The first reading features Elijah, or Elyahu, as it is pronounced in Hebrew, and the starving widow. The name Elyahu is interesting in itself. Yah means God, and El is the Semitic name for the Great High God, so it means God is Great High God. Before today's reading, Elijah told King Ahab there would be a drought, as punishment for making idols to Baal, the Canaanite (or Phoenician) rain God, and sacred poles to Asharte a fertility goddess. Ahab made the God of Israel very angry. This drought would prove to Ahab that the God of Israel controls the rain. Somehow a drought is rather fitting when dealing with a false rain god.

God then told Elijah to go east of the river Jordan into a wadi, a small seasonal brook in a ravine, named Cherith, to hide from Ahab. While Elijah hid from Ahab, God would have the ravens feed Elijah. They did. Not only that, but they fed him meat and bread twice a day.

Now my first thought in reading about this was, where did the ravens get the bread and meat? Was this bread stolen from someone, or are they scraps from somewhere? Is this a miracle? I also wondered what kind of meat--I couldn't help the mental picture of Elijah telling the ravens, "No lizards, spiders, or snakes. They're not kosher!"

Anyway, he drank water from the wadi until it finally dried up, and God told him to go to Zarephath to see the widow mentioned in today's reading. This was not a Jewish woman. This was a Phoenician woman, who was starving to death with her little boy. Not only was she a widow, which means she had no good means of support, but there was a drought which was making all of Samaria and Phoenicia suffer. Also, we are told that God commanded her to feed Elijah.

This widow said another curious thing here. While telling Elijah of her hopeless situation, she didn't swear to the truth by using the name of one of her own gods, but she said, "As the Lord your God lives." Did she believe in the Israelite God? This might bear out the theory that God spoke to her. Was she just trying to find a term that would convince Elijah that she was telling the truth, and so swore on his God rather than one of hers?

When Elijah answered her, telling her not to be afraid, and promising that the grain and oil would not run out as long as there was need, there was a note of compassion for her in his answer. Though he told her to feed him first, the message sounded softened.

It was an act of faith for her to make this bread for him. She really had nothing, and could expect to starve even sooner now. If God actually told her to feed Elijah, perhaps she felt obedience would keep her alive for a little while longer. If not, did she do as he said because she felt it did not matter whether or not she and her son died sooner, since there was no hope? Did she really trust Elijah? Had she heard of him, even in Zarephath or was this act done because of ancient laws of hospitality? Even today, the laws of hospitality are very important in many cultures throughout the world.

If God had chosen to, He could have kept the Wadi Cherith from drying up, just as He had done with the grain and oil. If He had, though, Elijah would not have been there to rescue her, and she would not have had the opportunity for this sacrifice that proved her faith. Later her son will die, and she will confront Elijah with it, as if his presence brought about this catastrophe. Elijah will pray out of compassion for her to God and the boy will be brought back to life. She and her son will then pass out of all the tales when Elijah is ordered back to confront Ahab again.

In our Gospel reading today, Jesus pointed out the hypocrisy of the scribes, who liked to parade around, getting honors. They cared little for the people from whom they got money. Jesus even said they would receive the "greater condemnation." Why? Because they knew better. They were educated men, who read and interpreted the scriptures. The very scriptures they quoted were full of references to taking care of the poor and widowed. They could not claim ignorance of God's laws. Yet, here they were, praying long prayers for the praise of others, getting seats of honor at whichever function they attended, wearing long prayer shawls and cloaks, and taking money from the poor, whose need was desperate.

Times don't change much, do they? There are some today who have this same attitude. They love power, prestige, and riches. They love to be given places of honor while charging high prices to poor people who can ill afford it. They blame the poor for being poor, rob widows of their inheritance, and cut funding for programs that might help the destitute fend for themselves. When Jesus talked about "devouring widow's houses," I immediately thought about my step-mother, who had to sell her house to pay for the medical expenses when my father died of cancer, so she could live in a small trailer. I also thought about the enormous amounts of money charged for every part of funeral arrangements, which even at the cheapest, often bankrupts grieving widows and leaves them and their families destitute.

Many working people in our country have no health care coverage, and cannot afford to pay for insurance. Many working poor fall through the cracks in the government programs, leaving them with no recourse if there is a health crisis in their families. Many Christian families are only a paycheck away from homelessness.

For some people, it is not enough that a person is homeless because of some catastrophe, either from joblessness or addiction, but they must make it illegal to be homeless. Recently, I saw press coverage of officers in San Francisco arresting people who were sleeping on the sidewalk for want of a better place to go. The officers were just doing their job, but what a harsh law! I couldn't help but think that at least in jail they would get a meal and somewhere to sleep out of the rain. Ironically, San Francisco was named in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi, a rich man who gave up everything--becoming poor, to follow Christ, begging for his meals, and full of love for all.

If you have a Bible where Jesus is quoted in red, you might already have realized that forty percent of the direct quotes of Jesus urge social justice for the poor, elderly, destitute, ill, and handicapped, and to comfort the lonely and forgotten. Upon six occasions in the Gospels, Jesus speaks of what destines a person for hell. In three of these six occasions, the hell-bound sin is due to living in prideful or ostetatious wealth while the plight of the poor is ignored. In four additional occasions Jesus says the affluent will not enter heaven unless they have helped the poor and suffering. Yet, Jesus did not hate the rich simply because they were rich. Remember the rich man in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 13, who asked Him how to get to heaven, and Jesus looked on him with love? This was a man who had kept the commandments, tithes, and all, and asked what more he should do. It was only when Jesus suggested he sell his possessions, give the money to the poor, and follow Him that his face fell and he walked away--it is hard not to be attached to material goods, especially when you have them in abundance. That is why Jesus said it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter heaven.

The wealthy often forget that their wealth comes from God, becoming puffed up with ego and forgetting that it can all be taken away in the blink of an eye. Also, with great power and wealth comes great responsibility. If God has given wealth to someone, it is for a purpose--that the wealth be used wisely, not for that person's benefit, but for the benefit of others.

One of my favorite prayers reminds us of our complete dependence on God: "All things come from Thee, O Lord, and of thine own have we given Thee." Nothing we can offer to God is our own to give, nor does the Lord our God need anything we have to offer. Time and again, what God requires of the Israelites throughout the Old Testament, and again in the New Testament is justice and mercy for the poor and the weak; obedience, not sacrifice. The two great commandments cover this: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy strength." and, "Love thy neighbor as thyself." If we truly fulfill both these commandments, we cannot ignore the poor and needy.

After warning his disciples about the scribes, Jesus then focused on a widow who was putting two mites in the treasury--roughly worth about a penny. Notice that He sat opposite the treasury to watch the people, some rich, some poor, put the money in. There were thirteen donation chests in the temple court, each labeled with whatever purpose to which the money would be used. We are not told which charity she chose for her donation.

I don't think Jesus admired this woman simply because she was giving away all her money to charity. I really believe it had to do with faith. Unlike the woman in the first reading, she was not expecting to lie down and die. If she had been, I think it would have been mentioned. She gave everything she had because she had faith that God would not abandon her to starvation. Everything I read here tells me she believed that God would watch over her, and that her donation was from a generous, faithful, and loving heart. That is why I think Jesus was admiring her. She did not hold back thinking her two mites wouldn't mean much, with so many rich people giving lots of money. She didn't keep her money back because she was afraid she would starve or be homeless. What bravery! What utter faith in God! I wish we all had such faith and such generosity.

Amen