stealin' my heart

'stead of stealing my crown

A sermon on 1 Kings 18:17-39:

Each week someone stands up here to proclaim the word of the Lord. And, each week, everyone leans forward in anticipation of what’s about to be said.

…For about 15 seconds.

…A little googling, though, suggests the average attention span is even shorter. Eight seconds, or so!

But, a little more googling, suggests that statistic isn’t altogether trustworthy!

…Sorry, I got distracted. 

Regardless of how long you measure the average attention span, though, the fact is the same; attention is as coveted as it is illusive.

Isn’t that what everyone is competing for in today’s scripture?

The prophets of Baal compete for Baal’s attention. The prophet Elijah competes for the people’s attention. And even the Lord gets in on the game, competing for the people’s attention!

And it’s no different with us. Is it?

We, too, are concerned with getting the right attention from the right people. I mean, here I am, worrying about whether I still have your attention!

…Perhaps a movie illustration will help…

Who here has seen the movie “Ladybird?”

It’s a high-school coming-of-age film. And, the theme is, love is attention. 

This comes out early in the film when the principal of the high-school, a nun, tells the main character, Christine, but she insists upon being called Ladybird; that she must really love her hometown, Sacramento. Ladybird, though, wants nothing more than to leave! 

Confused, Ladybird asks why the nun why she would think that, and the nun points to the attention Lady gave to her descriptions of Sacramento in her college essays.

“I guess I pay attention,” Ladybird replies. 

“Don’t you think that’s the same thing,” the nun asks, “love and attention?”

And for the rest of the movie you get to watch Ladybird try and navigate the daily web of attention that is high-school. 

Ladybird evades her mom’s attention. She competes for boy’s attention. She disregards her friend’s attention, in pursuit of popularity. And on, and on it goes.

What so great is how accurately life is portrayed. All the effort that goes into gaining attention. How so often the attention we most pursue, is not the attention we most need. 

And that’s something we can all relate to, isn’t it?

Because our tango with attention doesn’t end in high-school. Sure, it’s amped up in high-school, but it doesn’t end there.

We still compete for attention from our bosses, our peers and coworkers. We vie for attention of our friends and family, too! 

…Unless, of course, we’re avoiding it!

But either way, like Ladybird, our lives are a daily struggle with, and for, attention.

And the problem is, we assume, as it is with the world, so it must be with God… 

Which is why, although we may not call our gods Baal, we still worship them like the prophets of Baal.

…Today’s passage is often called the battle at Mount Carmel. But this so-called battle isn’t between Elijah and the prophets of Baal. It’s not even between the Lord and Baal; because Baal isn’t even real! 

No, the real battle is the Lord’s. 

But, it’s not the Lord’s battle against anything or anyone. It’s the Lord’s battling for! The Lord’s battling for US, and our attention!

The Lord is so eager to wage this battle, in fact, Elijah is instructed to wage it on the prophets of Baal home turf! And to let them go first, too!

And as all of us who have had to compete for attention know, it’s a fickle game. Given all the odds in their favor, the prophets of Baal are still anxious. 

…And it shows. 

Their prayers are incoherent. Their motions are confused. And despite ranting and raving this way for hours, it avails them nothing! 

Eventually, they do what all of us do in situations like this, they ramp-up the attention-getting techniques. Even resorting to self-harm.

But, for all that, all there is, is “no voice, no answer, and no response.”

And isn’t that the way it always goes? 

For a time, our actions seem to elicit a response. But, when the going gets rough, when we’re down and out. In other words, when we need it most, those false gods have no power to give us or our needs any attention. 

We have many names for these false gods, don’t we? There’s the classic Baal. But, there’s also achievement. There’s popularity and beauty. There’s success and influence. And on and on the list could go. But we all have our own pet idol we’re most tempted to serve.

For me, it’s almost always effort. If I give this much effort, I’ll get this much reward. 

And most of the time that works, too. 

But, when I’m hard up. When I have nothing left, my cries to that false god go UN-answered.

…And I bet it’s the same for you.

Like the prophets of Baal, we go limping around, doing everything we can to try and get those false god’s attention. And in the end, it turns out to be nothing more than a form of self-harm! The damage we do to ourselves and those around us trying to get the attention of whatever god we’re tempted to serve.

…Contrast that with Elijah. 

Whereas the worship of false gods is a nonstop undertaking, full of anxious activity; Elijah comes across as cool and collected. 

First, he repairs the altar, making sure the details are just right. Twelve stones for the twelve tribes. Then, he digs the trench. Next, he gets the offering ready. And, once everything is finally ready, Elijah gives a calm and composed prayer. 

…No sooner does he finish praying, than the air goes electric with the sound of a thousand cicadas. And then, BAM! And in another instant, it’s all dust. And when the smoke clears, all the people are falling on their faces like the fire that fell from heaven! 

The pyrotechnics are really just a cool party trick, though. Because the point of this whole battle is that the Lord has been paying attention, and paying attention all along!

Our false gods, we give them ideals we worry about measuring up to, but they don’t have eyes to see us! We give them opinions we worry about being approved by, but they don’t have mouths to speak to us! 

And as it turns out, what we really need is a God who can! 

And in Jesus Christ that’s exactly what we have!

What’s more, in Jesus God has seen us when we couldn’t do a rotten thing to get God’s attention!

Still more, in Jesus God has seen us when we were trying to hide from God’s attention!

The Lord isn’t done sending messengers into our midst with a word that falls like fire from the heavens!

Listen: The Word of the Lord, comes today! The Word of the Lord comes to you! Hear the Word of the Lord: The Lord indeed is God! And not just any God, either! But God for YOU! 

Even now, the Lord is busy sending the Holy Spirit into these words to make them be for you the power of Jesus Christ! Jesus who raises the dead! Jesus who forgives sins. Jesus who turns the people back!

That pull you feel in these words, that inability you have not to hear these words and hope, that is the power of the Holy Spirit at work in you, right now! 

In your baptism God first took notice of you, and since that moment, God hasn’t looked back for a second!

…In Jesus Christ, your battle for attention has come to an end. In Jesus Christ God has determined to look upon you with mercy. And mercy alone! And Mercy always!

As another prophet prophesies concerning the the Lord, The Lord cannot forget you! For you have been inscribed on the wounded hands of The Word of the Lord made flesh! On the One to whom you have been baptized! On the One to whom you have been sealed with his life-saving cross forever! 

Thus, says The Lord.