Elijah, Elisha & Mentors…

Have you ever wanted to just have one more moment with a mentor or someone from your past whom you looked up to and respected? I remember returning back to my two churches in Fergus Falls, Minnesota the Monday after I was ordained (27 September 1987). I returned just in time to go to the hospital for one last visit with a parishioner before she died. The Friday after my ordination, I found myself conducting my first funeral at Lawrence Presbyterian Church. Shortly after Hazel died, I called my long-time pastor and mentor, Bob Morgan, for some advice. You see, they don’t teach the nuts and bolts and the experiential stuff surrounding death and funerals in seminary, and I was frankly scared! Thanks to Bob’s advice and guidance, I made it through my first funeral. There have been other mentors throughout my years of ministry that I have called on for support, ideas, encouragement, and even a good laugh when I’ve needed it! I value these mentors and do miss many of them who are no longer with us. They helped make me who I am as a Padre, Pastor and Christ Follower.

The above picture of a ruin from the countryside around Doolin, Ireland, made me think of another mentoring relationship. For some reason, when I looked at the picture today, I thought of Merlin and King Arthur. And while the thought was of the animated classic, “Sword in the Stone”, it also morphed into the movie Camelot. As a young boy, Wart (as Arthur was called) was simply a servant. He didn’t have a whole lot of potential according to his foster father, Sir Ector. It was Merlin who saw the untapped potential of the young lad and so Merlin took Arthur under his wing. As an adult (again, according to the myth or story), Arthur would seek again the wise counsel and advice of Merlin just before the whole Camelot dream crashed down around him. And the wisdom of his mentor revealed that what Arthur needed was right in front of him (or inside of him). Merlin simply reminded Arthur of that fact!

I often find myself in such “thin places” seeking the divine presence. So how does all of this relate to 2 Kings 2:1-12 and the story of Elijah and Elisha? Isn’t it really about mentoring among other things? Just as Paul was Timothy’s mentor in the early Christian church, Elijah was Elisha’s mentor. Shortly after Elijah’s “melt-down” in the cave following his persecution and fear for his very life, Elijah was told by God that he would meet his successor Elisha. And so, once Elijah and Elisha were put together as a prophetic team, the training began. In this Sunday’s reading, I can almost feel the panic and the fear in Elisha’s voice and manner. As Elijah tried to move on as the Lord has commanded him to, Elisha wouldn’t leave his side. “Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Stay here; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.’ But Elisha said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.'” (2 Kings 2:2) And this happened again when God sent Elijah to Jericho and Elisha once again protested! Even when the prophets in Jericho told Elisha that they knew Elijah was going to be taken away from Elisha, he was in denial.  “Yes, I know; be silent.” (2 Kings 2:3) I really can’t fault Elisha though for panicking or being in denial. Elisha knew what was ahead of him but he was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to handle it alone. Even in the moments before the chariot came for Elijah, Elisha was begging for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit!

Elisha, unsure of his abilities to do what God had called him to do (just like Elijah himself had been), was reaching out to his mentor for that last bit of advice. He was deathly afraid to let Elijah go. How will I manage without my mentor by my side to lead me? Elisha, as his mentor before him had done, was looking for that support in all the wrongs places. He was relying on another human being to provide what God was willing to provide (and was already providing).

For me, my own journey has had Elisha moments of panic as the newbie and Elijah moments of “trust God above me” as the mentor. And through it all, there has always been one constant! God has always been there for me! “Be still and know, that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10) That is a lesson I have learned over time from my mentors and from God. Jesus himself often went off alone to commune with God. Jesus would take Peter, James and John off for some special leadership moments according to Scripture and the Transfiguration moment occurred in the middle of one of those leadership “seminars”!

The lesson for us, dear readers, is this:

1. Our earthly mentors and guides are incredibly important and have helped make us who we are.

2. We ourselves will become, over time, mentors to others.

3. The earthly mentors, as wonderful as they are, are NOT the final answer. God is!

Jesus himself told the disciples who the ultimate mentor would be. And this truth is the same for us today. “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.” (John 14:16-17)

Be blessed as you walk life’s pathways and know that you are never alone.