Mtr Taylor Devine

Dear friend,

Holy Scripture is multi-vocal, we hear about our God being heard in a still, small voice in 1st Kings, or more recently in our readings from 2nd Kings, capable of and willing to send fire, and water, and overwhelming presence into the human understanding. The Gospels have been called four portraits of the same good news.

The different communities over time that were inspired to share the story of salvation as it was revealed to them were encountering different threats, joys, and innovations. They were wrestling with how to know the name of their one God, how this God’s invitation into freedom not only changed them but changed the world.

1st and 2nd Kings are more a history than other types of writing within the Bible, they have a chronology. A lot of the action takes place in the dialogue, and the stories chronicle the rise and fall of kings and nations, how they operated economically and socially, and how the community received revelation of who the living God is. Worship is being negotiated and is obviously central and of great concern, obedience to God’s Covenant is central, and Kings have the power to determine the fate of nations through their obedience, or lack thereof, to God. Prophecy is prominent, and Elijah’s legacy as prophet is prominent as well. Worship of other Gods is the thing that leads to exile and chaos.

This kind of historical, chronological, cataloging of the events of the time can sound so foreign, despite the sense of order. Elijah's prophecy and prophecy like it, however seems to transcend. Every generation needs to be called again, every generation knows the kinds of sins that can turn into idols that can become exile. Prophets can open us up to an image of the world that we couldn’t otherwise imagine. Pointing again toward the living God, prophets throughout the ages can point us to the heart of this life and the next. The multivocality of scripture means that in each season we hear history, and prophets, and theological claims in different ways. The Church interprets this revelation together, led by the Holy Spirit, supported by our ancestors in the faith and the great cloud of witnesses, and is called to point toward, be oriented toward the living God, whatever the era.

In Christ,
Taylor