Elijah Cummings (1951-2019)

~ Originally Published October 24, 2019.

"Elijah Taken Up To Heaven"

Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up & struck the water with it. The water divided to the right & to the left & the two of them crossed over on dry ground.

When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me, what can I do for you, before I am taken from you?"

"Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit." Elisha replied.

"You have asked a difficult thing," Elijah said, "Yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours. Otherwise, not."

As they were walking along & talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire & horses of fire appeared & separated the two of them & Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.

Elisha saw this & cried, "My father! My father! The chariot & horsemen of Israel!"

And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes & tore them apart.

He picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah & went back & stood on the bank of the Jordan. Then he took the cloak & struck the water with it. "Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?" he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the left & to the right, & he crossed over. 

The company of prophets from Jericho were watching & said, "The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha."

~ 2 Kings 2: 8-15 (NIV)

Elijah might be my favourite of the OT Prophets. His stories strike a deep chord, they entice my imagination like few others. The way he spoke truth to a wicked king & queen, ran for his life, battled depression & depended entirely on God for his survival is nothing short of heroic.

I've been thinking about him a lot since Rep. Elijah Cummings died. It is hard to lose such an inspirational leader, especially in dark times when there will be hard battles ahead. I think it's important to remember that in America, our "leaders" are really our representatives. In a government "of the people", no one can have power unless it's given to them.

Rep. Cummings did great work & should be honored for that but he was also continuing what was started by others before him. And like Elisha inheriting a double-portion of Elijah's spirit to continue his ministry, we are all responsible for carrying on the good works that Rep. Cummings dedicated himself to.

Elijah Cummings is gone but his spirit is still with us. Just as Elisha took up Elijah's cloak & continued his ministry so must we all pick up where Elijah Cummings left off & continue representing America.

The Word of God was with Elijah, & when Elijah's cloak struck the water, it divided to the left & to the right. Likewise, when Elijah Cummings spoke truth to power, Americans divided to the left & to the right. May we also cross over, on dry ground, safely.

Elisha took Elijah's cloak & asked, "Where is God?" & the answer is, God was with Elisha. Scripture tells us that God will live among the people. The Spirit of God is with everyone who does God's will.

Work for justice. Love mercy. Be humble. Love God. Love people.

Selah.