Proper 14B, August 9, 2015 Poor Elijah is surely in a bad place today.He had received the message that Jezebel, his adversary, is seeking his life because he has successfully challenged the prophets of the Cananite god Baal.He did signs which demonstrated the power of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel. This angered those opposed to Elijah, so he fled for his life. He traveled a days journey into the wilderness. When we meet up with him, Elijah has settled under a solitary broom tree and has announced that he is done. Done with all of it. Done not only with his ministry but also done with his life.He says, It is too much; now, Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors. Then he lies down and sleeps under the bush, but his sleep is interrupted by the touch of an angel who commands him to rise and eat. God is not done with Elijah. And he lets Elijah know this by sending him a meal, a cake of bread baked over embers and a jar of water. After Elijah eats and drinks, he lies down again, and once again, an angel touches him and commands him to rise and eat.The angel explains the reason why Elijah must eat, because the way is too much for you. Strengthened by the food, he traveled 40 days and nights until he reached Mount Horab, where God gave Moses the 10 Commandments. Elijah was under a solitary white broom tree. The white broom tree was used for kindling in cooking stoves and coals were made from its roots, trunks and branches.It is indigenous to the Middle East, North Africa, and possibility Sicily. In Israel it is widespread in deserts. It is most beautiful between January and April, when it is covered with a myriad of white flowers, with a honey fragrance. The broom tree symbolizes renewal. A restoration of vigor and a new freshness.Elijah certainly needed renewal. If the bush was blooming, Elijah would have seen thousands of tiny white blooms and smelled a soothing scent. The white broom tree is similar to the Scotch broom, which is an invasive plant growing in Humboldt County. But the branches of the white broom are longer and more flexible than the Scotch broom, forming an erect dense bush 3 to 12 feet tall. In many desert regions it is the only bush that affords any shade.God speaks to us through plants. After all, God created all things, including plants. Think of the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden.Think of Moses encountering the burning bush. Think of Jesus appreciating the beauty of the lilies of the field.Under the broom tree is where we learn what may be the very important lesson for the journey of life.That is because it is there where most of us truly live. It is there where we also have the hardest time surrendering our wills to the will of God.Under the broom tree we learn how to hear the voice of God in those difficult times in our own lives. When we reach the ends of ourselves, we find the beginning of authentic faith.What Elijah receives are practical, tangible provisions that enable him to go in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights. What is given is sufficient and strengthening. In the Gospel for today Jesus identifies himself as the living bread that came down from heaven.The bread of Jesus gives us strength for the journeys in our lives, however difficult they may be. The bread given by the Eucharistic minister is called the viaticum, the Latin word meaning food for the journey.God will provide the strength each of us needs. God will provide food for our journey. God will provide all we need to make our lifes journey. God provides his Word and the sacraments and especially other people who come into our lives to minister to us, to give us food and drink when we need it, to encourage us in our faith, to be with us when we feel tired and discouraged. And God may be calling you to do that to a brother or sister, to be an angel to another. God is not done with you or with me, or with our beloved Christ Church. Let us take rest under the broom tree, and affirm that the way is not too much for us, because God provides the bread and water for our journey. Amen. The Rev. Dr. Susan Armstrong