1 Kings 17.8-16
The Lord give justice to those who are oppressed, and food to those who hunger. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. (Psalm 146.6)
Jill was extremely thirsty as she gazed at the bubbling spring. Although parched, she stood to the side in fear. She was terrified of taking a step closer because a lion sat at the edge of the water. She didn’t want to move in fear of being eaten by the fierce looking beast. At the same time, her thirst was overcoming her.
She didn’t know what to do. This was a strange land, one that she had never experienced, and she was alone. She was only a child. Only moments before, she thought she was always right and that she didn’t need anyone’s help. She put on a show of being fearless until she realized that she wasn’t a good enough actor. But now, she was desperate. She had cried every possible tear and now all she could think about was getting a drink. But there was this lion. A giant animal, the king of beasts guarding the salvation she sought. What to do?
This is a scene from the second chapter of C.S. Lewis’s The Silver Chair[i], one of the Chronicles of Narnia. Jill had heard from Eustace only the very briefest of summaries of this place before being rushed into the experience. She had escaped her terrible co-educational school that allowed a group of bullies to rule the halls. When she arrived, Jill found herself perched on a precipice as Eustace was blown into the distance by the breath of this very lion she now encountered near the edge of the water. But now, she couldn’t determine the next step in her Narnia experience. Should she risk stepping forward to get a drink, or quietly shuffle back in hopes of finding an unguarded spring, or should she remain still, in the hope that the lion would fail to notice her. These choices flooded her thoughts when she heard a voice say, “Come, take a drink. I won’t hurt you.” As Jill looked around to find the source, the words were repeated, “Come, take a drink. I won’t hurt you.” She finally realized that the lion was the speaker.
She asked him to leave, but he refused. She asked him to promise not to do anything to her if she came to get a drink. But he couldn’t make that promise. She asked if he ate girls. He answered, “I have swallowed up girls and boys, women and men, kings and emperors, cities and realms.”
Jill said, then I mustn’t come and drink. And he said, then you will die of thirst. She said, I will go look for another spring. The lion answered, this is it. There are no others to find.
Her thirst finally got the best of her and she ran quickly to scoop just a small amount of the water. And it quenched like no other drink. It filled her in ways that she couldn’t understand. And she was refreshed, completely.
Jill’s fear of Aslan the lion, however unfounded, is similar to fears of all people when the choices of life become riskier. It is easy to be generous and compassionate when these choices don’t force us to grow and change. It’s easy to watch the news at home and rile against the unjust nature of the world. It is easy to join a church of friends. It is easy to make promises or promote our own goodness.
Over the past several weeks, we have even heard of people running for offices of leadership who misrepresented their good deeds or the deeds of their family members in the heat of the moment. When questioned, they responded by saying that the atmosphere fueled their overblown account. It is easy to consider our plight as justification for our actions. And often our circumstances are a perfect excuse to disengage from the world in order to care for our own needs.
Today’s Old Testament lesson is about the prophet Elijah. Prophets deliver messages of God often to those who are distracted by their own self-centeredness. There are prophets in every generation but often only the bravest are even noticed. The majority of prophets are ignored and often marginalized by those in power. Elijah was one of many prophets asked to advise King Ahab of Israel. Elijah prophesied that because of Ahab’s idolatry, there would be a three-year drought in his kingdom. As you can imagine, Ahab was not happy with this prophetic message. He didn’t want to hear dissent, he wanted to hear platitudes. All the other supposed prophets honored him with the news he wanted to hear. Ahab wanted Elijah to change his pronouncement but Elijah refused. In an attempt to scare or torture a change out of Elijah, Ahab sought to capture and imprison him.
Elijah ran from Ahab following the directions of God. These directions led him first to a small stream where Elijah hid until the streambed dried up and the food was consumed. Then God told him to make his way north to Zarephath where a woman would provide him food and drink. Elijah, following the directions of God, made his way secretly, to avoid King Ahab, across Israel on his way to Zarephath, a place that did not know the Lord God.
That is where today’s brief snippet tells of Elijah’s encounter with a poor, famished widow. She was collecting water and twigs for the final meal with her son. Elijah asked her for a drink. As she prepared a drink for him, he furthered his request by inquiring about food. 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." (1 Kings 17.12)
And then, like Aslan said to Jill, Elijah said to the widow,
"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. For 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." (1 Kings 17.13-14)
The widow is distracted by her most desperate needs. How can she give up something so precious in hope of something she doesn’t know? She is not a believer in Elijah’s God; she doesn’t have any experience with God’s faithfulness. She knows her desperation, she feels her hunger, and sees the eyes of her child. If I were in her shoes, I would have turned Elijah away, but instead, for some reason, the desperate widow trusts the unbelievable prophecy, divides the food as instructed, and it is multiplied. It miraculously became enough to fill all of them, completely.
In focusing on God instead of being tempted by distraction, God gave the widow a great gift, a life saving sustenance.
Although these two examples are about water and food, about being filled with physical sustenance, there is a deeper metaphorical meaning that informs our choices. Like I said before, when the risk is low, we are quick to make compassionate decisions but when we get backed into the corner. When we are faced with decisions that leave us at risk, or that are outside of our experience, how do we respond? Do you change your tune when the atmosphere gets the best of you? God teaches us about faith, the power of fulfillment, and the need to give when it hurts. In so doing, we will be filled and refreshed. We will discover that our scarcity is instrumental in God’s plan to provide for others.
We might be clouded by the moment of conversion. When the widow made the choice to give the food, when Paul was blinded on the road to Damascus, or when Jill stepped forward to the water’s edge, or when we first stepped forward to join a church, confirm our faith, or promise our hand in marriage. But conversion is only the beginning. If we dwell on conversion and joining, we forget that what really lies behind those moments is that God is seizing us and empowering us for tasks we never could have imagined. So ask yourself, are you risking yourself? Are you giving all that you can to live into your responsibility to give back to God?
Aslan invited Jill to take a drink and promised not to hurt her. Jill asked him to promise not to do anything to her. And Aslan responded, “I can’t make that promise.” When we take a step forward into our fear, we will be changed, something will happen to us. Are you willing? Will you die of thirst, will you prepare all that you have knowing that it won’t last, or will you risk taking the step forward in your faith to find the meaning and purpose, to receive sustenance forever?
Proper 5C
June 6, 2010
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