The Universalism of Elijah: The Widow of Zarephath

This week's scripture is from 1st Kings. chapter 17 verses 1 through 16

Elijah from tishbi who was one of the settlers in Gilead said to Ahab as surely as the Lord lives Israel's God the one I serve there will be neither do nor rain these years unless I say so. In the Lord's word came to Elijah go from here and turn East Hyde by the chair at the brook the face of the Jordan River. You can drink from the brook. I've also ordered the Ravens to provide for you there. Elijah went and did just what the Lord said. He stayed by the chair at the brook that faced the Jordan River the Ravens brought bread and meat in the mornings and evenings. He drink for the cherith brook. After while the brook dried up because there was no rain in the land. The Lord's word came to Elijah get up and go to Zarephath near sidon and stay there. I ordered a widow there to take care of you.

Elijah left and went to Zahra fat Have you came to the Town Gate? He saw Widow collecting sticks? He called out to her. Please get a little water for me in this cup so I can drink. She went to get some water. He then said to her. Please get me a piece of bread.

I surely love the Lord your God Lives you replied I don't have any food only a handful of flour in a jar and a bit of oil in a bottle. Look at me. I'm collecting to sticks so that I can make some food for myself in my son. Will eat the last of the food and then die.

Elijah said to her don't be afraid go and do what you said only make a little loaf of bread for me first, then bring it to me. You can make something for yourself and your son after that. This is what Israel's God the Lord says. The jar of flour won't decrease and the bottle of oil won't run out until the day of the Lord. Send the rain on the Earth. The Widow went and did what Elijah said for the Widow Elijah and the Widow of household 84 many days. The jar of flour didn't decreased nor did the bottle of oil run out just as the law of the Lord spoke to Elijah.

here into the reading

Recently, I've been watching with my wife TV show called Unsolved Mysteries. We were of course, both of us huge fans of the original Unsolved Mysteries, which was on the on the air in the 80s and 90s growing up we would watch it to see all of the strange things in the world that had not been not been solved all kinds of things. But in this most recent Series in the second season, there is an episode that take place in Japan. And it's about a man named connect a tile the Abbot of the taiji temple, which of the temple in the Miyagi prefecture in the status of NASA photos in Tradition. Miyagi prefecture. I'm sure after which mr. Miyagi in in Karate Kid with named Miyagi prefecture is in Northern Japan north of Tokyo in a region called the tohoku region. And this is the region that was hit so badly by the 2011 earthquake and the tsunami that followed it the largest earthquake on record in Japan.

The Konami came several miles Inland and 16000 people died in the tsunami and more than 2,500 are still missing even though it's been almost 10 years since it occurred.

after this tragedy

The Abbott realized that where he was located, which have not itself been directly in the in the path of the tsunami was near enough to offer support to those who were who were trying to rebuild an end grieve their losses.

Many people began to come to him who have been affected by the tragedy and he would sit with them and provide the normal Buddhist literature liturgies that he had. He had learned and practice for so many years, but he found that these were not as helpful for them if he thought especially you in in Japan all funerals are Cremations. And they didn't have enough crematoriums to cremate all of the bodies and so they would bury them. Temporarily and then when they were able to they would they would dig them back up and then they would cremate them as there was available space in the crematorium that were operating. And he would go to these funerals. to to help you into the tub provide the funeral ritual into to help The Grieving families and he noticed that people were not crying at the at the funeral normally are at a regular funeral for people with the crying and be upset about the new going through grief, but because of the sudden of what happened People were just in shock and they didn't know how to respond. They didn't know how to how to be how to go on living. After such a loss whole town just completely destroyed everyone dead.

And so he realized there was a need for this in the community for four people to talk about what they were feeling and to work through those feelings. And so he began to sit with people and pray with them. I talked to them and he along with the help of a Christian priest from the same area got together and started a cafe where people could come and sit and talk to the priests and try to regain some sense of normalcy in their lives. and he talks about in the interview about that people talked about how

As a as a prefix that someone who has studied religion for in the in his case probably his whole life because generally the Abbot's of temples in Japan are often the sons of the previous Abbot. So usually you're raised in the temple the Buddhist priests in Japan are allowed to marry and have children and so a lot of them have a family that live at the temple and then when their son grow up they become the Abbot and so on and so forth so likely he grew up in the temple and when was trained to be and have it from very young. and but he who knows Zen Buddhism very well, but what he found is that

It wasn't helpful to people for him to talk about then Buddhism. You know, if someone came to him there was an example where someone came to him and asked. About about their son. Let me read the actual quote here. A woman became suicidal after her two-and-a-half-year-old son died in the tsunami. She cut her wrists several times and ended up in the hospital. She and her husband actively sought support from the Abbott with the woman asking where has my son gone. Where is he now?

