The Bread of Life Helps Us Do the Impossible

1 Kings 19:3-8

3 was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” 5 Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” 6 He looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. 7 The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” 8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.

Meditation Points:

When we look at ourselves and our own resources, we quickly see it’s ______to be and to do what God requires of us.

We all have felt that we can’t keep doing all the things ______, even though we’re still not doing everything we ______?

______is here to help us do the impossible.

God’s nourishment comes to us as food and drink for our ______as well as our ______.

After being absent from the silver screen for many years, Superman returned. Anybody here see the movie: Superman Returns? I have. He’s still wearing those blue tights. He’s still faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings with a single bound. By day he’s a regular guy, mild mannered reporter Clark Kent. But underneath those nerdy glasses we know he can do things we could never do. Because Superman can do the impossible.

Most days you and I don’t feel like Superman, though, do we? More often we feel like the Elijah felt in the story for today. He looked at his situation, and at what God was asking him to do, and he concluded, “It’s impossible! I can’t stand up to Queen and all her forces. I can’tdoitonmyown!Igiveup!” But as you heard, the Lord took Elijah by the hand and helped him up, gave him new strength and hope, and sent him on his way again. Eventually God showed Elijah that he could do what God has called him to do, if he only trusted God to equip him and give him strength.

ILCW B 2008-2009 Page 1 Guess what? God’s call to serve him hasn’t changed since Elijah’s time. God still calls women and men, girls and boys to do a job that, humanly speaking, is impossible: to be holy, as the Lord your God am holy. Be perfect. Be imitators of God. Be salt and light in this dark, decaying world. Be His witnesses. When we look at ourselves and our own resources, we quickly see it’s impossible to be and to do what God requires of us. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard someone say, “Well, I can’t be perfect!” But wait a minute, says God. All you need to do is rely on me. I’ll give you everything you need to do what I’ve asked you to do. As we look again at the story of the prophet Elijah, let’s reflect on the impossible job God gives each oneof usto do.And let’s see how in Jesus, the Bread of Life:

God Helps us Do the Impossible

The story recorded in our Old Testament lesson for today occurred shortly after one of Elijah’s most famous successes, the great contest on top of Mt. Carmel with the of . You recall the story, right? Elijah, living in under the reign of wicked King , was one of the last true prophets of the living God left in that nation. The King had led to people into the worship of Baal, a false god of the Canaanites whose worship was appealing to the Israelites because it involved the worshipers in sexual fertility rites. The idea was, you persuaded the gods to like you and to bless you by going to the temple and having sex with one of the temple prostitutes. As you can imagine that kind of so-called “worship” proved an irresistible attraction to many of Elijah’s Israelite contemporaries. As a witness against Baal worship, God announced through Elijah that no rain would fall in Israel until the King and the people acknowledged their sin and repented.

After three years of drought, with no rain in sight, Elijah again confronted the problem of Baal worship. You remember how Elijah challenged 450 prophets of Baal to a contest. Each side would side would slaughter and prepare a sacrificial bull in plain sight of all the people. Whichever god would accept the sacrifice by sending fire from heaven to consume it would be seen to be the real God.

You know how it turned out. The prophets of Baal prayed all day long, begging their god to send fire. They screamed and cried and cut themselves with knives. But Baal never answered. At the time of the evening sacrifice, Elijah built his altar, placed the meat on it, had it doused with water three times, and then prayed to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And Elijah’s God answered that prayer immediately, sending fire that burned up the bull and the wood and the stone altar and the water that soaked it all. Then Elijah led the people to confess their sin of , and he ordered the 450 prophets of Baal to be executed.

It was a day of great victory for the LORD, and for his prophet Elijah. He had trusted God’s promises and seen God do the impossible. But Queen Jezebel, Ahab’s wife, was furious at Elijah for ridiculing her idols and killing her prophets. In fact, she was so angry that she put out a contract on Elijah’s life. She promised he would be dead in the next 24 hours. When Elijah heard that, he lost his nerve. He

ILCW B 2008-2009 Page 2 panicked. Feeling that he was the only one left in Israel who worshiped the true God, Elijah got scared. So he ran. He ran for his life, as far away from Jezebel’s hit squad as he could get. That’s where we find him in our First Lesson for today, sitting out in the desert of Beersheba, exhausted from his trip, and praying to God to die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors. Why bother? I can’t do it anymore. I can’t run any longer. I can’t live up to what you expect me to be, Lord. It’s impossible. I’d be better off dead.”

