It should have been the best of times.  After enduring more than 300 years of persecution, Christianity was on its way to becoming the recognized religion for the entire Roman Empire.  Talk about a dream come true!  There would be no more hiding out and no more secret codes scribbled in the dust!  Thanks to Constantine’s unexpected and sometimes questionable conversion, Christians no longer had to cower in caves or crowd into houses when they wanted to worship, study, and pray. 

As a matter of fact, they were not only allowed to build their own churches, they were being encouraged to furnish them with extravagantly ornate objects!  And do you know what the absolute best part of the whole thing was?   It was all tax free – complements of the Emperor who, by the way, was passing on some very lucrative privileges to the religious leaders in exchange for a few “small” favors.

Yes, it should have been the best of times.  And it was . . . right up to the moment when corruption and politics overshadowed discipleship, missions and prayer.  It was almost like Constantine had replaced Christ as the ruler and final authority of religious matters.

The entire situation became so intolerable that a small, but determined, contingency left the church and established a counter movement in the wilderness surrounding Egypt and Israel.  Their only desire . . . their only goal . . . was to center their lives on Christ through prayer.

Now, on the one hand, it would be easy to dismiss the Desert Mothers and Fathers because of their somewhat eccentric ways.  And, yes, residing in caves or crude huts and living off the scarcity of the desert was strange behavior.  But it wasn’t it equally strange when John the Baptizer did it, too?  Yet, look at how much richer our faith is because of him. 

And so it is for the Desert Fathers and Mothers.  Through their desire to leave behind “the good life” so they could center their lives on Christ, and Christ alone, they gifted  us invaluable lessons – lessons that are often lost in the noise and confusion of modern day living.  After all, in our highly mobile, highly competitive and overly ambitious society there isn’t much interest . . . or time . . . to simply sit in silence and contemplate God.  Let’s face it; our calendars are full enough without wasting time doing nothing!

But, friends, that was the entire point of the desert movement!   The busier we become, the more affluent we are, the greater our success, the more we need to slow down and listen; the more we need to get out of it all in order to listen for the holy whisper in our lives. 

In today’s Old Testament lesson, Elijah’s life was out of control.  Everything was wrong including the fact that Queen Jezebel had sent her army after him and it wasn’t because she wanted to have a tea party in his honor!  Bottom line, Elijah was hiding in that cave for exactly one reason.  He had been so busy working for God he hadn’t taken the time to listen to God.  He was the one who ran off without instructions then accused God of not caring; of not being their when divine intervention was needed the most.  He was the one who got so caught up with his own importance that he appointed himself counsel, jury, judge, and executioner for God.  Did God tell Elijah to kill the prophet Baal?  No!  But in the midst of all the success, the prophet had stopped listening to anyone but himself.

So, when did Elijah finally re-connect with God?  Was it in the whirlwind or the earthquake?  It was when there was nothing left between God and the prophet except complete and total silence. 

Now, maybe you have a difficult time relating to whole Jezebel thing.  After all, we don’t build altars and dance around them anymore.  Besides, wasn’t Elijah simply living with the consequences of his own bad judgment?  As for us . . .  well, most of live fairly comfortable lives.  Our problems are manageable and our resources sufficient.  Our calendars may be a little full but that’s just part of living in the Twenty-first Century.

But, Christians, if you’re living the good life – if you have more successes than failures; if you have more joys than sorrows – then listen up.  Unless you are stronger than Christ, you need the silence . . . you need to take the time to alone with God even more so than those with overwhelming issues and problems. 

In today’s Gospel all was well with Jesus and his followers.  Oh, the crowds were growing, as were the demands on his time.  There was always more work than one Savior, 12 disciples, and a host of followers could possibly accomplish.  Yet, at least for the moment, the religious officials weren’t plotting his murder and there was no one who wanted to throw him off a cliff.  Besides, the disciples had just returned from going out two by two preaching the gospel, healing the sick, and ministering to the lost.  The stories they had to tell!  The experiences they wanted to share!  And what was the first thing Jesus said to them?  We need to get out of here.  We need to find a quiet place to be alone.  

The King of kings, the Lord of lords, Son of the God most high needed to stop; to go away; to set in silence so he could wait and listen.  His disciples needed it, too.

Now if Jesus had time to stop and be alone – if he needed time to just hang out with God - what makes us think we are stronger and more important than him?