Proper 27 Year B 11/10/2024
I Kings 17:8-16; Psalm 146; Hebrews 9:24-28; Mark 12:38-44
Rev. Mark A. Lafler
Most of us, if not all of us, have struggled at various times in our life with finances,
with making ends meet,
perhaps with putting food on the table,
perhaps not knowing how we were (or are) going to pay the next bill.
The inflation over the last few years has created greater burdens on people…
Exasperating the difficulties for many.
At various times throughout history unfortunate difficulties have created a dearth of food and goods.
War, politics, and natural disasters have all played their roles in creating difficulty and even death on the people of this world.
One of those disasters is the phenomenon we call drought.
Of course, a drought is a prolonged period of abnormally low rainfall, leading to a shortage of water…
And eventually to a shortage of food.
And this is the setting of our first reading from the book of First Kings.
1 Kings chapter 17 introduces us to a powerful prophet of Israel…
His name was Elijah.
And in the first verses of our present chapter, God spoke through Elijah declaring a drought over the land of Israel.
One can see in the chapters that follow, the drought was divinely ordained to show the strength of God…
That God is Lord and not Baal or any other god.
It is God who controls life and death…
Fertility and infertility…
Not false gods.
But the main purpose of our reading today is on God’s provision for his prophet and the family he was with.
It is God’s miraculous provision in the midst of life-threatening circumstances.[1]
God told Elijah to get up and go to Zarephath in Sidon and live there.
(That’s on the coast of the modern country Lebanon)
God told him about a woman who lived there, a widow, who is going to feed him.
Elijah went there and as he came to the entrance of the village he met a woman, a widow, gathering firewood.
He asked her, “Please, would you bring me a little water in a jug?
I need a drink.”
As she went to get it, he called out, “And while you’re at it, would you bring me something to eat?”
(Remember this is during a drought)
She said, “I swear, as surely as your God lives,
I don’t have so much as a biscuit.
I have a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a bottle;
you found me scratching together just enough firewood to make a last meal for my son and me.
After we eat it, we plan to die.”
(The drought has been so bad that they were having their last meal and preparing to die)
Elijah then said to her, “Don’t worry about a thing.
Go ahead and do what you’ve said.
But first make a small biscuit for me and bring it back here.
Then go ahead and make a meal from what’s left for you and your son.”
(This is a real test of faith here… the way it comes across to us is bit concerning… Elijah being a bit demanding… but the text is about acting in faith)
Elijah then says, “This is the word of the God of Israel:
‘The jar of flour will not run out and the bottle of oil will not become empty before God sends rain on the land and ends this drought.’”
And so, she went right off and did it.
And it turned out as he said—daily food for her and her family.
The jar of flour didn’t run out and the bottle of oil didn’t become empty: God’s promise fulfilled to the letter,
exactly as Elijah had delivered it![2]
God provided for his prophet as well as the widow and her son.
In the most dreadful of times, God has mercy and compassion.
This is God’s nature both in the Old and New Testaments.
He is a God of grace and mercy.
He is the God that supplies and gives provision.
As humans, we all have needs.
We need food, shelter, protection, clothes, jobs, money, rest, peace, and a whole list of other things.
And at some point,
most of us have struggled between trusting God to provide,
and burning ourselves out trying to make it happen ourselves.
But God is faithful…
He is our provider…
He sustains us with what we need…
Even in times of drought…
Even if that drought comes in the form of fear, worry, and anxiety.
Throughout the scriptures God promises provision.
In Deuteronomy 2:7 the scriptures tell us:
The Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands.
He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness.
These forty years the Lord your God has been with you,
and you have not lacked anything.
In our Psalm today… Psalm 146 (7-9) the psalmist declares:
God upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free,
the Lord gives sight to the blind,
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,
the Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the foreigner
and sustains the fatherless and the widow…
In Matthew 6:31-33, Jesus says:
So do not worry, saying,
‘What shall we eat?’
or ‘What shall we drink?’
or ‘What shall we wear?’
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given to you as well.
In Acts 14:17, Paul and Barnabas declared:
God has not left himself without testimony:
He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons;
he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”
In the letter to the Philippians 4:19, the scriptures promise:
And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.
In the 19th century, the great missionary period, God raised up a faithful and dedicated disciple.
Hudson Taylor was a British Baptist Christian missionary to China and founded the China Inland Mission.
Taylor spent 54 years in China.
The society that he began was responsible for bringing over 800 missionaries to the country…
starting 125 schools…
and leading to 20,000 Christian conversions.
Taylor was known for his admiration for Chinese culture…
He adopted wearing native Chinese clothing…
Something of a rarity in that century.
Hudson faced financial difficulties…
Loneliness…
Travel risks…
And thoughts of giving up on the mission.
Yet he remained faithful to the call, and God provided.
In his journal Hudson Taylor wrote:
Our heavenly Father is a very experienced One.
He knows very well that His children wake up with a good appetite every morning…
He sustained 3 million Israelites in the wilderness for 40 years.
We do not expect He will send 3 million missionaries to China;
but if He did, He would have ample means to sustain them all…
Depend on it,
God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.
And this points to the greatest provision that God has ever given…
The greatest need that all people have is to be reconciled to God.
Because of sin we have been separated from God…
All of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
We are in need of a Savior…
Because we are not capable of saving ourselves.
We need…
Someone that can forgive our sins and make us righteous before God.
Someone who can rescue us from death and the grave.
Someone that can restore us to wholeness.
That person is Jesus Christ.
God provided his only begotten Son, that anyone who believes in him will be saved.
Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners…
And it is in the provision that comes through Jesus that we can be reconciled to God.
In Christ we can become children of God.
Here the good news of God today:
God is faithful…
He provides for our needs…
He provides for our salvation.
Give thanks to God for he is faithful and true.
His mercy is new every morning.
He is for us, not against us.
And in Jesus is the victory.
Praise be to God.
Amen.
[1] Iain Provan, 1 and 2 Kings, NIBC (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1995), 133.
[2] Text primarily from The Message.