What Are You Doing Here? Finding Our Place in God’s Story

First Reading

A READING FROM THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS

Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow." Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah; he left his servant there. But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: "It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors."

[Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, "Get up and eat." He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him, and said, "Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you."]

He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there. Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" He answered, "I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away." He said, "Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by." Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces 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; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" He answered, "I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away." Then the Lord said to him, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus."

1 KINGS 19:1-4 (5-7), 8-15A

Psalm

REFRAIN When shall I come to appear before the presence of God?

As the deer longs for the water-brooks, so longs my soul for you, O God.

My soul is athirst for God, athirst for the living God; when shall I come to appear before the presence of God?

My tears have been my food day and night, while all day long they say to me, "Where now is your God!" R

I pour out my soul when I think on these things: how I went with the multitude and led them into the house of God,

With the voice of praise and thanksgiving, among those who keep holy-day. R

Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul? and why are you so disquieted within me?

Put your trust in God; for I will yet give thanks to him, who is the help of my countenance, and my God. R

My soul is heavy within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of Jordan, and from the peak of Mizar among the heights of Hermon.

One deep calls to another in the noise of your cataracts; all your rapids and floods have gone over me. R

The Lord grants his loving-kindness in the daytime; in the night season his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.

I will say to the God of my strength, "Why have you forgotten me? and why do I go so heavily while the enemy oppresses me?" R

While my bones are being broken, my enemies mock me to my face;

All day long they mock me and say to me, "Where now is your God?" R

Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul? and why are you so disquieted within me?

Put your trust in God; for I will yet give thanks to him, who is the help of my countenance, and my God. R

PSALM 42

REFRAIN When shall I come to appear before the presence of God?

Give judgement for me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people; deliver me from the deceitful and the wicked.

For you are the God of my strength; why have you put me from you? and why do I go so heavily while the enemy oppresses me? R

Send out your light and your truth, that they may lead me, and bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling;

That I may go to the altar of God, to the God of my joy and gladness; and on the harp I will give thanks to you, O God my God.

Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul? and why are you so disquieted within me? R

Put your trust in God; for I will yet give thanks to him, who is the help of my countenance, and my God. R

PSALM 43

Second Reading

A READING FROM THE LETTER OF PAUL TO THE GALATIANS

Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise. GALATIANS 3:23-29

Gospel

>THE HOLY GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST

ACCORDING TO LUKE

Then they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me" for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) Jesus then asked him, "What is your name?" He said, "Legion"; for many demons had entered him. They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss. Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned. When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you." So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.

LUKE 8:26-39

Sermon by Peter Miles (Lay Reader)

Several things arise in the readings set this week, and I’d like to address some of the appointed questions that come up. The obvious one was directed at Elijah: “What are you doing here?”

What are you doing here?

What are we doing here?

What is our life about?

What should we be doing?

Why is Christ so interested in where we are? Why is God so interested in what we are doing?

The short answer is because God absolutely loves us—every one of us. He wants us to know this and to be empowered to talk about it.

So, although God comes to us, we also yearn for God, for that blessing, to find that source of love. Many Christians experience this yearning for God.

In the psalm, it’s described as the deer longing for streams of water, but being unable to access it because the water is enclosed. The deer can smell it, and so it desperately longs for it. That’s the sense of intense longing to access soul-quenching water.

For us, that water is to know God, to love Him, and to do His will in our lives.

Elijah had a tough role. He was the outspoken word of God to the powerful and the wicked. He had just confronted the prophets of Baal in that dramatic altar-burning ceremony, with fire coming down onto drenched sacrifices. God had displayed His presence and affirmed Elijah clearly. Elijah then put an end to those false prophets.

Ahab and Jezebel—two of the most wicked Israelite kings—had brought in Baal worship and Jezebel sought to destroy Jewish worship by killing the Lord’s prophets. People were frightened and unsure what to do amid this power struggle.

Then came this fantastic miracle, dramatically authenticating the God who loves them and answering their question: “Where is my God?” Right here.

It’s understandable that after these tremendous events at Mount Carmel, Elijah’s mood changed from vigorous confidence to despair. The adrenaline rush ended, and fear of reprisals set in. He fled to the wilderness where God asked him, “What are you doing here?”

