prophets in the wilderness

Good morning brothers and sisters,
This morning we remember the attack on Pearl Harbor that brought the US into World War II. We're grateful for the courage of our service men and women then and now. We also remember where we have fallen short as a nation. I recently talked with a Japanese American couple whose families were interned in prison camps during the war. Racism and irrational prejudice against immigrants continues to be a tragic national sin, and we need God's gift of repentance.

Our reading also speaks of a time for national repentance. During the Prophet Elijah's ministry Israel had fallen into idolatry to the point that Jezebel, the Queen of Israel persecuted the Lord's prophets and supported prophets of other gods. God called Elijah to invite Israel to repentance, which meant he spent much of his life on the run. As part of his witness for God, Elijah announced a three-year drought and famine in Israel to remind the people that God is in charge. During the first part of the drought Elijah was fed by ravens at a stream in the wilderness, but then the stream dried up. God's next move to support Elijah also reveals God's special care for the most vulnerable in society, in this case a widow and child. It's also a good reminder that the people hurt most by bad national policy are usually those who are already struggling. May we never forget our past so we can follow God into a more just and faithful future.

God bless,
Sam

1 Kings 17:8-16

⁸Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah, saying, ⁹“Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” ¹⁰So he set out and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink.” ¹¹As she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” ¹²But she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”

¹³Elijah said to her, “Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son. ¹⁴For thus says the Lord the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth.” ¹⁵She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days. ¹⁶The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.