Image of a ship's anchor on the sea floor

Day

15

Overwhelmed

Lent 2019

And he said, ‘Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.’ And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.

1 Kings 19:11

When we think of a vast power, we tend to think of the most spectacular displays of its greatness. When we think of the power of God, we may think of how its manifestations are described in the Bible as forces of nature: storms, clouds, wind. In our own artistic expression, our reactions are similar; we have many musical depictions of great powerful storms or seas. They often represent fate, or some sort of divine law. The passage in 1 Kings 19:11 is set by Felix Mendelssohn in his oratorio Elijah . In this musical setting, an imposing storm swells up in the orchestra with dramatic timpani rolls, and in the scattered and frenzied singing of the chorus we can almost hear the rocks being dashed to pieces.

Some days I find myself overwhelmed and overtaken by this vastness. Truly, God is this powerful and exacting! Elijah, the intrepid successful prophet, had just scored a victory over some unfortunate idolaters by holding a test; the fire of the Lord answered Elijah’s call and burned down the altar Elijah made. The doomed idolaters were proven wrong. There is a sort of lawful justness and order to that; although, if I were to be the one making the mistake, I could justifiably be the one taking the heat. Don’t I deserve that sentence?

But this biblical story goes on. Thankfully, God also expresses himself in the calmness. The dramatic chaos subsides and God speaks in a still, small voice, quietly as a whisper. Elijah had fled to the very place in which God once demonstrated power and law with Moses. Yet Elijah, who needed encouragement and direction at this moment, received calmness. God can just as powerfully speak in this small voice to us in our daily lives.

And then, in God’s most humble expression of all, Jesus was born as a lowly man to weather for us the storm and fire we deserved.

Christian Guebert '10
Director of Music Ministries, Immanuel Lutheran Church, Orange, CA
Adjunct Professor of Music

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