How many of you can relate to that? I can. How many of you ever just feel that you can’t keep doing all the things you’ve been doing, even though you’re still not doing everything you should do? How many of you ever just feel tired, and you’d like to drop out of the game? How many of you ever feel depressed, looking at your life? You see all the things you need to do and you just can’t do it all. For me, there is always I more call that needs to be made; One more once-over a sermon or Class. There’s always one more straying sheep to search for, one more wounded lamb to mend. One more…always one more.

Well, you’re in good company. Elijah the prophet felt that way. Any of us might feel that way, if all we looked at was God’s holy Law. The Law just tells us to do and do and do, and to do it better all the time. Do it perfectly. The Law makes us feel inadequate and exhausted and guilty. It makes the Christian life seem look impossible.

But have no fear God is here to help us do the impossible. That’s right. We can’tdo itonourown. But God helps us do the impossible. He helped Elijah. We’re told that, after Elijah had collapsed in exhaustion under the broom tree, an angel of God woke him. .Get up and eat, the angel said. There miraculously provided in the desert were a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water, which Elijah hungrily ate and drank, before falling back into much-needed sleep. After he had gotten his rest, the angel again woke him, and urged him to eat and drink, so that he could continue his journey. So he got up, we’re told, and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. That’s where God would speak to him more, and reveal the next step of his plan for Elijah.

God helped Elijah do what the prophet had thought impossible. He kept the evil forces of Jezebel at bay. He helped Elijah finish his journey to meet with God at Mt. Sinai. The help God provided didn’t seem spectacular: much-needed sleep, food and drink for the body, a chance to regroup and recharge his spiritual batteries for the continued journey. But God put fuel in his tank, and enabled him to do what he was asked. God helped him do the impossible.

As we look at that impossible to-do list we always have hanging over our heads, here’s the lesson for each of us: God will help us do what to us looks impossible, if we simply rely on his strength and power. You see, God has already done the impossible for us. He sent his eternal Son to appear in human form and enter our history. He led his Son to live a perfectly righteous life as a man, and then to be willing to credit that spotless life to our account. Further, Jesus was willing to take our place

ILCW B 2008-2009 Page 3 before God’s bar of justice. He was condemned and killed as our substitute, so that we can have a second chance at God’s love, simply by believing that it’s true.

He gives us the faith to be perfect by claiming Jesus’ perfection as our own. He gives us the strength to live up to that perfection. How? Through seemingly insignificant little things. A little bit of bread and a little sip of wine, with a few simple words in our language. Seemingly insignificant. Yet God uses them to give us His Holy Spirit so we can do the impossible.

We can admit our selfishness and sin, knowing that Jesus has removed it as far as the east is from the west. We can trust that Jesus has forgiven our sins, and will deliver us from every evil, because the Holy Spirit daily strengthens us through Word and Meal. We can do what St. Paul encourages us to do in our Second Lesson for today, get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Then, we can be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

So, is there something that looks impossible in your life? Have you had a financial setback that’s put you in a hole so deep you don’t know how you’re going to get out of it? Has death taken or is threatening to take a loved one? Have you had a report from your doctor that’s given you devastating news you don’t believe you can cope with? Teenagers, do your parents fail to understand what you are really going through, and you don’t think you can ever make it clear to them? Is your marriage falling apart before your very eyes while it seems there is nothing more you can do to stop it, and you don’t know how you’ll ever survive?

We may not have an “S” emblazoned on our chest. We may not be able to leap tall buildings with a single bound. But we do have a “C” on our hearts – Christian. We are able to do the impossible because of the God we have. When you are faced with an impossible task, don’t despair. With God’s help we can do the impossible. Come, find rest for your souls in Jesus. Drink the waters of salvation; eat the Bread of Life. And, as Elijah did, find new strength for your journey. Amen.

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