Second Sunday after Pentecost ~ June 10, 2007

He is risen, He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Even in Pentecost we can celebrate Easter. In fact each Sunday is to be a “little” Easter remembering that our Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead on the first day of the week. And today our Old Testament and Gospel lessons speak of rising from the dead.

I would like to focus in on the Old Testament lesson first today as we see how this story of the miracle God performed through Elijah is a reality in our lives as well. But to begin we need a little context to help us see what is going on in this story and why the widow reacted to the death of her son like she did.

At the time of this story in 1 Kings 17 there is a severe drought and famine in the land because of the wickedness of King Ahab and the nation of Israel as they have turned away from the Lord. Elijah is God’s prophet to Israel at this time to not only warn them of their wickedness but also to proclaim God’s Word to the people. In the midst of the drought God provided for Elijah. First he is sent to an area in the wilderness that has a stream and the ravens come to bring him food. But the stream soon dried up and the Lord tells Elijah to go to Zarephath and there to ask a widow to take care of him.

Elijah does as the Lord directs and goes to Zarephath and there finds a widow collecting stick to make a fire. He asks her for water and for some bread to eat. The widow tells him that she has very little left and what she does have she was going to prepare as a final meal for her and her son. The drought had gotten desperate and Elijah is asking for the last of this woman’s food. Elijah makes a promise to her that the Lord would take care of her each day if she would take care of Elijah and so the woman does and invites Elijah to stay with her. This is were we enter into the story today.

I don’t know how long Elijah had stayed with the woman and how long the Lord had provided enough food for them but I don’t think it was too long and the widows son gets very ill and dies. The widow’s last hope and joy in this world is taken from her even after this “man of God,” Elijah promises they would be cared for. And so we can understand the mother when she says this to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sins to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!” In her grief she lashes out at Elijah in a way I think we all can relate to. When hope has been lost after it has been promised to you, at least implied, we get angry. She blames Elijah for the death of her son. She might even have doubted that Elijah was who he said he was, even with the miracle of the flour and oil lasting. Maybe she thinks he was just using her in this desperate situation to get food? She is angry at Elijah and God for this, her son, being taken from her.

But I also think there is more going on with her words than just simple anger and blaming as part of the grieving process. There is a spiritual truth in these words that hits at the heart of God’s Law – the wages of sin is death. The widow says to Elijah that he has brought her sins to play against her. And that is truth. Our sins do cause death. We don’t need Paul’s words in Romans 6:23 to remind us that we die. In fact this woman knows the truth from the stories of the first sin of Adam and Eve – God said that because of their disobedience death came into the world. Because of our sin we die. Sin brings death. And so maybe under these words of blame to Elijah for the death of her son is the realization that sin cause death. And maybe she is even thinking she may have cause the death of her son by whatever sins have been brought to light. Maybe she had turned to other gods too and this is the sin she is reminded of by Elijah’s presence. Ultimately it isn’t a matter of specific sins but that we are sinful in general and any sin causes death. It is the Law in all its weight.

But thanks be to God that we aren’t left with just the weight and punishment of the Law. Even Elijah was feeling the weight of the Law as he takes the boy up to his room and lays him on his bed. The first statement from Elijah is a question about the devastation this death has brought to this family. Elijah is wondering too if all they are going to see is the destruction and death that sin brings. But Elijah had faith enough to trust that God’s will would be done. And so he prays over the boy three times that life would return to him. And it does! God’s loving kindness is shown to this family through Elijah. A confession of sins is made and the miracle of life is restored.

This is what happens in the Gospel lesson for today. In fact these two stories almost sound alike. So much so that the people think of Jesus, at least early on in his ministry, as Elijah. But again, we need to see more of the story here. Jesus didn’t come to just perform miracles like Elijah; He came to provide something greater. No only did Jesus heal this son of the widow and show that it is the same God at work as in the days of Elijah. Jesus would die himself to sin and rise again to give new life to the whole world. Not just one miracle here and there for a few people but a miracle that would transform the whole world!

From death to life! That is the theme of Scripture and the message of Jesus Christ. Because of sin the Law shows us that we deserve and will die. Sin brings death! But the Gospel brings life. In God’s mercy He sends Jesus Christ to take on the wages of sin, die in our place, and rise again to give us new life. What was one miracle for Elijah has now in Christ come to the whole world – to you and to me. We have been raised from the dead.

And this is more than just a future hope of glory when Christ comes again. This is a reality now in our lives. When we were baptized we died with Christ and were raised to newness of life. Each time we confess our sins we die and when we hear the forgiveness of sins we are raised to new life. From death to life is something that happens daily in our lives. It is the indirect message of Paul in Galatians today. First off Paul was making the argument that His message was from God and not from man. But indirectly Paul is also taking about being taken from death to life in Christ. He talks about how he used to persecute the Church – death. He was blind to God’s true way in Christ that he realized he was dead in sin. But Jesus Christ came to him in a vision and gave Paul life. He now is called to proclaim Christ to the Gentiles. From death to life, Paul is saying when he states what people were saying about him, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” From death to life!

Our mission statement begins with “God has called us…” and then the action words follow. But I think it is important for us to reflect on the “call.” God has called us from death to life. We are dead in our sins but made alive in Christ. Then we can respond in the actions of reach, care and build, but we must first realize that we have been called from death to life. Christ has conquered sin, death and the power of the Devil to give us life. What a joy, what a change in our life! God has raised us from the dead. And so we can proclaim each day of our lives – He is risen, He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Amen.