​Sermon: 1 Kings 17:8-16
See also Hebrews 9:24-28; Mark 12:38-44
November 10, 2024
       Today's reading is all about generosity. And I have to admit, I might not be the best guy around to preach on that particular subject. I tend to be…thrifty? Frugal? That's a nice way to put it. My father once said I'm such a tightwad that my butt squeaks when I walk. So I suppose that's another way to put it.
       I guess I do have a few personal habits that some might call "cheap." But I can't be the only one in the room who reuses the same paper napkin for multiple meals, can I? Surely there are others who would sooner just skip dinner than pay $15 for a hamburger at the airport. And, you know, if it's on sale, I don't see the shame in hauling 8 boxes of my favorite snack food out of the store. I know I’m gonna eat it all eventually! It's not I’m being wasteful!
       One Easter long ago I bought some Reese's Easter Eggs for Stacy because they're her favorite. And she made fun of me for it! Can you believe that? So what if I bought her the pack of like 50 full-size Reester Eggs because I got a volume discount? I'm not gonna pay 5 bucks for a pack of 6 chocolate eggs when I can pay 10 bucks for 50! It just doesn't make sense! I didn't even buy them for myself—apparently I'm cheap even when I'm being generous.
       And I do try to be generous, you know? I try not to be as cheap with others as I am with myself. But if you're gonna nitpick the specifics, you're probably gonna find a cheapskate no matter how generous I try to be.
       You know, in Bible times, generosity was very much considered a virtue. Abraham's servant actually chose a wife for his master's son based on her generosity. The servant had been given the serious charge of returning to Abraham's homeland to find a wife for Isaac. He decided that he would select Isaac's wife-to-be based on her generosity to him, an out-of-town stranger. The Lord led Rebekah to him, and when he asked her for water, she not only gave him some from the jar that she was carrying, but she also offered to water his entire entourage of camels, as well. Her generosity won for her the hand of Isaac and a place in history as the mother of Israel himself.
       Lot, Abraham's relative, was also very generous to strangers. God had purposed to destroy the city of Sodom, where Lot lived, because it was an evil city. Abraham convinced God to rescue Lot and his family, though, and so God sent two angels disguised as men into the city to warn him and lead him out. When Lot saw them, before he even knew who they were, he insisted that they turn aside and stay the night at his house. When the wicked men of Sodom demanded that Lot release his guests so they could have their way with them, Lot refused, even when they threatened to kill him. Even by Biblical standards of generosity, Lot had gone above and beyond the call of duty. And Lot wasn't really even a very good guy!
       So also, then, this widow from today's reading was generous to God's prophet Elijah even in the midst of her despair. A drought had fallen upon the land. King Ahab of the northern kingdom of Israel was the most evil, godless king Israel had had up to this point. As a show of his power over Ahab's false gods, the Lord commanded Elijah to pray that there be no rain. So he did—in the presence of King Ahab—then fled from his court. It hadn't rained since. Dew didn't even fall during the drought.
       God eventually led Elijah to Zarephath, which isn't even in the nation of Israel, but the drought had hit them, too. It had been quite some time, as well—many creek beds had already dried out at this point. So Elijah enters the town, and the first person he sees is this widow, gathering sticks at the city gate. Now a city gate isn't a place where you'd normally gather sticks—normally you'd go outside of town where there are more trees for that. The farmers' threshing floors are usually near the city gate, though, so it's likely that she was actually gathering discarded stalks. Not very good for fuel, but it was all she could get.
       And Elijah calls out to this widow and asks for water, a precious commodity during a drought. She generously brings it to the stranger, though, and then Elijah asks her for some bread. That's just too much for her to bear, though—she doesn't even have enough food for herself and her son. She explains to him how her plan now is simply to eat her last meal with her son, and the two would starve to death together. Then Elijah brought her words of comfort: your flour and your oil will not run out until after this drought ends.
       But his words were followed by a test: first make a little cake and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. The Bible doesn't give a dramatic pause here, although it very well could have. Would she do it? Would she give the man of God her firstfruits, even when her firstfruits were her only fruits? She does, of course, and her generosity is rewarded: Elijah lives with her, helps her around the house and with her son, I'm sure, and they always have enough food to live on.
       So God rewarded this woman for being generous. At least, that's how it looks on the surface. And that's fine—God has no problem giving earthly rewards in exchange for earthly good deeds. It's not works-righteousness or anything, not like she just earned eternal salvation for herself.
