I will not leave you

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Imbere Yanje

Today is Wednesday the 17th of June, in the 11th week of Ordinary Time.

Enter into prayer now, becoming aware of God’s loving gaze upon you, as we hear Imbere Yanje by Judah Earle:

‘Answer me my God

For it is to you that I pray

I called to the Lord

He heard my cry’.

Unyishure Mwami wanje

Kuko ari wewe nsenga

N’bariye Uhoraho

Ijwi ryanje uranyuvma

Unyishure Mwami wanje

Kuko ari wewe nsenga

Ntawundi mfise atari wewe Data

Ntamugisha mfise atari wewe

S’mfise ichiza inyuma yawe

Nashize imana imbere yanje

Nashize imana imbere yanje

Ntawundi mfise atari wewe Data

Ntamugisha mfise atar’ wewe

s’mfise ichiza unyuma yawe

Nashize imana imbere yanje

Answer me my God

For it is to you that I pray

I called to the Lord

He heard my cry

Answer me my Lord

For it is to you that I pray

I have no one else but you Father

I have no one else but you

I have no good apart from you

I have placed the Lord ever before me

I have placed the Lord ever before me

I have no one else but you, Father

I have no blessing apart from you

I have no good apart from you

I have placed the Lord ever before me

3:23

Today’s reading is from the Second Book of Kings and we will hear the passage only once today.

2 Kings 2:1, 6-14

Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal.

Then Elijah said to him, ‘Stay here; for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.’ But he said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’ So the two of them went on. Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground.

When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.’ Elisha said, ‘Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.’ He responded, ‘You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.’ As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha kept watching and crying out, ‘Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!’ But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

He picked up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. He took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, saying, ‘Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?’ When he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over.

6:22

Imbere Yanje (Instrumental)

In today’s passage, we watch as Elijah and Elisha walk together - teacher and disciple, mentor and companion - comfortable in both conversation and silence. Let’s walk with them and see what unfolds.

Then comes Elijah’s request: “Please stay here.” There is a feeling of finality in the air, though it has not yet been spoken.

Elisha responds, “As the Lord lives… I will not leave you.”

As one is ready to move forward and the other is not wishing to let go, pay attention to what arises within you — love, resistance, hope.

As they reach the River Jordan, Elijah makes a simple gesture, and the Lord parts the water so that they can cross on dry ground.

Consider what “Jordan” may be before you. Where have you seen God make a way before, when you thought no way was possible?

Then Elijah asks Elisha, “Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.”

Elisha’s request is not for authority or status, but for the spirit that sustained Elijah’s life with God.

What might you ask for, if you were offered such a gift?

As Elijah is taken into heaven, witness Elisha’s grief before he picks up the fallen cloak.

“Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?”

Elisha’s question comes from a desire to experience God in his own life. In a time of prayer, share this desire with the Lord in confidence and faith.

12:15

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be

World without end

Amen