Thomas Troeger gave a lecture, followed by a sermon. His insights and incredible imagination are such an inspiration! His lecture was titled “Preaching in an Age of Spiritual Hunger and Religious Violence”. He spoke poignantly of the sorrow in preaching. Noting that in the OT there is no separation between the prophets’ anguish and pathos, and that of God, Troeger asked the question, “How do we respond to a weeping God?” To put it another way he asked, “What do the tears of God awaken in you?”
The sermon was from 2 Kings 2:1-12 and entitled “The Long Way Home”. He sought to give us preachers a profound word of encouragement as we recalled the story of Elijah and Elisha’s last day together. The significance of the places they stopped was not lost; Bethel, the place of Jacob’s vision; Jericho, the palce of Joshua’s battle, and the Jordan, the gate from the wilderness to the promised land.
Even though Elisha was in denial, Elijah was ready. In the end Elijah blessed Elisha before their separation!
