2 Kings 2:1-12 (NRSV)
Read 2 Kings 2:1-12 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 2Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Verse 2Elijah 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." So they went down to Bethel. Verse 3The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, "Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?" And he said, "Yes, I know; keep silent." Verse 4Elijah said to him, "Elisha, stay here; for the Lord has sent me to Jericho." But he said, "As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So they came to Jericho. Verse 5The company of prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him, "Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?" And he answered, "Yes, I know; be silent." Verse 6Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan." But he said, "As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So the two of them went on. Verse 7Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. Verse 8Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground.
Verse 9When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you." Elisha said, "Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit." Verse 10He responded, "You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not." Verse 11As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. Verse 12Elisha kept watching and crying out, "Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.
Devotion
This week’s readings lead up to the Transfiguration of Our Lord, the last Sunday of Epiphany. In today’s reading, Elijah, the faithful and dynamic leader who confronted the worship of Baal, a false god, was about to be taken up into heaven. Will his apprentice, Elisha, be able to fill his shoes? Will Elisha call for worship of God the creator, not forces of nature? Will he speak for justice and insist that kings treat vulnerable subjects justly?
Elijah, as if to test Elisha, discourages him from following him to the place of his assumption. Elisha prays that the spirit of Elijah’s faithful ministry will be his. He persists in following and is granted a vision of the assumption of Elijah by heavenly chariots. In this experience of the presence of God the passage of the mantle of leadership to Elisha is confirmed.
Prayer
O God, in our times of uncertainty we ask you to raise up among us prophets in the spirit of Elijah and Elisha who call us to be faithful to you and just in our dealings with all of your creatures.