Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Elijah then came near to all the people, and said, “How long will you go limping with two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” The people did not answer him a word.”
NL Daily Devotion for Sunday, November 5, 2023
by Madison Johnston, Clergy Stuff
Main Idea: The realness of God lies in God’s people.
Have you ever heard someone joke, “God must be real!” when something convenient happens? Maybe you snag the perfect parking spot in a busy lot on a day when you’re already running late. Maybe your underdog of a football team finally wins a game they definitely shouldn’t have won. Maybe the test you only read one chapter for ends up asking you questions that are only from that one chapter. Maybe the plans that you were secretly dreading get cancelled last-minute, or maybe your ticket number gets called at a raffle. When it feels like the heavens have your back—when it feels like you’re somehow currying divine favor, the realness of God suddenly seems like a logical explanation for it all, if only for a moment.
This is a story about the realness of God. A story about people testing the realness God. This is a story about people asking God to show proof of power, proof of presence and, ultimately, proof of legitimacy. By Verse 39, God has done just that, raining down on a sacrificial altar in a pillar of fire and inspiring newfound reverence in God’s realness.
Why, then, do we get so much detail leading up to the fire? Why do we hear about the repair of the altar, the stacking of the twelve stones, the collection of the water and the recitation of the prayers? Why couldn’t God just one-up Baal by bursting into flame right after Baal’s prophets called on him and nothing happened?
The answer is simple: because, in this story, the realness of God has nothing to do with the fact that God showed up. The realness of God is about the fact that God showed up in community.
God isn’t interested in performing. God isn’t playing by the rules or the terms set out in this test, because God doesn’t care about comparison. God cares about God’s people. God demonstrates power, presence and legitimacy as a response to their invitation into a space they had prepared. God shows up because together, in faith, God’s people asked God to show up. In other words, God’s realness—God’s power, manifested on the sacrificial altar—transcends a surface-level idea of righteousness, goodness or authority and speaks, instead, to the righteousness, goodness and authority wrapped up in togetherness.
