Elijah, the Extremist 

More about the event

Everything about the story of Elijah is extreme.  His faith, his confidence, his tenacity, his manner.  The story from the Old Testament (I Kings 17-18) has more extreme events packed into a relatively short section of scripture than any other story in the Bible, with perhaps the exception being only Jesus.  In fact when Christ was on the cross, even those torturing him thought He might be calling out for Elijah to come rescue him!  Elijah’s story had certainly been told and retold through the ages. 

First, Elijah called for a drought and the entire land fell into a state of desperation.  And during that time, King Ahab and his wicked wife Jezebel knew of Elijah and actually feared his power and brazen actions.  And while tensions were high, Elijah challenged Jezebel’s gods and those who professed their power.  He called them to a duel of powers—their gods’ powers, especially that of Baal, to stand up against his God, “the Lord.”  The challenge involved the consumption of a sacrifice to be offered first to Baal.  Though Baal’s followers begged their god to respond and devour the offering, nothing happened – for hours and hours, as they cried out and waited.  Then Elijah stepped up with a new sacrifice and a new altar, and after drenching it with gallons of water, simply prayed to The God for a real answer from above.  And God responded with extreme energy, with fire descending from heaven, lapping up the water and consuming the sacrifice and altar, all while the hundreds of Baal prophets stood in awe. 

In one of the most dramatic moments of the story, Elijah then seized these false prophets and let them down the mountain and killed them all.  We don’t know how he accomplished this unbelievable task, but hundreds died at his hand.  This bizarre action infuriated queen Jezebel, even though Elijah had called on God to end the three-year drought.  And in spite of the rain, she ordered that Elijah be found, captured and killed.  The search was on.  But God was always there, protecting Elijah, even feeding him while he was in exile. And in the end, not only was Elijah not killed, but God swept down Himself and took Elijah home in a fiery chariot, led by a team of fiery horses.  Technically, Elijah was the only person in the Bible to have escaped death itself. 

Elijah’s life also captured the imagination of a famous composer in the mid-1800s.  Felix Mendelssohn had been searching for just the right story to tell in what would become his more notorious composition.  The great oratorio, Elijah, was finally completed just in time to be premiered in England in 1846, under the composer’s own baton.  It was immediately a grand success and was performed several more times in English, before ever being sung in Mendelssohn’s own language, German. 

Many musicologists believe that this work’s success lies in two arenas.  The first being that the music is brilliant, not only capturing the significance of Mendelssohn’s upbringing (following the eras of Mozart and Bach), but also boldly reaching into new styles and musical tonalities which would soon become the beginning of the Romantic period of music.  This great oratorio helped bridge out of the Classical period and into what would be a much more dramatic and emotional time in music history.  What a surprise!  How would one tell an “extremely” dramatic story without musical elements of drama and emotion?  Therein lies the second reason for “Elijah,” the oratorio’s success—it achieved like no other the arousing and even disturbing actions of its story, helping lead even an evolution into how secular opera was written and structured. 

Beginning on Sunday, March 30, at both the 8:30 and 10:45 services, we will begin a month-long look at Mr. Elijah and his impact on us today.  Our friend Paul Oakley (here two years ago to dedicate our new organ and work with our choir) will once again return to St. Andrew’s.  This time he will work with our choir and orchestra for two days, assisting them in the preparation for performing Mendelssohn’s Elijah here at St. Andrew’s on April 25 and 26, and then introducing this story and its music to our congregation in the form of a unique worship experience.  Paul will play piano and organ, lead the choir and orchestra, and even sing a portion of Mendelssohn’s work.  The service will be neither contemporary or traditional, so certainly appropriate for both worship hours.  It will simply be a fresh way of opening up the life of an important figure in sacred history to our church, leading us into a great month of study and music. 

Pastor Gus will then lead us in a three-Sunday series, examining some of the subtleties of the story and helping us prepare even more for what will culminate in the presentation of the great oratorio.   

Because of the sheer size and magnificence of this grand piece of musical literature, our Chancel Choir approached Cyndee Chaffee and her Catalinas Community Chorus, asking them to join forces with our choir for “Elijah.”  They agreed back in September and the process of learning this difficult work began.  Rehearsals have been long and intense as both choirs work together to master the challenges of this music.  Both choir have been rehearsing on Monday and Wednesday nights, over three hours a week, as the clock ticks toward these two great performances.  Together there will be more than 120 singers in the chorus, still a bit shy of Mendelssohn’s premiere chorus of over 250.  But very exciting, just the same.  Our own St. Andrew’s orchestra, augmented a bit by some community musicians will provide the “extreme” accompaniment, with over 65 players.  

Presented a great production of this size has a number of wonderful challenges, including the discovery that our giant chancel is not large enough to accommodate this size chorus and orchestra.  So beginning on Sunday afternoon, April 20, the “stage” area will be expanded 12 feet into the congregation, just in time for the first of two “dress” rehearsals on Monday night.  The second dress rehearsal on Wednesday night, April 23 will be open to the public.  Several of our congregation and members of the chorus suggested this be done in order to give friends and family the opportunity to not only see the completed work, but also enjoy the process of seeing it come together.  So tickets will be available for the Wednesday night rehearsal for just $5.00, so anyone curious to “sit in” will be welcome.  This also provides a third date for those who might be leaving town on the following weekend of the two performances. 

On Friday night, April 25 (7:00 pm), and again on Saturday afternoon, April 26 (2:30 pm), ELIJAH will be presented for our church and community.  No tickets will be sold for these performances, but a freewill offering will be taken to offset the costs.   

On a personal concluding note.  I encourage you to invite unchurched friends, family and co-workers to come to this event.  Not only is it the largest musical production this church has ever attempted, but it’s also a great opportunity for outreach, using a cultural setting as a way to entice those who might not otherwise come to our church. 

What an “extreme” month we have ahead!  What a great time to familiarize ourselves with one of the “super-stories” from God’s Word.  There is lots more information about this entire undertaking on the church’s website – standrewspres.com – by clicking on the “ELIAJH” button.  Check it out, and I’ll look forward to walking through this month with you.  May we all be drawn closer to God by getting to know, in a fresh way, the life of one bold, and extreme, God-follower!