Let's begin today with a question. What do the following all have in common? A school teacher has not returned her students' papers for over three weeks--the papers sit in a pile on her desk but she cannot muster the energy to look at them. An insurance adjuster listlessly prepares to go to work in the morning--he gets into his car and sits there for an hour unable to turn the key in the ignition and even back out of the driveway. A financial officer begins behaving irrationally--making impulsive investments and money transfers--locking himself in his office sometimes for hours at a time. A leading volunteer in the community noted for her creative coordinating skills--suddenly misses planning meetings, deadlines and special events--she is unable to make any decisions or even pick up the phone--she finds herself sitting at her kitchen table from breakfast until noon staring out the patio door. A minister who is known as a good preacher sits down to write a sermon and the computer screen stares blankly back for hours--no inspiration comes--no words appear--she finds herself completely bereft of ideas for sermons and wonders if she will ever preach again. A high school student who always makes top grades is suddenly overwhelmed by the thought of writing a simple essay--he doubts that he will ever be able to graduate.
The syndrome is known as "burn-out." It usually strikes the very people who have worked the hardest and been most successful--the very people in whom it is therefore the most unexpected. They themselves cannot understand what is happening to them. They become tired and grumpy and depressed. They feel listless and powerless--unable to think clearly or creatively. Eventually they begin to have feelings of guilt and worthlessness and they wonder if they will ever be able to cope with life. They suspect that they never were any good--that any success they had was only an accident. There have been cover stories in the news magazines about the stressed out generation--the cover story of the latest issue of our church publication the Lutheran Magazine was entitled "The Tyranny of Time" and focused on the lack of time we have--or take--the multitasking and overscheduling we do with our children and ourselves. "Burn-out!" If you haven't experienced it yourself--the odds are you know someone who has. And if we are honest we yearn to have a better understanding of how to avoid it "Burn-out" is not a particularly new condition--it just seems to be a bit more common today.
More than 2,500 years ago a prophet named Elijah provided for us not only a classic example of burn-out but also an interesting insight into what our faith and God says to handling such an experience. No prophet of the Israelites had ever been more successful than Elijah. The Bible paints a strange dual portrait of Elijah. In the second chapter of the book of 1 Kings right before our first lesson for today Elijah is strong and self-confident. He stands up to King Ahab--he raises a widows son from the dead--fights the prophets of Baal--killing over 400 of them--he brings drought, famine, and then renewing rain to the land. Actually quite a lot of activity for one prophet in two short Bible chapters--then in the 19th chapter where we find our lesson for today King Ahab's wife, queen Jezebel, threatens to kill Elijah and he falls apart. He runs scared--south to Beersheba--which is appropriately wilderness. Elijah was experiencing burnout. He didn't know its name but he knew he wanted to flee it. After a period of enormous success in his life Elijah suddenly finds himself exhausted and depressed. As he sits alone under a Broom tree he feels increasingly worthlessness--all his previous successes and meaningful activities are forgotten--he begins to question if there is any future purpose to his life. We all can understand something of how Elijah felt--the doubts of self and life that come from unfulfilled expectations and hopes--the job dissatisfaction--relationship problems--physical problems. The challenges and demands of daily life that have a tendency to pile up until we wonder how we will ever handle them. And like Elijah we have found ways to run away--the chronically depressed withdraw to their bed and sleep--but others simply bury themselves in isolating tasks, bad habits and chronic addictions--the student plays endless video games--the business problem is lost in a haze of drink--a relationship problem is overshadowed by a concealed passion. As burn-out threatens we find ways to run away--just like Elijah
And in the midst of our hopelessness--God enters. Well, actually God first gives Elijah two nights of good sleep and two nourishing meals--or maybe it was a night and a day of sleep with a good meal after each--the important thing was that Elijah had rest and nourishment. Then, reminiscent of the greater leader of the Exodus, Moses--the prophet Elijah spends forty days and nights traveling to Mount Horeb--which is another name for Sinai, the most sacred mountain in Hebrew history. Moses himself had spent forty days and nights on the mountain when he received the ten commandments. Here the prophet Elijah meets God and is confronted by the question: "What are you doing here?" As the pressure of our lives builds we regularly find ourselves wondering, "Why am I doing this?" "Does it really matter that I am here?" Elijah proceeds to tell his whole story of how rebellious the Israelites have been and how his life is now threatened. God calls him out of the cave where he is hiding and tells Elijah to stand on the mountain and the Lord will pass by. What follows is one of the great poetic images of the divine--we are told a great wind rushes by, but the Lord is not "in" the wind--then there is an earthquake, but the Lord is not "in" the earthquake--then a fire, but the Lord is not "in" the fire either. Finally there is the sound of sheer silence--the sound of sheer silence. This is not a sound heard with the ears as much as the listening of the heart and soul Only then does Elijah walk from the cave and again hear the voice of God say, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" (I Kings 19:13 NRSV). Elijah again recounts his agony--but God interrupts him with directions to "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus" And while it is not in our lesson for today--Elijah does return to his mission--selecting newly energized workers with him from the community of faith. The keys to dealing with "burn out" are quite clearly set forth 2,500 years ago--rest--nourishment--centering in the faith foundations--and community. The first two points are probably in every healthy living publication around--we know that the chronic fatigue many feel today is due to poor eating habits and even worse sleep patterns.
