A Tale of Two Widows
1 Kings 17:8–24
Luke 7:11–17
June 10, 2007
University Christian Church, Seattle, WA
Rev. Sandy Messick

• Once upon a time there were two widows who had everything in common and nothing in common.
• The first widow lived in the 9 th century, B.C. in the time of Elijah the prophet. She lived in Zarephath, an area of Sidon, west of Damascus.
• It was a time of famine in the land and the widow was struggling to raise her only son when Elijah came into her life. One day she was out gathering sticks by the city gate, and Elijah, who had been sent that way by God, asked her to bring him some water, and perhaps a little food.
• The woman despairingly cried that there was virtually no food, that she was gathering these sticks to make a final meal for herself and her son, and after that, well…that would be the end of the story.
• But Elijah told her not to be afraid, to trust God, and to give him a little of the cake she was making. And so she did, and miracle of miracles, the little bit of grain and the teaspoon of oil lasted many days and they ate through the end of the famine.
• But it was after the famine that tragedy really struck. Elijah was still staying with her when her son became tragically ill, so ill in fact, that we are told his breath left his body. He was dead.
• The woman lashed out at Elijah, her guest. “Why have you brought this calamity upon me?” she cried. “Was it not enough that I gave you our last bit of food? And now my son is dead.”
• The first widow, the widow of Zarephath.
• The second widow lived some 900 years later, during the time of Jesus. She lived south of Zarephath, way South, in Nain, about 6 miles SE of Nazareth. Whereas the widow of Zarephath was a Gentile, the widow of Nain was most likely a Jew. And where the widow of Zarephath had been sharing her home with the prophet Elijah, the widow of Nain had never met Jesus.
• But like the first widow, the widow of Nain had lost her only son, and as our story opens, she is traveling with the funeral procession out to the burial site. Jesus and his disciples, traveling into the city, stumbled into the funeral procession and Jesus had compassion upon the widow and her grief

• Though the two widows had many differences, they had much in common as well. Both widows were grieving the loss of their only sons.
• While losing loved ones is painful at any age or stage of life, there’s a certain expectation, a certain rightness when the loved one who dies is older, a parent or a grandparent, one who has lived a long and fruitful life. It hurts, but it is the way of things. One of the certainties of life is death. But when a child dies before the parent…well, there’s just something wrong about that. It’s not how life is supposed to work. And the grief is unimaginable. Only those who have experienced such a loss can possibly truly know the pain.
• But even more than the very real grief these widows were experiencing, there was another loss as well. In these cultures, widows had few resources. If they didn’t have a husband to provide for them, they were dependent upon their sons. And in both of these cases, the scriptures are careful to tell us, these were only sons. So not only did these women lose their beloved children, they’d lost their own futures as well.
• Two women lost in their grief, and without hope for tomorrow.
• And into both of their lives, the presence of God appeared, in the person of Elijah, and in the person of Jesus.
• Elijah takes the child in his arms, carries him to his room and lays him on the bed. Then draping himself over the child three times he prays to God for healing. And the child lives!
• Jesus, feeling compassion for the woman, only touches the funeral bier, speaks a simple word, “Young man, I say to you, arise!” and the son opens his eyes.
• In both stories, the person of God gives the child back to their mother. Healing has taken place. Hope is restored
• Now there’s no doubt that Luke meant for us to recognize these similarities. Luke meant for us to hear the Elijah story in the story of Jesus’ healing. And probably, Luke meant to show Jesus’ superiority. After all, Elijah has to drape his body 3 times over the poor boy whereas Jesus only has to touch the funeral bed.
• But both stories end with proclamations of faith. After the evidence of God’s compassion for those who are suffering, the crowd proclaims: “God is in our midst.” The widow from Zarephath cries out: “I know that you are a man of God.” And the crowds in Nain proclaim “God has looked favorably on God’s people.”
• In my email discussion group about these scriptural texts a discussion arose about how to preach these passages. In one of the congregations, several people had recently lost loved ones. The pastor wrestled with whether to try to use these texts or just ignore them in favor of something else. After all, how do you preach these resurrection stories to people who would dearly love to see a resurrection?
• When we’re grieving the deaths of those we love most, it would be natural to hear these texts and cry out in our hearts, if not aloud, “If God could raise these two, bring them back to life, why not my son, or my daughter, or my husband, or my wife?” Even if we know in our heads that God doesn’t usually work that way, our hearts still cry out for a miracle. Our hearts still long for something like that to happen to us.
• And there aren’t any easy answers to explain why some seem to get healings, perhaps not resurrections, but remissions from cancer, healings from life threatening illness, recovery from devastating injuries, and others don’t.
• But the good news that we proclaim is that we all receive God’s compassion, and that’s the hope in these stories.
• We’re told that when Jesus saw the widow grieving her son, he had compassion upon her. The Greek word is “splankna” and it’s more powerful than simply feeling sorry for her, or feeling pity for her. It means literally a gut-wrenching emotion. Jesus felt for her from the deepest part of himself.
• And that kind of compassion, that kind of gut-wrenching care and concern is not dependent upon our response or our goodness.
• When she realized her son had died, the widow from Zarephath lashed out at Elijah and at God. “How could you have brought this devastation to my home? How could you have done this to me?” How often do we, in the midst of our pain and grief, look outward for someone to blame, even blaming God. And yet, God, through Elijah, didn’t retaliate, or punish, or scold. God offered compassion. God healed.
• The widow from Nain didn’t even know Jesus. She didn’t even make a request for healing. She didn’t even think about it. But God, in Jesus, had compassion for her. Deep and abiding compassion. And without a request, without right actions on her part, God offered healing

Once upon a time there were two widows who had nothing in common and everything in common. They lived 900 years apart, yet both experienced God’s compassion through the ministry of another. Both experienced the very real presence of God at the worst times of their lives. Both knew without a doubt that God is with us. And now, 2000 years later, God’s compassion continues. God is still with us.