Instead of offering some long explanation of the Buddhist understanding of the intermediate State between death and rebirth. He listened and waited to answer eventually he responded with his own question to her. Where do you want him to go? And then he waited more and she said a place of light where there many flower. She ended up drawing a painting of her vision which resemble a Lotus field like those recounted in I mean a Buddhist pure land where many Buddhist vowed to go after death. The Abbot concluded that many thoughts may arise and himself in such a process. But by waiting without giving voice to all these thoughts space is created enough in a process begins to unfold So he did the thing that is very unusual in history Titian. and in the US we all we have this idea of

Interfaith chaplain specially in hospital work and in military chaplaincy, but in Japan this is almost unheard of and it's a field that is only now being being looked into. Nnn Perhaps Perhaps, ironically perhaps by the blessings of God one of the places where they're working on that is at tohoku University. I'm so this this priest Christian priest come from from the program at 12 University nearby. so

they started this this Cafe and they have people come in and they would have massages and they would play games and they would drink coffee and they would talk and this really helped people work through their their problems with the Unsolved Mysteries of talking about because it's been very mysterious so far the Unsolved Mysteries of talking about stories of ghost sightings in the area and about I'm possession by spirits. The Abbot has also received many people after the tsunami who claimed to be possessed by spirits and he works with them as you described it. It's very unorthodox people people who are who are his his Buddhist colleagues may find it odd that he does this thing, but he said 50 people want to talk with them sometime for 5 or 6 hours at a time. Talking to them and trying to understand their story and try to understand what's going on and trying to find a way for them to work through what they're going through. He says he doesn't matter. If you believe in possession or not, the point is that these are people who are hurting. And his job to help them work through their pain.

He said even though some people might find it an orthodox. You think there are no Gods who would be upset with what he's doing. There are no Gods would be upset with relieving the pain of those who are suffering.

Our tax this week. Picked up from where we left off last week, but it moved far ahead. This this election. Are we using The Narrative Lectionary the tells the stories of the Bible in chronological order, jump around in this in the section. Now we're in the book of Kings, which is a book of history about the the kings of the two kingdoms. So remember last time there was Samuel the prophet and Samuel made Saul King and then then instead made David and I went to David to be king and David becomes the king of the combined kingdoms of what would later be Israel and Judah and his son Solomon then rains after him and build the temple and the the temple in Jerusalem.

Now it's almond eyes the kingdom is split by wore his Solomon's son becomes the king of the Southern Kingdom of Judah which contains the land of Judah and Benjamin. and the other 10 tribes are part of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Northern Kingdom of Israel has several Kings none of which are descendants of Solomon or David. So they don't come from the davidic line taken from a different line of people. And so this tax goes back and forth talking about the king of Anna go through several of them kind of a very shortly until it comes to the story of Elijah and King Ahab. so

as things go on the northern kingdom drift farther and farther away from the worship of Yahweh not they don't stop worshipping but they begin to other gods as well. And when AI becomes king, he married a woman named Jezebel witchcraft Jezebel, it is become kind of a famous word in English that refers to a specific kind of woman a woman who acts in particular ways that come from this from this biblical account. But if we would have genital reacts to Elijah later, But anyway, Jezebel is a ball worshiper that she is not she is not an Israelite and she and she and her family worship ball and are all depending on how you pronounce. The ball is the original God of Storms and enlightening kind of the new I think a lot of a lot of religious Traditions is polytheistic religious Traditions have kind of a storm God why we have Zeus in the Greek tradition. We have four in the in the Norse tradition. So ball is the storm God and balls important because ball brings the rain and there is a cult of fertility cult built around ball. That have to do with the cycles of harvesting and planting and harvesting so ball is worshipped so that the rains come so that the the plants grow. So the Harvest can be done in and there is this there's this religious practice of coal prostitution that have to do with with pregnancy and having that be or not. Not pregnant feel it but sexual intercourse and having that be kind of an allegory to planting seeds and having the world the world become green and Grow Again in all of this kind of wrapped up together. And then this whole tradition it is I mean that is spoken against by many of the prophets of this time including Elijah know we get no previous description of Elijah before this text if there's no backstory, there's no idea where I come from. We just one day God said to Elijah, you know, go to Ahab and tell him that until I say so they will be no rain, and they'll be no do the reason why they say no do is that there are periods of time in this area where rain was very very rare, but they would be due in the morning and the dude be use total water the plants and thinks this is in direct contradiction to the the the Bal worshipers who believe the ball brings the rain and so God is sending a message through Elijah to King Ahab. The king of is of Northern Kingdom Israel thing you've drifted away from my past you your your your wife is worshipping false gods to show you. I'm right. I'm going to to stop the rain which is the thing that they build that she believed her. God is in charge until I say so

And after the story red today, there's a there's a confrontation between Elijah and the priests of all that result in Elijah kind of demonstrating God's power to bring the rain.

