1 Kings 17:8-16 (NRSV)
Read 1 Kings 17:8-16 on biblegateway.com
Verse 8Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, Verse 9"Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you." Verse 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." Verse 11As she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, "Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand." Verse 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." Verse 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. Verse 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." Verse 15She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days. Verse 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.
Devotion
It's a story of small gifts invited to an invisible table offered in an unlikely and surprising spirit of hospitality. Insignificant at first glance, but the difference between life and death for both the giver and gifted.
Who among us are the "widows" who appear giftless and in poverty? Who among us are the "givers" ready to radically serve, reckless with their scarcity and confident in God's abundance.
Food enough, gifts abundant, faith full and invited to share. Imagine God's global children ready to love and be loved, waiting to feed and be fed, willing to serve and be served. It is a new economy, a grace-filled world order where homeland security is transformed into the peace of God which surprises us all. Life at the moment of death, and our jars and jugs remain full. Hospitality is lived out in God's world.
Prayer
Fill our hearts, Gracious God, with the assurance of your abundance that in thanksgiving we might be your radical servants in your world. Amen.