Sunday June 25, 2023
Theme: “Widows in Action” Text: 1 Kings 17:8-16
8. Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 9. Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to feed you. 10. He arose and went to Zarephath. As he was coming to the entrance of the city, behold, there was a widow woman there gathering firewood. He called him, and said, Go fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. 11. And she went to get some. He called him again, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a piece of bread in thy hand. 12. And she answered, As the LORD thy God liveth! I have nothing cooked, I only have a handful of flour in a pot and a little oil in a jug. And behold, I am picking up two pieces of wood, then I will go home and prepare it for myself and for my son; we will eat, after which we will die. 13. Elijah said unto him, Fear not, go home, do as thou hast said. Only, first prepare me a little cake with this, and you will bring it to me; then you will make some for yourself and for your son. 14. For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: The meal that is in the pot shall not fail, nor the oil that is in the jar diminish, until the day when the LORD brings down from the rain on the face of the ground. 15. She went and did according to the word of Elijah. And for a long time she had enough to eat, her and her family, as well as Elijah. 16. The meal that was in the pot failed not, nor the oil that was in the pitcher diminished, according to the word which the LORD had spoken by Elijah.
Let's remember:
The status of widow does not give the right to fall into fatality to the point of believing that the difficulties in progress lead to death. An orphan and his widowed mother are of great value in the sight of God. In reality, God did not move Elijah to Zarephath just to be nursed by a widow. Rather, God wanted to bring about a miracle through his prophet Elijah. It was therefore an opportunity for Elijah to take advantage of the miracle that God performed for the widow and the orphan, even if the miracle was performed by Elijah himself. In the midst of extreme famine coupled with drought, in the midst of hassles and harassment, in the midst of blackmail and extortion of property, in the midst of social isolation, God can send his servant to bring back a miracle and change the life of a widow. The widow must know that even without having asked anything of God, she remains God's concern; especially when she has an orphan to care for. The widow must move, she must be active; it has to get the wood and be in action. That she does not wait for the help of people in idleness or immobility. She must take good care of her child, despite the difficulties that present themselves to them. The widow must learn to make the sacrifice and even accept the risk of starving herself for a just cause; in order to please God and trigger the miracle. Even if it takes several turns to serve God and his servants, the widow must not tire herself. It must remain active and complete its mission. Each offering made by a widow must bear the mark of love and self-sacrifice in order to arouse the joy of God. This is valid for every Christian wishing to make a donation. Excellent Sunday. Amen Alain Louz.-
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