This Sunday we'll look at one of the most beautiful passages of all of Scripture, 1 Kings 19. It's a story that's as dramatic as it is famous. The prophet Elijah is fresh off a mission in which he was able to see Yahweh triumph over the prophets of Baal. Yet in our passage we don't find Elijah celebrating in fits of amazement, but sitting alone under a tree, asking God for death.

Elijah has gone from the mountain top to the valley. Depleted and despondent, out of words, the great prophet has gone hoarse. How does God respond? One might expect chastisement or rebuke. How can such little faith be shown just after God has proven Himself supremely faithful? Certainly God would be well within His rights to, in a shout, bring down His hammer. Insead, he brings the gentle touch of His finger, and a gentle whisper.

We often ask the question at All Saints, "What has the church taught you to expect from God?" If we're honest, the church has often taught us to expect God to bring the law. We expect God to meet us in our frailty and sin with a word of judgement and condemnation. On Sunday, we'll find the opposite to be true.

Are you burned out? Are you at the end of your rope? God meets us, as he met Elijah, in grace. Of course, what we expect from God is connected to who we think God is. "God is not our mother-in-law coming to check and see if her wedding present china has been chipped," says the great priest Robert Farrar Capon. No, Capon says God is like, "A funny old uncle with a salami under one arm and a bottle of wine under the other. We do indeed need to watch for Him, but only because it would be such a pity to miss all the fun."

God meets us in His kindness, in His compassion, in His grace. If you need that, if you need a gentle touch and a soft whisper, please come on Sunday as we, like Elijah, rest in the presence of God. Don't miss the fun!

Guy+ talks with two artists finishing out their yearlong residency with Transform Arts. Join us for a pop-up gallery event Tuesday (6/24).