Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“He picked up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan.”
NL Daily Devotion for Tuesday, November 9, 2021
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
You learn something new every day. I knew the term “picking up the mantle” or “taking up the mantle” of another person meant continuing that person’s role after they were gone. But I honestly had no idea it came from the story of Elijah and Elisha, and originally was about picking up a literal article of clothing. I think that’s cool. (And also proof (a) of how ingrained the Bible is in the idioms of the English language and (b) of how my own Biblical literacy is incomplete. Still cool, though.)
Taking up the mantle from someone doesn’t mean doing things the exact same way, of course. You can continue the work someone else started and take it in a new direction but still remain true to the vision and spirit of your predecessor. Sometimes I think we get intimidated by those we follow into service, whether in our jobs, our congregations or community organizations, or our personal lives. There are expectations put upon us by those around us—I’m sure Elisha was under a lot of pressure to be as amazing as Elijah had been, but no one sets a place for Elisha at the Passover seder. Just Elijah. We can’t pressure ourselves into becoming the people whose “mantles” we take up. God has a unique and beautiful plan for each of us, and our work is valid and worthwhile even if we don’t go down in history. We and our work are enough.
Do I feel like I have to live up to the performance of my predecessors? Or do I feel free to serve in my own way?
![1 Kings 17:1-16 [17-24], God’s Care for the Widow](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56b39b61ab48de92d991a40a/bf37035e-33d5-439f-a0d6-a68b02d0f1bc/24-11-03.jpg)
