Perhaps some people might feel a 15-minute sermon is too long, but many people bear with a
lengthy movie time for two hours or even longer. Some movies inspire us so deeply that we
watch them repeatedly. To me, one of those movies is Chariots of Fire (1981). There is so much
to say about Chariots of Fire.
Some of you might remember this biopic about two British sprinters, Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell, who went down in sporting history at Paris Olympic Games in 1924. The story is more than about sports. It is about class and social order, about religious prejudice and Anglo-Saxon
classism, about antiquated politics and a vestige of imperialism, and about “hopes in their hearts and wings on their heels.”
Abrahams was from an immigrant family from Lithuania, overcoming anti-Semitism and class
bias and focusing on one thing – track and field. Liddell, a devout Christian born to Scottish
missionaries in China, saw running as part of his worship of God’s glory.
A Jew and a Scot, these two young men were outsiders in the class-obsessed and religiously
divided United Kingdom of the early 1920’s.
A hundred years have gone by, but such social issues still dictate over our society today. Unless
all those in mainstream can actually feel the pain of the marginalized and acknowledge by
heart the harms of social inequality done to the outsiders, the shameful history of injustice
cannot help but be repeated.
Abrahams and Liddell sacrificed anything to achieve their goals, except their honour, and they
became an inspiration to so many people.
Liddell, the Scotsman, refused to take part in any competition that would be held on a Sunday on
account of the fact that he was obliged to observe the Sabbath. From the point on when he
learned that the opening 100 m heats were scheduled for a Sunday, Liddell set a new goal and
devoted all his energies to preparing for the 400 m race.
A 400 meter race is considered to be so tough, arguably more than any other distance, because a
sprint is required over a distance which is too long to be a sprint. It puts the athlete’s body in
torture, and mental strength must trump physical weakness.
Abrahams had a different challenge as he was badly beaten in the 200 m race. He considered the
100 m race to be his last chance to win the medal, and he pushed himself.
Both athletes ran not to run but to prove something to the world, and eventually, these British
track athletes brought glory to their country. Speaking to the British newspaper years later,
Liddell said, “I ran the first 200 m as quickly as I could and, with the help of God, I ran the
next 200 m even more strongly.” After the Olympics, Liddell returned to China to do
missionary work with his father and died at age 43 while interred in a Japanese camp a few
months before the WWII ended.
Life can be juxtaposed with sprints like a 100 m, a 200 m, or a 400 m race. It can also be
compared to a middle distance, a long-distance, hurdle or relays. Sometimes life puts us in jumps
or throws or combined events. Whatever kind of track and field we are in, we must try our best.
Our surrounding situations may not change, but we can change ourselves in order to bring a
change to our environment. And, what we have to do is to ask God for His strength and grace to
complete what is left for us to carry on. As Apostle James said, “Faith without works is dead”
(James 2:14-26). Yes, we are saved by grace alone, but faith and works go hand in hand. We
have to work with our full strength and full heart.
Behind his legacy, Eric Lindell left these words: “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he
also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.” When you live out the best of yourself
every day you wake up, you will feel a divine pleasure.
Chariots of fire is not just a movie title. Horses and chariots are often used in the Bible.
In today’s Old Testament reading, we encounter a famous instance where a chariot and horses of
fire came to take Elijah up to heaven (2 Kgs 2: 11-12). Chariots are often associated with war
against enemy, but a chariot of fire in this context was used as an angelic escort, carrying
someone from earth to heaven. The chariot and horses here symbolize strong protection as well
as God’s presence.
Elijah travelled to many places before his departure, Gilgal, Bethel, and the Jordan. These places
are highly symbolic of stages in the Christian life.
Gilgal was the first place where the Israelites camped after crossing the Jordan River (Jos 4, 5),
where Joshua circumcised the Israelites because this second generation of Israelites had not been
circumcised during their wilderness wanderings. Gilgal was the place where the Israelites
observed their first Passover. It was a place of new beginnings, being separated from the past
and onto a living God.
Next, Beth-El means House of God. Abraham built an altar there after he left his home (Gen
12:8). It was the place where Jacob spent the night and had his vison of the ladder ascending into heaven (Gen 28:19). When things were hard as they journeyed through, the Israelites sought
God. Bethel speaks to us about the Lord’s presence.