An increasing number of our Lutheran congregations have instituted parish nurse programs that assist members in developing healthier life styles--providing for the holistic care of self is a complex and challenging part of our call to discipleship. My teenage sons would probably argue that one of the best services the church could provide would be a Sunday morning designed exclusively for sleeping--until noon--and I suppose our offering of Monday evening worship provides that possibility. But sleep and food are only preparation for the real solution to burn-out. The prophet retreats to the foundation point of the ancient faith--the mountain where God first revealed Himself. Each Sunday those who attend worship do something that few outside the church ever do (and many even in the church miss)--those who worship step back in time to be encountered by God once more in forms ancient and mysterious. While there is much to be said for contemporary expressions of faith--the foundations and centers of our belief systems are mysteriously and wonderfully mediated in and through forms that are hard to explain--burning flames--bread--water--wine. Yet for centuries these forms have provided voice to people of God's grace--they have recalled for us and to us God's presence in the world and our lives--they have assured those who listen--those who seek God--direction and purpose even in the midst of difficult times. This past week Pastor Chris and I had two opportunities to try out her new canoe on the Des Plaines River. Our plan had been to put into the river and float leisurely down stream--but the river is currently over-flowing its banks and many trees have collapsed into the water--some due to the flood waters and some due to the work of beavers--while the river is not dangerous it would be fool hardy to believe you can float down the river without active steering and guiding of the canoe to avoid obstacles, obstructions and log jams. Just as there is no way to just float down the river--so there is no way to just float through life--we yearn to find ways to steer our lives--to give them direction and purpose.
Elijah first discovered 2,500 years ago that the roots of our faith are that which gives direction and purpose to life. Understanding our calling to serve others--to do justice and witness to God's loving purposes depends on taking time to periodically turn from the rushing, roaring bold and bright media conscious world we live in to hear in the silent moments of our hearts the voice of God. To listen for the sheer silence. Today our Gospel lesson helps us commemorate the birth of John the Baptist--the great voice that we usually associate with the Advent season before Christmas--the voice of one crying in the wilderness proclaiming the coming of the Christ. What is most interesting about this story to me is that from the moment John's pending birth was announced to John's father, Zechariah--Zechariah could not speak. The preparation for the greatest voice of all time was made in sheer silence--in the quiet prayers of a father and mother waiting on the question, "What then will this child become?" Both stories end by the silence being broken in the assurance that in the community of faith there is new voice--new energy--new hope. The prophet returns from the wilderness refreshed by the retreat and the promise of God's presence. He finds a remnant believing community to support him in his calling. The new born John the Baptist will be raised in a faith-filled community and discover in the guidance of his parents the foundations of a faith that will call him to a bold new future. We need community to sustain the vision of faith--that's why we worship together and not in separate caves--that's why we work and play together--this is God's gift. So we come to summer--a time to retreat at least a little from the busyness of life--to pause for family vacations--fellowship picnics--and maybe a retreat from the noise of daily life to the Sabbath silence of worship and prayer, music and God's Word. But the questions of the faith still echo to us. What are you doing here? What will you become? With the sure guidance of our faith to steer us onward we answer in confidence--God only knows--Truly, God knows and we listen--Listen as we worship and pray--Listen in the fellowship of the faithful--Listen to that still small voice which calls us back to life and sends us on our way.
Amen.