Rev. Will Rice
Grace United Methodist Church
Corpus Christi, TX
pastorwillrice@gmail.com
1 Kings 17:8-16
I must have been about twelve years old. It was the dead of winter in Eden, New York. I was with my good friend Dan. Dan was a Jehovah’s Witness and he lived in a cabin way out in the country at the end of a dirt road. We went sledding. That’s what kids do in the winter in Eden, New York. We went to this great hill in the woods about a miles walk from his home. It was a great, long, steep hill that ended in a low gully that, even in the dead of winter had standing water. I had on my pair of boots for that winter, a pair of water resistant leather insulated boots with thick soles. Dan had on the ugliest pair of rubber snowmobile boots I had ever seen. After a whole day of sledding and walking through the water in that gully, my feet were soaked and cold. We started back to his house but my feet were so wet and cold and I was so uncomfortable, I actually had trouble walking. Dan saw my distress so he sat down in the snow, told me to do the same. He took of his ugly rubber snowmobile boots, then he reached over and pulled off my boots. He put his boots on my feet, picked up my boots and walked the rest of the way home in his socks, while my feet were as warm as toast. I didn’t realize it until this morning that his action was one of the most powerful Christian witnesses I ever experienced.
I want you to think for a moment of one of your most prized possessions: something you just love, something you just can’t live without. Now I want you to picture giving it away.
The scripture today is picking up in the middle of the account of the life and ministry of Elijah the Tishbite. He told Ahab the king of Israel at the time that there would be a severe drought and famine in the land. Then, it tells us in the beginning of the chapter, that he goes to the Wadi Cherith, east of the Jordan river, where he drinks from the wadi and is fed by ravens. He stays there until the drought and famine are in full force and then…
8Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 9“Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you.”
Alright this is another one of those things where you miss a lot if you don’t read between the lines. Elijah leaves Gilead and goes all the way up to Zarapheth. Zarapheth is not a place where nice Jewish prophets are supposed to hang out. This is a place where people worshiped other Gods. This was the land of the Phoenicians who worshipped the god Ba’al. So, we can assume that the people there, in this land of other Gods, will do bad stuff, right?
10So he set out and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink.”
I like to take whatever chances I can to help you read the Bible better so listen to this. Whenver you are reading and hear mentioned: a poor person, a barren woman, a leper, or a widow, something is likely to happen. Consider it a flag. The authors of scripture do not throw widows around will-nilly.
So Elijah the Tishbite asks her for some water. Keep in mind there is a drought in all the land, and what does this Ba’al worshipping widow do? She turns around to go get him some water. But Elijah the Tishbite is obviously delirious from the journey because he asks for something else.
11As she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”
O.K. Now he is pushing it. Perhaps he doesn’t remember that there is a drought and a famine going on. And add to that, she is a widow and in the time of Elijah a widow would have had trouble getting by even without a drought and famine.
12But she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”
Notice that. “As the Lord your God lives.”
She had just enough for one little meal before they both die from starvation. But, Elijah is persistent, as prophets must be, and he keeps trying.
13Elijah said to her, “Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son.
Bold move. “I heard what you said, but do what I say anyway” And here is why:
14For thus says the LORD the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the LORD sends rain on the earth.”
Remember what she just said to him, “As the Lord your God lives.” Elijah is telling her to do this on the promise of a God that she doesn’t even believe in.
14For thus says the LORD the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the LORD sends rain on the earth.”
So what does this woman do, this widow of Zarapheth, this woman from the land of the Phoenicians, this woman who is on her way to make one last simple meal for her and her son before they both perish?
15She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days. 16The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah.
This widow has made a choice, go and make a last meal for her and her child, from her nearly empty jar, or trust this man and give to him from her nearly empty jar. Think about how severe a decision that is. I know people say, “the church is always asking for money.” But has the church ever asked you to make a choice between feeding your children and giving to the church? This is what Elijah the Tishbite has asked.
I was reading this passage from one of my study Bibles and it had this footnote:
The widow had faith in Elijah’s words, did as he requested, and she and her son were blessed with abundance as long as the drought lasted.
Not to disagree with the biblical scholars but they weren’t necessarily blessed with abundance.
16The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah.
They had a little oil and a little meal for bread, they had enough to survive on, not abundance. The reason I point this out is that there is a subtle difference between good and bad theology. Christianity has been severely damaged by preachers who say, “give your money to God and you will get more back!” “Send as much as you can and you will find a new Cadillac in your driveway.” That is not how it works and that is not the point.
The widow gave, not out of expectation of a blessing, but out of trust. She, for one reason or another, trusted that if she listened to this representative of God, that God would take care of her and son.