That question is a loving rebuke—a reassurance, but also a rejection of Elijah’s fearful claim that he alone remains faithful. Later, we learn there were actually over 7,000 faithful people in Israel. Elijah was not alone.

Miracles rarely transform people permanently. The big miracles in the Bible mainly occurred during three periods: the Exodus, the times of Elijah and Elisha, and with Jesus and his disciples. Their effects are often short-lived.

However, the Spirit living in people’s hearts after Pentecost truly transforms.

The theophany Elijah experienced—the wind, earthquake, and fire—shows us that God’s voice is ultimately heard not in the spectacular but in the quiet appeal to conscience. That is how we recognize truth and God’s Spirit.

During my training working with mentally ill people, I learned that real psychiatric disease transcends culture, race, ethnicity, and religion. Many schizophrenics hear voices they often attribute to Jesus—even if they are Muslim, Buddhist, atheist, or polytheist.

It was astonishing that people from very different backgrounds never attributed their voices to Muhammad or Buddha—demons seem to know who Jesus is.

This is dramatically revealed in today’s Gospel reading from Luke.

When Jesus arrived in the region of the Gerasenes, it was late, dusk falling. A violent, naked maniac emerged from the tombs, possessed by many evil spirits. He recognized Jesus and begged Him to leave.

We don’t know exactly what was wrong with this man. Perhaps he suffered childhood abuse or witnessed the slaughter of his family by Roman soldiers, reprisals for political acts. These things still happen today.

Perhaps he felt lost to society—unloved, unworthy, homeless, unable to live with himself, even harming himself and repelling others’ help.

As a deeply traumatized person, how could he know God loves him? Jesus had to prove the man was healed. He sent the demons into a herd of swine, who rushed off into the lake with much drama—a big sign.

I remember when our small children had a dread of monsters under their beds. No amount of hugs, prayers, or reasoning helped. One night, Kari swept through the house with a broom, shouting to drive the monsters out. The kids felt heard and their fears addressed, and happily settled down to sleep.

Jesus acted to assure this man he was loved and free—the demons were gone.

How valuable was this peace of mind? Well, the herd of pigs was about 2,000. The average value of pigs in Canada today is around $225 live, or $700–850 dressed. Multiplied by 2,000, that’s about $1.7 million.

Reflect on that—and then on the price God paid for our redemption.

Yet the people of the Gerasenes, though in the very presence of God’s salvation, preferred the swine. They witnessed the miracle, but the cost of keeping an outcast was too high. They demanded Jesus leave—and so He did.

Christ forces Himself on no one.

The healed man knew what he wanted: to be with Jesus. But Jesus told him to stay and proclaim what had been done for him—just as Elijah was told to go back and speak.

He became the first missionary to the Gentiles. While Paul claims this role, this man was the first, preaching to the Greeks of the Decapolis about God.

So what is required for evangelization?

First, faith in God—you must know you are beloved, and believe you are loved by God.

Kari brought home something from her prayer group:

“Do fish deserve to swim? They’re made for it. Do birds deserve to fly? They’re made for it. Do we deserve to be loved? We are made for it.”

Second, knowledge of Scripture is helpful—it keeps us grounded in truth.

Third, peace in your soul—that supports the strength and courage needed to follow the inner voice of love.

Christ brings peace and removes doubt about salvation. As Paul states in Galatians, we become God’s children in the fullest sense—fully adopted into His family by grace and faith.

God addresses the needs of those who seek Him and respects those who refuse, neither condemning nor criticizing, but waiting until they are ready.

So be aware that you are beloved, born at great cost—not just the value of a herd of animals.

We live here as a community of faithful family and friends. We are not alone.

We can do more than we can imagine. We are not ashamed or afraid.

We can talk to others about what God has done for us. We can gently care for the sick and dying.

We are not afraid to open a conversation, even with those who might seem very different beneath the surface—whether it’s their makeup, tattoos, piercings, or perceived status. They may need to hear from us.

We are free to act, to listen to God’s word of love, and to share it. Amen.