At God’s direction, the prophet Elijah threw his mantle over Elisha, signifying that he had been chosen to be his disciple. Elijah didn’t say a word. He just kept right on walking. Elisha immediately recognized this gesture for what it was – a prophetic call.
Running frantically after Elijah, he begged only for an opportunity to say his proper goodbyes to his parents. Elijah’s response was rather nonchalant — go ahead, you’re free! I haven’t commanded you to do anything! Elisha felt the inner pull of God’s call and, after sacrificing his oxen and feeding the people around him, he followed Elijah for the rest of the prophet’s life.
The image of the mantle being thrown over someone is well established in our culture as a symbol of call and discipleship. There is a period of apprenticeship, learning, and testing that not everyone is prepared to accept. It’s too humbling and unglamorous — our culture craves quick solutions and painless achievement.
The mantle that is thrown over us is that of Jesus. It is offered to all, but far too few respond — Jesus choses us, but we must also chose him. A yearning and seeking heart and a desire to be a servant of God usually lead us to an awareness of that call.
Our own preparation or apprenticeship will probably not be dramatic. We learn from our everyday experience, even from seemingly mundane and trivial things. Most of all, we are guided by the inner voice of the Spirit that is sought in prayer as well as silent and receptive listening.
Just as in the case of Elisha, this call is an invitation, not a command, and we are free.
For those who do heed the call, life will usually strike out into uncharted territory. Following a spiritual path is rarely boring or predictable.
Human beings are ambiguous in their attitude towards freedom. They claim to want it, but once they have been freed they often willingly submit to new forms of slavery. Freedom means responsibility and owning one’s decisions and actions — too scary. Blindly following rules, traditions and authority-figures is not an exercise in freedom or living in the Spirit. But freedom is not a free pass to do whatever we want.
Paul made it clear that freedom is always limited and characterized by love. Throughout his letters, Paul defined love not in terms of sentimentality or feeling but in always seeking the common good as well as the happiness and well-being of others.
This is the compassionate kindness of God that humans are called to imitate in word, thought and deed. It can be a demanding teacher! “Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem” — this represented the turning point of Luke’s Gospel. From this point on, Jesus marched resolutely towards the city of destiny and the cross. One can almost sense the tempo increase significantly. There is a sense of urgency and severity in the narrative.
Although Luke used the story of Elijah as a template for his narration of Jesus’ ministry, he also transformed it in subtle ways to emphasize how different and how much greater Jesus was.
Unlike Elijah, he refused to use his powers to call down fire on those who were not receptive to him. He gave no leave to his potential disciples to tend to family demands. He made it clear that they would be in for uncertainty and little in the way of comfort. They had entered into the apocalyptic end-time.
Proclaiming the arrival of the kingdom of God was of crucial importance because the time was so short. The hearts and minds of the people had to be prepared for the radical changes of the social and spiritual order that were imminent.
Even though we do not have the same sort of apocalyptic urgency today, human needs and the condition of our world are no less critical. Love demands a generous response.
Discipleship cannot be pushed into the background of our lives or be drawn into the black hole called good intentions. There is simply too much at stake.