Go Now to Zarephath

A sermon for the 25th Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 27
November 10, 2024, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Hot Springs, Arkansas

Readings: I Kings 17:8-16; Psalm 146; Mark 12:38-44

“Go now to Zarephath,” God tells the prophet Elijah today. The story from the Hebrew Scriptures takes place in the midst of a famine that Elijah himself prophesied. Elijah and the wicked King Ahab are facing off, and in the background, God is facing down Baal, the false god who was believed to provide rain and harvest plenty. As this false god takes hold in Israel because of Ahab’s leadership, God sends the prophet in to remind the king and the nation not to put their trust in rulers or any child of earth or in any idol that they might make; but to put their trust in God, both in good times and in bad times. 

In the midst of this famine, God tells the prophet, “Go now to Zarephath.” Zarephath is the heartland of Baal country; it’s Gentile territory that is experiencing the effects of famine, where suffering is present; it is an unwelcome place for the prophet. So I am sure that Elijah wanted to go the other direction: away from the famine and the desolation; away from the Gentiles, from the suffering of the people, from the pain and worry in their lives. But God calls the prophet to go straight into the heart of it all, straight into the pain and heartache and anxiety about the future. “Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” 

So that’s what Elijah does. He goes into the heart of suffering with a message from God, and he finds this Gentile widow in utter despair. She is making the last of her provisions. After she and her son eat, she says, they’re going to die. There is no hope in her eyes. There is no promise for tomorrow. There is only fear and despair and resignation to the abyss. And maybe also anger–anger at the king, anger at this very prophet. Maybe instead of cakes she wants to throw rocks. But she doesn’t. In an act of profound faithfulness and charity, she provides for Elijah. And true to God’s word, she is provided for. Her flour and oil do not run out. But more than that, hope is restored; and tomorrow’s promise returns; and her fear, despair, and resignation are replaced with faith, love, and a perseverance to go on in the face of the impossible. 

The mission of the Church today is the same as it was last week or last year or last millennium. God is calling us, now, to go to Zarephath. But before we get there, a word about the election. People of faith, in this very place, voted differently in the presidential election–and if we are not careful, we can allow that to harm our souls. Some are experiencing joy and celebration because their candidate won. If that is you, watch out for your soul. Do not gloat; do not ridicule or dismiss those who disagree with you; do not cut yourself off from community. And remember: Donald Trump is not the Messiah. Some are experiencing sorrow and loss and fear. If that is you, watch out for your soul. Do not despair; do not hate those who voted differently than you; do not cut yourself off from community. And remember: Donald Trump is not Satan. 

Our society today likes to separate itself into teams, fighting to the death, demonizing the other. The Church must be different. The Church must be a place where we come together to pray, to worship, to ask God for guidance, to intercede for the needs of the world. The Church must be a place where we come to the foot of the cross, not putting our trust in rulers, but in the Body given and the Blood shed. The Church must be a place where we hear the word of the Lord, the call of the gospel, and we repent and follow Jesus in service, reaching out to the suffering and forgotten, lifting up the broken and the fearful, supporting the widow and the orphan. Our allegiance, dear Church, is to Christ. 

“Go now to Zarephath.” Go into the heart of suffering, the place of pain, the abyss of fear, the chasm of grief, the void of hopelessness. Go into the world, not looking for your team, but looking to do God’s will. Live in peace among those who are different from you. And proclaim the goodness of God’s grace by word and deed, loving the Lord your God and your neighbor as yourself. 

There’s a lot of suffering, fear, and hurt in Zarephath. I think we know that. From fear of neighbor to economic insecurity to questions about health, there is anxiety all around. To not see it we would have to shut our eyes, our ears, our hearts. But the Church can never, must never, shall never do that. Like the prophet, we must dare to go into the heart of suffering bearing the Good News of Jesus Christ. As we go, we should not delude ourselves into thinking we will be able to solve everything. We, ourselves, are in the midst of hurt and pain. We are less like Superman and more like the widow in today’s gospel. We bring our two pennies, all we have, and we offer them to the work of God. We bring our gifts, our energy, our effort, our prayer. With that small gift, all that we are, we allow God to use us as instruments of peace, as messengers of hope, as ambassadors of love and grace for all people–not just those who are on our ‘team.’ With our small gift, we go into the world as the hands and feet and face of Christ himself–of Christ who bore our suffering so that we might have healing and life. 

“Go now to Zarephath.” That is God’s call to us, the call to the Church. Go into the heart of suffering and see it with clear eyes. Live among the suffering; make your home there. Have compassion, which literally means to suffer alongside. Proclaim and live the goodness and grace and love of God, especially to those who are hurting. Be a place of welcome to those with no home; be a place of healing to those with broken hearts and open wounds; be a place of hope for those who have no helper; be a place of faith for those lost in despair; be a place of promise for those who want to give it all up; be a place of forgiveness and grace for those looking for a second, or third, or fourth, or one hundredth chance; be a place of resurrection for the suffering, for those who are dying on the crosses raised in this world. 

“Go now to Zarephath.” This is the journey that the Church is called to, a journey into suffering with the gospel promise of healing, grace, forgiveness, redemption, love, and new life. It is a journey we must all take together–red or blue or purple–one Church following our one Lord, offering all that we are, our two pennies, for the work of the gospel. We have work to do. My one question is: Will we go together, or not at all?