So after Elijah tells tells Ahab what God told him to say. God tells Elijah to flee flee and run away Into the Wilderness and to live on food that we brought to him everyday by crows and to drink water from this particular River and he does this for a long time probably many months because the the the rock is on for many months and then the bench of the water dries up in the river because of the drought comes to him and tell him to go to Zarephath. And seek help from a widow there. Now this is this city there a fact is not an Israelite City. This this is a city of people who are who all are in the the cultural group who worship ball. So this is he's going into a goddess ending Elijah into a city where the people worship the very God that Elijah is speaking out against But God tells Elijah, they'll be a winner there who will take care of you. And so when Elijah's shows up at the gates of the city do the Widow collecting sticks and he goes up to her and ask her for some water and I'll get water is very sparse right now because there was a drought but she gives him some water. So that's kind of the path of the first half there and then he text her again by asking her for some bread and that's what you tell them. Look look e, you know, I swear by your God that that I have no bread. I am I'm collecting the stick. I have just enough to make one more love for my son. And I and then after we eat that we're just going to die because we have nothing left to eat and there's no water. and

Elijah says to her do this your take take what you got and make me a loaf of bread. And then when you go back to make more you'll find that the jar of flour and the the bottle of oil have not run out and sure enough if you continue to do that because if we continue to help me help me you'll those will not run out until the water come till the rain comes again in the drought has ended And so she has faith and she goes and does this she makes him a loaf bring it to him and then she goes back and she sees that she does have enough flour and oil to make it to make another loaf for her and her family and her household. And this continues everyday when she goes back to make more bread. She sees that there still enough flour and there still enough oil to make another loaf of bread and she's able to see herself and Elijah and all of her household until the drought is finally lifted.

so What is the story of that I have to attend that when I saw this reading? First black guy couldn't hear what it was off top my head and I just read the text like Bridge of the chapter and verse I could remember what store has lights and when I looked it up and read the story. I really thought for a while about what the message was in and out of the story because

It's coming from what we just read. It's kind of a random story and even our our Bible study guide this week. Doesn't seem to have a really good point to the Gristmill at one point. They put on the story there. They do this kind of go over at now. I guess it's interesting story. We should be no weave on so I truly want to ponder on it. But but this is what I have to say about after after I thought about it and prayed about it for a while.

I think what's amazing about this story is the part. where God sends Elijah who is a devout prophet of Yahweh the god of the Israelites. Who is the one God To land that is not his own a foreign land. where they worship foreign gods and says there will be somebody there who will take care of you and this Widow who is not an Israelite who does not worship Yahweh. Who worships other gods? Takes him in and takes care of him and has faith in him and I have faith in his God and and does what he says and enabled in because of that they're all able to prosper and they're all able to to live on and and and dwell. You know, they're there are a lot of stories in the Bible like this that they're kind of glossed over sometimes. I think there's a couple words that are really obvious. You know, Jesus is good about kind of putting stuff right in your face. And and there's there's a couple stories especially my favorite parable of one of my two favorite The Parables of Jesus, which is the parable of the Good Samaritan, which is someone asked Jesus. What what what is the law say we should do in Jesus said why you should love God and you should love your neighbor as yourself in the person falls who's my neighbor and Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan with this. This is really mad. He's traveling on the road and is beset by Steve and injured is lying dying in the road. And these these priests comes by but Cross of the road and doesn't want it doesn't want to deal with him at all. And then this really religious person comes by and they don't deal with the middle and then the Samara Samaria is in the northern kingdoms. This is happening hundreds of years later, but it's they're even in Jesus's time. There still is division between the northern kingdom in the southern Kingdom. And Samaria is in the northern kingdom in they worship God that they worship in a different way and they worship in a different place. They have slightly different belief that the flight Lee different version. It would be very similar. I think two modern-day to maybe Jews and Christians or Christians and Muslims. Are Jews and Muslims? I mean any of the three groups of the same kind of thing a good a good way to think about the the parable of the Good Samaritan movie, you know, the parable of the good Muslim love, you know, that this the one is even that was on the road news is robbed and stabbed and is laying in the on the road dying and you know, the three of the priest walks by and then kind of the look and you know, the the religious the you know, I don't know what the

President of the church board walked by and doesn't it doesn't do anything. But you know, the Muslim is coming by stop and helps the man pays for his for his Hospital stay all this kind of stuff that that would be kind of a translation the story tomorrow time and it would be very act right of the saying, you know, you can't discount the good works of people who believe things different than what you believe God can still work there people who are different than you God can still work through others who don't share your beliefs.

