Friday, September 12, 2014

Friday, September 12, 2014

I Kings 18: 20 – 40

As he stood on the top of Mount Carmel, the prophet Ezekiel must have had fire in his eyes as he looked out at the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the vast throng of Israelites who were before him. The prophet had engaged in a confrontation and a challenge to deal with the unfaithful life of the nation of Israel.

Imagine the moment. Empowered with the Spirit of God, Elijah gets right to the point, and says, “How long will you sit on the fence? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.”

The response of the gathering is quite fascinating. “Not a word did they answer him.”

The rest of the passage which you have already read, presents the way in which Elijah’s confrontation with the prophets of Baal works out. (If you have not read the passage… Spoiler Alert ! Elijah wins! God wins! )

What I find to be truly amazing about this powerful confrontation is the way in which it is being replayed over and over again in our own day and age. Prophetic voices, empowered by the Holy Spirit, time and time again speak to the community of faith and the community at large and ask the question, “How long will you sit on the fence?”

For many people, sitting on the fence is a place of comfort. Not being associated with one camp or the other, no matter what the issue of the day might be, means that they are not causing offence to anyone. Silence may, sometimes be interpreted as consent, but that is not always an interpretation which stands the test of time.

“How long will you sit on the fence?”

Pick an issue, any topic of debate or controversy and the opportunity to state one’s own conviction becomes clear. Timidly and gingerly individuals begin to squirm and wiggle their way off the fence, until their feet stand on the ground and begin to make their case.

In some parts of our global village, individuals and communities who are known to declare their faith in Jesus Christ face extreme consequences because of their faithfulness. Acts of violence to property and to people of faith have become so much of a normative experience of society that stories which might once have been given front page headline space are now regulated to the weekly religion page….if they make it there at all.

What about you ? Are you a person who sits on the fence of indecision or of inaction when it comes to matters of faith ? Are people around you able to discern that it is because you are who you are as a follower of Jesus Christ that you speak and act as you do?

How long will you sit on the fence?

The question hangs in the air all around us. It is a question which creates an opportunity for each one of us to seize the moment to declare that the faith that we claim, is a faith which guides and directs us each and every day of our lives.

Fence sitting is not an option.

- The Rev'd Canon Christopher Pratt