Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

The text for today’s meditation is 1 Kings 17: 8-16

¹Then the word of the LORD came to him, ⁹ "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you." ¹⁰ So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, "Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink." ¹¹ And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, "Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand." ¹² And she said, "As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die." ¹³ And Elijah said to her, "Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. ¹⁴ For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth.'" ¹⁵ And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. ¹⁶ The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah.

Laurie and I love to shop at Publix. We love that it is well lighted. We like their Publix brand food. The stores are always clean and well maintained. The best part is they always seem to have what we are looking for. I don’t remember the shelves ever looking bare. When we lived in Columbus we pretty much shopped Publix exclusively. I know it can be a little more expensive but it seemed worth it. We miss shopping at Publix. The closest Publix is bit too far for us here. The stores here in Scottsboro also have well stocked shelves. There doesn’t seem to be a shortage of food does there? The supply at Wal-Mart is so good that our volunteers from Trinity often pick up two or three truck loads on Wednesdays for CASA. This is food in broken cases, dented cans, items about to expire or expired, and day old bakery items. They give of their excess every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. There surely isn’t a shortage of food.

Here in America we tend to forget who provides for our daily needs. More than likely none of us have faced the fear of starving to death. We assume everything we need will be available at Publix or one of the other grocery stores or any number of restaurants in the area. We have no fear that food will be available, we complain about the price.

Elijah prophesies a drought to King Ahab which in turn comes true. In the middle of the drought God sends Elijah the city of Zarephath to ride out the remainder of the drought. He is directed to kindly ask a widow to provide food for him. Remember widows don’t normally have anyone to care for them. They usually rely on their grown children but in this case the son is too young to provide for her. So God is sending Elijah to a woman He knows doesn’t have much to begin with. Now she is being asked to feed one more and in faith she does. Unlike Wal-Mart she isn’t giving of her excess. The widow is giving all she has and believes the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah that the flour and the oil would not be used up. Don’t get me wrong, I applaud Wal-Mart for what they give. I am just recognizing that it is of their excess.

In the gospel lesson for today Jesus describes two kinds of people. There are those that give out of their abundance or excess.

In this case the woman gave all she had displaying faith in the LORD’s promise to provide for her daily needs. And there are those that give of what they are to live on in faith that the LORD will provide.

Turn to page 324 in your hymnal. Let’s recite the fourth petition of the Lord’s Prayer along with the questions and answers.

Daily bread; it sure encompasses quite a bit doesn’t it? Luther’s definition is quite extensive. The examples in the texts this morning are of food and money but Luther’s explanation goes beyond bodily needs to husbands and wives, government, weather, peace, friends, and neighbors. With the elections decided we have to remember who is providing our daily needs. We have to remember that His ways are not our ways and that He uses people for His purposes. God is providing our daily needs, our daily bread.

God is providing for our daily bread. We live in such an affluent culture that we forget who is truly providing for our needs. We like to think we had something to do with it and what we have is ours. God has provided everything you have. You don’t have to be afraid because God promises to take care of your needs. Is there something you fear that keeps you from giving as these two women have given? Are you afraid the government will cut your benefits? Are you afraid your job may not be there tomorrow? Are you afraid the stock market will crash again and you will lose more of your retirement? What is it you fear? Don’t let fear keep you from returning to God what is already His. Elijah was sent to a gentile woman. The LORD could have sent him to any number of widows in Israel that could have provided food for Elijah. But God pronounced judgment on Israel’s unbelief by sending His prophet to a gentile woman. When God’s own people worship idols instead of the Lord, then God sends His prophets and His blessings to others. Are we worshiping the idols of prosperity or greed? Do we worship things other than God? We must worship God and believe in Him and His promises to provide for our daily needs.

We see two kinds of giving in our texts. We see the woman giving all she had as an offering to the church. We also see a woman giving her all by helping her neighbor. We too must give both ways. Don’t give all you have to give to the church. You must be able to use some of what you have for your neighbor’s needs. Giving and helping those in need is being Christ to that neighbor. Give of yourself from what you need not just of your excess. Fill the need knowing your needs will be filled as well. God works His grace in the world through your simple acts of faithfulness.

Christ is the example to follow. He gave of Himself not of His excess. He won the salvation of the world not through works of His power. He saved you and me through love, sacrifice, and servant hood. Jesus took on the role of servant all the way to the cross. He loved you enough to give all of himself for you. Your sins are buried in the tomb but Christ rose from that tomb and left your sins behind. This is the message that we, Gods faithful people must act and speak to the world. You are to give of yourself as Christ gave. Not of His excess but of himself. Give because you believe in Christ, His salvation of the world, and His promise to provide your daily bread.

Give generously knowing that like the shelves of Publix your shelves will not be bare. The more you give in love, because Christ loved you, the more you will have to give. Don’t just give of your abundance, believe, and move past your fear and give of yourself.

Amen.