You know Elijah did not meet with the woman. And begin to ask her feel a logical question about the nature of God and how we how we are saved and and how one of how one obtain salvation and you know, what was the what is the the meaning of the Messiah and and whatever he didn't ask for that he asked her for water and when she gave him water after for bread two things that he knew would be difficult for her to give and when she eat her complaint with not you can't have any bread, but I'm sorry. I just don't have enough to share with you. He said what did she do this and she had faith and that was how he knew that he could trust her not bite not through her words, but through her actions. In the way that she came to know him with not through his words but through his actions.

You know, we don't we don't know from the story if she converted to to you know, I worship in Yahweh are not giving them in the next 3 after this is Elijah brings back her son from the dead. I think it's highly likely given the circumstances that that she at least also worship Yahweh. In addition to whatever Gods you worship. But the point is that why you didn't approach her with the it with the goal of converting her to his belief system. He approached her and thought she was a Godly person that she behaved in a Godly way.

much like the Buddhist monk behaves in a Godly way did God to work in the in his community whether he actually believe in God. Any God that all are if you believe in in Jesus herb, which it mean we probably doesn't because he's being a Buddhist priest isn't really important. He was doing the work of God. Either way. He was a Godly person. He was behaving in a way that shows that he exhibits those qualities that We look for in people who are godly people.

You know, I've heard a lot of people in the Christian Community. and even in the Christian Universalist community talk about the dangers of other religions and the dangers of a kind of multi-religious pluralistic universalism this idea that all pad lead to the same place. You at a scrap Universalist, we believe that all people and indeed all of creation will eventually be reconciled to God.

And we can see this this universalism this idea that there is one God and the the one God is over all people even in Elijah even in the story in the Old Testament where Elijah? Why doesn't question when God says go to this place and find this woman Elijah Elijah doesn't ask the woman what God do you worship Elijah has faith in God and goes and finds a woman finds that the woman is is trustworthy and godly ends and trust her and stays with her and she has faith and they all do well

so I think you know as far as this question of plural pluralistic universalism goes I think there are two possible truth there. They're two they're two things one of which is true in the other the other of which. false probably

either

all religious paths lead towards reconciliation with God through their own systems of belief and and practice. Or the only whale way to reconcile with God it's through belief in Jesus Christ. And it's got to be one of those two things, right? If the first one is true. It all religious Traditions lead toward reconciliation with God. Then people will learn to better themselves and their own traditions. Their Traditions will have some degree of rightness or wrongness about how one should behave in the big picture. And after they die, God will show them what mistakes they've made will show them the error of their ways and whatever whatever way the there is our will help them to overcome those those problems and eventually be reconciled with God.

If the second is true. Then after they die, God will show them about Jesus. God will say will make them understand that the only way to reconciliation is through belief in Jesus. and they will eventually accept Jesus and they will then be shown the errors of their ways and any mistakes they made and God will help him to overcome that and they'll be reconciled to God because we believe that that God Endeavors wishes all people to reconciled to God and we believe the God is capable of doing that and if we believe both those things which is the core of universalism with Christian universalism, then regardless of which one of the other of those bits we believe about whether there's all Padley the god of weather only only believe in Jesus Christ leads to reconciliation. either way all people are still saved. It just depends on the degree. I guess. It depends on how much work they have to do after they die.

How long it takes but it doesn't change the final outcome.

so really Really if we really believe in Christian universalism. Then it doesn't matter. Weather all paths lead to reconciliation with God or only Jesus Christ leaves reconciliation with God because it'll all happen eventually either way. And so there should be no difference in our Behavior towards others of other Faith Traditions, which we know difference.

Certainly is an important matter of personal faith. It's important that you and that I as part of our personal faith Journey understand which of those truths we believe is true based on Bible based on our Traditions based on our own our own thoughts and and rationality how far we've come to that believe. It's important that we understand which of those we believe in but that should not change the way we act towards other people. You know, Jesus didn't say only be good to those who believe the same way you do. Attack Jesus said exactly the opposite.

And surely, you know Elijah believed that Yahweh was the only God. This is this is made extremely clear in the in the passage of the fall of this. Elijah believe the ball is not a god Elijah believed the people are are mistakenly worshipping an idol because there is only one God Yahweh. And so Surely he understands that this woman is worshipped fall. He understand that that in his at his way of thinking she is worshipping Idol, but he doesn't he doesn't scold her for it. He doesn't really try to correct her and tell her she's wrong instead. He shows her through his actions what it's like to have faith in God and she is converted perhaps her heart is turned toward God because of his actions and because of his faith not because of what he said that because the arguments he made not because he gave her a pamphlet on salvation.

that is the amazing part of the story that is where we find universalism in the story of Elijah.