Furthermore, the scene of Elijah striking the Jordan River with his mantle is a reminder of Moses
and the Red Sea, the journey out of slavery into freedom; it also reminds us of Joshua and the
Jordan, the journey out of wandering to the Promised Land. Each time we have seen waters part
in the Bible, God is inviting His people into a new era. The Jordan also speaks to us of
baptism. We were buried with Christ by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was
raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life (Rom 6:4).
God orchestrated the final events of Elijah’s life in such a way as to designate and accredit Elisha
as his replacement. Elijah goes God’s way, departing with a chariot and horses of fire, leaving
Elisha behind to carry on in his absence.
When God moves you, you must go, and you must go in faith. God makes the path straight
for you. When you are led to an unknown place, you must trust God. And, you will see a
chariot of fire. You have to keep running like a 400 meter sprinter. You run for 200 meters,
then God will carry you for the remaining 200 meters, but you have to run the first 200
meters. Sometimes you have to run together, passing the baton to the next person. In that
relay, the next person must be preparing, as well, to receive the baton.
Till the end of Elijah’s journey, Elisha continued following his teacher wherever he was going
and stayed with him. Elisha knew what was a right thing to do. This future prophet saw Elijah’s
departure. Now Elisha was left alone in shock and despair, but as he requested, his teacher asked
God for a double portion of the spirit for the devoted mentee. And a double portion was granted
to Elisha by God. Elisha could have asked something else – a better cloak to put on or a better
house to live in, but he knew exactly what he needed, in order to be a spiritual leader – God’s
Holy Spirit.
The “chariot of fire” was the revelation of a divine blessing upon a transition of God’s ministry
on earth from one prophet to another. What do we learn from this story of the Two Prophets?
The first and foremost thing is that we must stay with God, as Elisha stayed with Elijah,
travelling through all those places that are of significance in our lives, where God shows His
great mercy and agape. The entire sight of a fiery chariot and horses was not visible to the other
prophets who stood at a distance watching, but it was seen only between the two Prophets. God
allowed Elisha to see it, a sign that God was answering his request to have a double portion of
God’s Spirit.
Second, we must pick up the mantle as Elisha did, putting aside his sorrowful heart about the
loss of his teacher, his father figure. The mantle is an emblem of God’s manifest presence that
sets you apart for a higher call.
Missionaries may have to leave their parents to go to another country. In today’s Gospel, a
would-be follower of Jesus said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Another said, “Let
me first say farewell to those at my home.” Who could say no to them? But, Jesus’ response was
stunning: “Let the dead bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of
God”; “No one who puts a hand to the plow and look back is fit for the kingdom of God” (Lk
9:60, 62).
As a human being, this is one of the hardest things to do, but Jesus’ core message is that you
must leave whatever is behind and you shouldn’t look back. It means that if you look at the
things behind, whether it’s your family, personal comfort, honour, reputation, your background,
or what so ever, you are not fit for the kingdom of God.
Jesus is on the way to cross. If you are determined to follow Jesus, you are also on the way to
cross. Can you then let go of all your various attachments? Divest yourself of all the
encumbrances that impede your focusing on one thing necessary; seek after holiness as the first
thing in your life.
If you put Jesus in the centre of your life and focus on Him, everything else will revolve in
relation to Jesus. What the followers of Christ need to ask is a double portion of the Spirit. Then,
God will give His faithful followers His Holy Spirit that reveals things unseen.
God’s ministry is a prophetic ministry. When you do God’s work, you will encounter moments
of internal struggles and external conflicts; you might not be able to bid farewell to your family
members. But, as Prophet Isaiah says, “The Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your
desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail” (Isa 58:11).
The chariot of fire is mysterious yet transcendental, which shows a glimpse of the heavenly
kingdom to the eyes of faith. Each of us has been given a mantle, a call of God and a gift from
God. We need to pick up the mantle and be prophetic critics of injustice in our society, defenders
to the underprivileged, and counselors to the wounded.
May the Lord send you a renewed measure of His Spirit!
Image credit:
“Chariots of Fire” (Film, Warner Bros), screenshot of the beach running scene near St. Andrews golf
course: from Wikimedia