1 Kings 17:1-16, (17-24)

Pentecost +3 - Year C

1 Kings 17:1-16, (17-24)

In a culture of hospitality, how did G*D “command” or “instruct” or “designate” a widow to feed Elijah?

Would that signs would be as straight-forward as a first encounter. There in the entrance to a city, two people meet.

Note the care with which the unnamed widow prepares a last meal. A little flour, a little oil, are prepared as best she can in what would be expected to be a weakened condition. Setting a good table is as valuable as welcoming others to share what is available.

This ability to notice and play out a scene is something we are still in need of. To note details such as childless widow or making a feast out of little continue to remind us that that which seems so empty, is not. Loss is not just the emptiness of necessity, though it may sometimes be, but it is also an opening to see the freedom and possibilities that have grown through cement since the last time we looked. In the midst of despair, there is a trust and hope that sits zazen.