|
Today’s Scripture reading is from the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament. We hear today the word of God from the Book of 1st Kings. From the title, we might expect a narrative about a sovereign leader of the Hebrew people, but in fact, the lesson this morning is about the prophet Elijah. Elijah’s story is related to a king’s story – a king named Ahab, the king Scripture tells us, “did evil in the sight of the Lord more than all who were before him.” One of the evil things Ahab did was to marry a foreign woman named Jezebel, who convinces her husband to set up altars to her god, Baal, thereby Ahab breaks the first commandment: “You shall have no other gods besides the Lord, your God. “ The great prophet Elijah enters in, and pronounces God’s word and judgment. Needless to say, Ahab and Jezebel are not pleased, And they try to discredit and dismiss the prophet. God decides that it’s time for Elijah to get out town for a while.Elijah is sent into enemy territory, straight to the land of Jezebel and Baal. But sometimes in the Bible, miracles happen in the most unexpected places! Here’s where today’s lesson begins. Let us listen, friends, for the word of life and love for us. [SCRIPTURE IS READ] They come under the cover of night, Mother and daughter walking for what seems like hours and miles. The young girl cries, Where are we going? When will we get there? The mother hushes her, Shh…Shh.. Keep quiet, little one. Keep quiet. We’re almost there. The mother peers at each building for the mark that would signal they had arrived at their destination. Finally, she sees it: a crucifix on the door. The mother – with her young daughter cradled in her arms, walks up the stairs, knocks on the door and waits. She hears steps coming closer and closer. The door opens slightly, and a woman’s head appears a woman she’s been told they call “Mother Superior.” The mother of the child begins talking, quietly yet quickly. “Mother Superior, you know how my people are suffering. The Nazis have issued their command – And they are coming to take us all away. Could you please protect my daughter here in the convent? Please, Mother Superior, Please. I know what might happen to me, but I don’t want my daughter’s life to be taken. If she survives, a part of me survives.” Mother Superior looks around, opening the door wide. Come, come, she says, shepherding them inside. She had heard of the atrocities that the Nazis were committing against the Jews: many of them being taken away and delivered to death camps. She knew that other convents had taken and hidden young Jewish children. Standing there, though, she has some reservations - the law is not in her favor; and some days there was barely enough to keep the sisters going. But in that moment, she cannot turn them away. She assures the mother that her daughter is safe now, that she would be kept in safety. And although the young Jewish mother is assured – in fact, others had told her of how they left their children in convents - she summons enough courage to ask the Mother Superior for a pledge. “Please, Mother Superior, Please do not convert my daughter unless you hear that I have died. If I die, then do as you think best.” The Mother Superior agrees, and then calls to one of the other sisters to come and take the child. Before she departs, the mother hugs her daughter, gives her a blessing for protection, and quickly leaves the convent under the cover of night. Morning comes, and the next morning, and the next morning, and the next. The young girl becomes part of the life of the convent, attending the convent school with other girls from the community. There’s one thing that separates her, though. At 4:00 PM each day, one of the sisters goes to the school and brings the young girl to the Mother Superior. And each day, the Mother Superior feeds her a teaspoon of honey and these words: “Your mother gives you this sweetness today.” Day by day, month by month, and year after year, this young girl receives sustenance in the midst of the scarcity of her situation. Your mother gives you this sweetness today. and like the Lord’s promise given through the prophet Elijah – the jar of meal will not be emptied, and the jug of oil will not fail - the Mother Superior daily reminds the young girl through her words and actions: The jar of honey will not be emptied And the jug of care will not fail. This is a true story, One that Barbara and I heard from Rabbi Herb Brockman at last week’s interfaith dinner. Like the biblical story of the widow and the prophet, this little known story from WWII is a miraculous story of extravagant hospitality and courageous compassion. In a world that said Christians and Jews were enemies, In a world that said that the Christianity was superior to Judaism, In a world that said that you were punished for harboring a Jew, In a world where much of the church was silent in the face of the horrors of the holocaust, the Mother Superior and the other sisters in the convent share what they have for the life of another, believing and trusting in the blessing of God, and miracles happen. The world knows this story today because it has been told by one of the “hidden children,” the thousands of children who were kept in hiding in convents, monasteries, and churches. This particular story has been told by the very young Jewish girl who knew the miracle of safety, spending several years in the convent, never being converted, only being given honey and the promise of a mother’s love. This young girl knew another miracle, when one day her mother - who miraculously survived not one, but two concentration camps – returned to the convent to retrieve her daughter and give her thanks to the sisters. Friends, the jar of meal and the jar of honey will not be emptied, And the jug of oil, the jug of care will not fail. Did you know that the story of widow from Zarephath appears in the New Testament as well? It is early on in Luke’s gospel; Jesus returns to his hometown, Nazareth, to give his first sermon in the synagogue: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. I have come to preach good news to the poor, Release for those who are held captive, Sight for those who are blind.” On that day, Jesus reminds his friends and family of the ways that God is at work in the most unlikely places and often through the most unlikely people. It happens in Scripture, it happens in history, And – if we open our hearts and hands – it can happen today. Who will arrive at our door today that needs our extravagant hospitality? Where are the places we are being invited to extend courageous compassion? How can we share our sustenance in a world where many – especially women and their children – know scarcity each and every day? The promise of God was spoken through the prophet Elijah: The jar of meal will not be emptied; the jug of oil will not fail. Sisters and brothers, here is our privilege: to be the ones whose faithful sharing will be part of the divine miracle, Today we are nourished for this privilege through the sacrament of Holy Communion. In the midst of our daily living, In the midst of our daily struggles and sorrows, hopes and joys, In the midst of our hungers and our thirsts, God extends extravagant hospitality and courageous compassion to each and all of us. It is here at the table that we are given the sweetness of the sacrament and reminded of the divine promise that is ours through Jesus Christ: The cup of grace will not be emptied And the bread of love will not fail. Amen. |