Now many of us are there. We give of our time and talents and treasure, not expecting that God will return our gifts with abundant blessing, but out of simply trust and obedience. But most of us, me included, give out of our abundance, not out of our scarcity.
Think about it. Popular culture tells me that I don’t have nearly enough. I need a bigger TV, a bigger truck, a faster computer, better tasting deserts, higher-speed internet access, a much cooler cell phone, better shoes, a more relaxing vacation, new furniture, a larger home etc., etc., etc. But really, in the grand scheme of things, I have more than I need materially. I have plenty to eat and drink, I have a comfortable place to live and transportation. I give back to God out of my abundance not out of my scarcity. I give out of my extra.
And it is not just about money and possessions. We very often talk about our time being a much more precious commodity than even our money. But we are not actually as busy as we like to think we are. The average American watches television over four hours a day , many spend more than that just surfing the internet. The forty hour work week which many enjoy wasn’t really implemented until the 1940s . Before that, many people worked 50, 60 and 70 hour weeks. As busy as we feel, we still give out of the abundance of our time.
But what might happen if we gave out of, not just our abundance, but out of our scarcity? Not just out of our full jars but out of our empty jars. What might happen in the world?
I spent a lot of time thinking and praying about this week. This is hard stuff. But when we actually engage in giving from our scarcity, we really get to see how all this stuff has a hold over us. It is pretty easy to give from our abundance. It is just about choices. If I have four coats and I decide to give one away, I just choose which one I like the least or use the least. But, if I have one coat, and I give it away, I have to think about what life will be like without a coat.
Think about the woman in today’s passage:
12But she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”
This wasn’t, “If I give you a cake, I won’t be able to make a pie for after supper that we would eat even though we were full.” This is, “If I feed you, we don’t eat.”
Things change when I move from giving from my abundance to giving from my scarcity. When I give from my scarcity, or at least from my perceived scarcity, when I give away something I need, or even something that I really want, I really have to come face to face with the fact that no thing I have, no possession, is of any actual value. My value, my happiness doesn’t come from any thing, it comes from God. Now this is hard stuff. My value, my happiness doesn’t come from any thing, it comes from God. And this doesn’t even pertain just to material things. My happiness, my value does not come from anything I profess to possess. MY time, MY talents, MY accomplishments are not the sources of MY value or MY happiness. All that stuff comes from God.
And now I am in trouble because in this particular area, the gospel comes directly into conflict with the world.
I want to look real quick at another piece of scripture, Mark 10:17-22:
17As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 18Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 19You know the commandments: 'You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.'" 20He said to him, "Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth." 21Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, "You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." 22When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
People hate this passage, because it raises the question, “So I am supposed to give away all my stuff?” No it doesn’t say that. The man asks Jesus what he has to do to fully inherit the promise of God and Jesus says, “Let go.”
Let go and instead of only giving from your abundance, trying giving from your scarcity. Not just the extra from the top of your full jars, but give from the depths of your empty jars.
Trust in not your own abundance, but God’s abundance.
A few weeks ago I preached sermon called “One” and in it, I challenged you all to take a week off from judging others. I have to tell you, I have never gotten so much response from a sermon. A number of you told me, in person, via email, or on the phone, how hard it was or how rewarding it was or both. So, I thought I would try again. Here is your assignment this week. Give something away. Anybody can do that. I have a pair of shoes I never wear. I am not going to let you off the hook that easy. Give something away that you actually need. That may be too easy for some of you because then you will just go replace it. Give away something that you love. Give away something that matters to you. Give something not from you abundance, but from your scarcity. Give something from what you would consider your empty jar. It can be anything and it doesn’t need to be material. Maybe for you it means giving away your day off. Maybe it is some money you set aside to spend on yourself. Maybe it is letting down a boundary and giving away a part of yourself that you protect.
Now let me lay down a couple of guidelines. Number one: Think this through. I am not responsible for your actions. Don’t give away your rent money. That is not going to help anyone. Don’t give away a family heirloom that you will forever regret. Unless, maybe you have another family member you could give it to, a family member who may be forever changed by your generosity.
Guideline number two: Be prepared to be freed by giving it away. Be prepared to accept the freedom that comes from knowing that nothing you possess can bring you closer to God, only letting go can.
I don’t ask this lightly. I have been thinking and praying about this all week and I say again, this is hard. When I think about my prized possessions and letting go of them, I get very uncomfortable. But, that in itself tells me something.
Give away something, not from your abundance, but from somewhere else, from your scarcity, from your empty jars, from a place that makes you nervous. Let go. Trust that God’s abundance is enough for you. Amen.
