that the pressure and persecution in his life were really a blessing in disguise?  He knew that because he believed that one day God himself would go where he would not normally go.  He knew that the Lord was going to enter the devil’s cave, seek out that fire-breathing dragon, stick his heavenly sword through the devil’s heart, even as his own side would be pierced by the devil’s henchmen, to free sinners from the real pressure of guilt for having done God wrong and from the real persecution of Satan laughing up his sleeve, “Ha!  I’ve got you now!”  And Elijah knew what the Savior would find in the devil’s lair – precious jewels and treasure.  He would find you and find me.  What Elijah knew, came true.  Jesus brought us from darkness into his light.  Now even on the darkest days, even when tragedy strikes, we know that he’s not out to get us but using that pressure to propel us to places we wouldn’t normally go.  Why?  So we can let others know the thrill of being loved by God and invite them to join us.

            In our prayers tonight we can turn our face to God, “Dear Lord, forgive me for shaking my fist at you when things went sour.”  Jesus says, “Dear Christian, I paid for that.”  “Dear Lord, forgive me for lacking trust in you when I was ill, thinking that my life on this earth is more important than my life with you in heaven.”  Jesus says, “Dear Christian, I paid for that.”  “Dear Lord, forgive me for hunkering down in my comfort zone, too afraid to deal with others who don’t know about you or care about you.”  Jesus says, “Dear Christian, I paid for that.”  “Dear Lord, forgive me for not realizing that your spiritual physics have always been at work in my life, propelling me to places and into situations where I wouldn’t normally go, only to learn later that’s where I could tell one more person about you.”  Jesus says, “Dear Christian, I paid for that, too.”

So that we do what we wouldn’t normally do

            Elijah’s request must have made the widow feel like a watermelon getting hit by a sledge hammer – water and bread when she was down to her last.  She had every reason to say, “No!  I only havea handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug.  I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal of myself and my son, that we may eat it – and die.”  She had three strikes against her.  She was a widow with no recourse in those days except begging.  She had a young son whom you would think would get the last bite of bread before a stranger.  She was a non-Israelite, considered to be outside God’s family.  Elijah said, “First make a small cake of bread for me.”  That was not selfishness.  Through Elijah, God was giving her an opportunity to exercise her new-found trust in the Lord.  Sure enough!  The pressure of her situation did not lead her to pull back but to serve because she was relying on God’s promise cupped in the words, “Don’t be afraid.”  So, there are two miracles in this story.  The obvious one I’m sure you can see.  The flour and oil did not run out.  Do you see the other?  God’s spiritual physics went to work as his powerful promises crumbled her stony heathen heart and shaped in her a living faith ready for service.  Gladly and willingly she did what she would not normally do and served Elijah.

            Our default button is to take care of ourselves first.  That’s normal, and it’s good to a point – like airbags on a plane.  Put yours on first, then help the child next to you.  But once yours is on, don’t forget the kids!  It’s the same in our relationship with God.  The problem is that we don’t often think about the spiritual airbags of Jesus’ oxygen for the soul.  We tend to forget that they are as close as the overhead compartment of our Bibles.  But what does God do about that?  In his love he allows the flight we’re on in life to hit an air pocket, and for every action there’s an equal and opposite reaction.  The change in pressure in our life causes the airbags of his promises to drop in front of us.  We breathe in Jesus and exhale the foul odors of sin that lurk inside, and sure enough!  We’re ready to do what we normally wouldn’t do – serve and care for others.  Normally we want to tell our own story.  God’s spiritual physics lead us to listen, love, and tell his story.  Normally we want to keep our hard-earned money for ourselves.  God’s spiritual physics turn greed into generous giving.  Normally we want to pray about our own stuff.  Have you found yourself praying for others?  That’s God’s spiritual physics leading you to do what you normally wouldn’t do.

            A great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all … were scattered(Acts 8:1).  They traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, telling … the good news about the Lord Jesus.  The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord(Acts 11:19-21).  Job loss, cancer, earthquakes, investments in the tank, kids getting in trouble, the love boat of marriage running up on a reef, death in the family out of order – a child before his parents.  What’s God doing?  He’s using spiritual physics so that we go where we would not normally go and do what we would not normally do – because he loves us.    Amen.

Preached at Grace Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, WI (http://www.gracedowntown.org/) on January 31, 2010

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Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church | 1209 North Broadway Milwaukee, WI 53202 | (414) 271-3006

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