Broom tree, Party of One
I Kings 19:3-9; John 6:35, 41-51
Author, Robert Fulghum, tells a story in his book, All I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, about watching a game of hide-n-seek at dusk on a Saturday evening. The children from the neighborhood have gathered to play. One child finds the perfect spot under a pile of leaves just beneath his window. Watching this little ninja reminds him of the kid in his own childhood neighborhood who always hid too well. So well, in fact, no one could find him! Which turns out, is not that much fun in a game of hide-n-seek. Because those looking would eventually give up and leave him to rot. Later he would show up, mad that they didn’t keep looking for him!
Meanwhile, the child under the window has been there for quite some time and everyone else is found. They are about to give up on him and Fulghum is tempted to march out to base and tell them where he is. But instead, he leans out the window and yells, “GET FOUND, KID!!”
Today’s story from the Hebrew scriptures is a peek at the great prophet Elijah. Tucked here between two extremely contrasting life experiences – In chapter 18, there is a dramatic scene in which Elijah has stunned King Ahab and Queen Jezebel by scorching hundreds of their favorite false prophets. Elijah proves that he has the powers of the one, true God on his side with a catastrophic delivery of fire from Heaven. This doesn’t sit well with the Queen, who promises to make Elijah’s life a living hell, so he makes a run for it which leads into today’s tiny excerpt. What happens after this excerpt is that poignant moment where -- Elijah encounters God in a cave. He witnesses a rock-splitting wind, an earthquake, and a fire – all powerful wonders of nature. But God’s voice is not in any of them. Instead, God communicates in a low whisper (1 Kings 19:11-12). In the midst of these two starkly contrasting stories is what David Garber called, “a character moment.” The reader is asked to shift their consideration from how we experience God, to the inner turmoil of the human soul. [1]
Elijah drops off his servant in Beersheba and then continues a day’s journey into the desert all alone. He’s hiding out. The desert can be a hot, dry, lonely place. Elijah parks himself under a broom tree – one of the few places to find some shade. Although more of a bush than a tree, itis barely providing enough shelter from the sun. It’s not anything like what we would call a shade tree. No, this is just enough room for one.
Elijah is in a struggle. Perhaps with many things – the bloodshed he caused on Mt. Carmel; exhaustion from running for his life; the weight, responsibility of being God’s prophet; the personal threats of violence against him. Elijah’s demons bring him to a standstill. Slumped under an isolated, solitary tree in the desert, he is unlikely to be discovered. Food and water will be sparse. Scripture says he prayed to die. “I’ve had enough, Lord… Take my life. I am no better than my ancestors.” He is not the first prophet to run away and ask to die.. Jonah and Moses did the same after conflict, disappointment, and their expectations not being met.
Elijah laid down under the bush and fell asleep. God’s messenger arrives with warm bread and cool water. And just a word of validation.
“Get up and eat.” 6 He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. [2]
Like you learned in Kindergarten, there are a lot of things that can be remedied with a nap and a snack.
The angel of the Lord boils things down to a simple truth – not uttered with any judgment. “Get up and eat for the journey is too much for you.” (vs. 7) Elijah has been through a lot. He needs to feel safe, find rest, and be nourished.
It’s Maslow’s hierarchy of basic human needs at play in the life of Elijah. When he finally felt far enough away from danger, he could sleep. And then, God provides… angel biscuits and water. Just enough so that he could stay a while longer. The angel of the Lord could see just what Elijah needed.
Oftentimes, it is easier to see another person’s needs than your own. Like seeing someone in a white shirt about to eat a red popsicle on a hot day. “This is not going to end well,” you might think to yourself. The truth is much easier to point out in someone else’s life while almost always so hard to recognize in our own. In a friend, you might notice:
· signs of physical exhaustion, pain
· or mental stress,
· or they’re second-guessing themselves,
· making a self-destructive choice;
· the old rebound relationship.
One of the kindest things we can do for each other is hold up a proverbial mirror for a friend to see their reflection and then show up with a hot meal.
Elijah must have felt so alone in his calling. No one else carried the burden that he carried. No wonder he ran away. Elijah’s self-imposed exile might look like hiding “too good,” but maybe it was just what he needed. Can you recall the last time, you found yourself under a broom tree? (waiting, depleted, depressed, lonely)
A broom tree is also the kind of place where you can be deliberately alone with yourself, and with God. It’s a place to practice being mindful, to breathe, to think, to turn inward, to look for God. Even Elijah needed a place to ask, What is going on? How did I get here? A broom tree is a place to re-set. It’s a place to let the ministry of “angels” come to you.
I was just starting a sabbatical in spring of 2022. A friend offered me a few days at their family’s lake house all by myself. Another friend sent a bag of groceries and chocolate with me. Allan sent a few of his special recipes that came in pint jars. The lake in early March is quiet and uninhabited. It was my broom tree and I received the ministry of angels. It gave me space to grieve some losses I was running from and to let God speak into those. A few days of kayaking up in the slew, long hot baths, yoga on the porch, reading until a nap would overtake me were a GIFT to my body and soul. It was the solitude, personal retreat, I needed that led to a spiritually fruitful time of sabbatical. It was time to re-set; create some new patterns for that season; and let go of all the clutter in my brain. It would not have been good for me to stay there for my entire sabbatical. That would have been like hiding too well – like the kid under the leaf pile.
Not much can grow under a broom tree. We are not meant to dwell there sadly ever after. So after Elijah slept, ate and drank, then he was able to get moving again. God provided the nourishment he needed because God had more in store for Elijah. There were more mountaintops and God-encounters just around the corner.
The Gospel reading today reminds us, again, that Jesus has offered himself as nourishment. He is as necessary to our well-being as the food we eat. He is our food, enabling us to live our life’s call, to be alive, our source of spiritual energy when [we are] exhausted. [He is] our consolation when we are troubled, our strength when we are weak... Jesus, the bread of life, sustains us and restores our vigor and exhausted energies. Our desire for [tasty, chewable] bread continues, of course. Like angel biscuits brought to Elijah in the desert –that bread fulfills our hunger and quenches our thirst momentarily, but that which Jesus gives satisfies eternally.[3]
As people of God, we are bread-makers. We know about this peace, this joy, this love that is everlasting. That is the bread of life Jesus offers us and we have it. It is ours to share. People in our lives need to feel safe, find rest, and be nourished. And then they need spaces to grow and serve. Communities of faith are uniquely prepared to offer both broom-trees and Mt. Carmels, desert retreats and mountaintop experiences. People need to know that God is seeking them no matter where they are. God is seeking to be in relationship with you. If you’ve been hiding out too long, let yourself Get Found!
Fulgham says, some adults hide too well. Hide-n-seek grown up style needs new rules, or maybe just a different game. A better game for the people of God might be Sardines. In Sardines, the person who is “It” goes and hides, and everybody else goes looking for them. When you find them, you get in and hide there with them, waiting for everyone, one by one, to find the hiding place. In the end, everyone is all piled in together, giggling and laughing. God is a sardine player, for sure. Let the people of God start a new game! [4]
[1] Garber, David G, Jr. https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-19-2/commentary-on-1-kings-194-8-7
[2] 1 Kings 19:5b-6, NIV
[3] Ajer, Peter Claver https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-19-2/commentary-on-john-635-41-51-6
[4] Fulgham, Robert All I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten ©1988