       But there's more to learn than that from this widow's generosity. It was a good work, sure, but more importantly, it was the best kind of good work. Not because it benefitted a man of God; not because she submitted to a man of God; it actually had nothing to do with Elijah being a man of God. Rather, her act of generosity flowed from her faith in God's Word. That's the best kind of good work.
       She initially wanted to refuse Elijah's request, and she had every right to. She was a poor widow, living on charity as all widows did in those days, trying to raise a son who wasn't old enough to help her with her income. She could spare Elijah a little water, but food was out of the question. She and her son were already prepared to die of starvation. That food was all they had left. What changed her mind? Nothing but a word. "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.'"
       The Word of God proceeding from Elijah's mouth worked faith in the widow's heart. She did as Elijah asked, and she was rewarded. But it wasn't the good deed itself that God appreciated—it was the faith from which it was borne.
       Generosity, especially to your own detriment, is a fruit of the Spirit. It's not included in Paul's lists of fruits of the Spirit, but those lists aren't meant to be exhaustive. It's clear from this story that the widow's generosity was a product—a fruit—of her faith: she was generous to Elijah only because she believed that God would care for her in her need. She was willing to trust God even when she had no idea how on earth he could sustain her.
       We should look to the great faith of the Widow of Zarephath as a model and example of faith to all of us. The epistle of James, which we read in worship earlier this year, talks about how faith is more than just believing; faith needs to be borne out in good works. There are countless occasions every day when our faith is put to the test—when you are called upon to act differently because of how you believe. Your faith is proven in those opportunities.
       Generosity is among the greatest of these opportunities, because there's always more you can give. You can always go with less and trust that God will take care of you if that be his will. The question is: do you? How often do you honestly decide to do without in order to grant material aid to someone who needs it?
       "We can give an extra $30 if we stay home and eat leftovers instead of going out this evening."
       "I can spend more time with my kids if I play with them instead of watching this TV show."
       Generosity isn't just about money—it's about using all the gifts God has given you in ways that help others. It's about being content with what you have, and even being content to see some of it go. But most of all, it's about trust: trusting that the Lord will sustain you in all things needful, even if your generosity outweighs your means. The widow of Zarephath's generosity certainly outweighed her means, and God still took care of her.
       Granted, God doesn't explicitly promise that you won't starve if you give away all of your money. You might, after all. But he does promise you something much greater: that it won't matter even if you do. Your generosity to others shouldn't be conditional on how you think it'll turn out for you, because God's generosity to you wasn't based on his own self-interest, either.
       As always, God made the first move in showing generosity by sending his only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to take care of everything that you need. And that's not just about sustaining your physical body and life, because that will pass away regardless. Rather, Jesus came to ensure that your spiritual life, youreternal life, would be secured. And he did that at the cost of his life.
       You wanna talk about generosity? In Jesus, God put aside every privilege that he enjoyed as God: power, majesty, glory, immortality, all of that—and became a man. Then, Jesus put aside every privilege that he could have enjoyed as a man: riches, popularity, political power, marriage and sex, a house, for goodness' sake—and suffered all, even death. Why? Because that was the price to win you back from sin.
       You are not generous. Not the way you need to be to survive in the presence of a holy God. None of us is. We are all infected with sin, corrupted by it to the core. The very holiness of God alone would destroy us if we were to stand in his presence. The only way to be made holy again is for someone who is holy to take our sin, take our infection, and be destroyed with it. That's what Jesus did, in his generosity. And he did it gladly, because it was worth it to him.
       Generosity is a sign of faith specifically because it's a reflection of what you have faith in. You believe in a God who gave all for you in exchange for nothing but you. The least you can do is give 20 bucks or something to someone else who needs it, right? And if you don't know someone who needs 20 bucks, well, give it to the church. And if you think there's a conflict of interest in your pastor telling you to give money to the church, well, give it to some other charity.
       Generosity is still a fruit of the Spirit, even when it isn't directed toward the church. It's a fruit of the Spirit when it's done because of the Spirit. When you give to others because Christ gave it all for you, that's Godly generosity. When you give to others because you know that God will take care of all you need, that's Godly generosity. He will take care of all that you need, but you have to trust that he knows all you need even better than you do.
       Giving generously is a healthy thing for Christians to be doing—you are literally depriving yourself of spiritual blessings when you don't give generously. But don't give for the sake of your own blessing; give because of God's blessings, for the sake of others. In Jesus' name, amen.