“Enough” is Abundance
Abundance. That is the word our stewardship committee chose for this upcoming year. Our Gospel lesson of Jesus with the children is an example of the abundance of Jesus’ love and care. Jesus blesses and lifts up the children – those without any status – and welcomes them into his presence. There is room enough for all. God’s love is abundant. And we see that in the love of Jesus for “the least of these.”
The word “Abundance” often evokes – at least for me – and image of a basket of fruits and vegetables and grains overflowing. I imagine a harvest of plenty to eat and plenty to share. I think of Norman Rockwell’s painting of sharing the enormous turkey around the full table as another image of abundance – abundance of relationship, abundance of food, a rich abundance of the provision of the earth. As a farmer’s daughter, I know that when there is a good harvest, there is an abundance of riches for all to share.
In our Old Testament reading – there was not a good harvest. And that is because there was no rain. Indeed, the prophet Elijah had prophesied that there would be no rain until the Lord said there would be rain. So why would a loving God Lord withhold rain from the people?
A little background might be helpful here. King Ahab, the king of Israel, had forgotten about God. Instead of following in God’s ways, Ahab married Jezebel (that’s a name with a story for another time). It probably made political sense at the time - Jezebel was the daughter of another king in the region and political marriages is often how kings made peace with one another. But she was also a follower of Baal, the god to whom the Caananites believed provided fertility and water for their land. King Ahab was the King of Israel – but he was no longer worshipping the Lord God of Israel. Instead, he built an altar to Baal – and worshipped Baal – instead of the Lord.
The prophet Elijah, whose name means my God is the Lord, was sent on a mission to King Ahab to remind him that the Lord is the God of Israel. But King Ahab did not listen. And so, Elijah prophesizes the message of God: there would be no rain until he, Elijah, declares that there will be rain.
Just as Elijah prophesized, there was no rain. I imagine that there was much prayer and sacrifice made to the Canaanites god Baal, but there was no rain. Perhaps King Ahab went looking for Elijah. But Elijah could not be found. God told him to hide out in a wadi – which is a river bed – and that God would send ravens to feed him. This sounds even more miraculous since ravens are birds of prey who – unlike a dog or a dolphin are not normally a creature that care for people. Be that as it may, the point of the story is that God has cared for the prophet Elijah. But then the wadi dries up – it was a drought after all.
God then sends Elijah to a widow’s house in Zarapheth. This is not in the land of Israel where there might be a sympathetic widow. Zarapheth is a little village by Sidon, right in the middle of the Phoenicians, the people who worship Baal and they are usually not friendly to the prophets of another god.
But this widow – a woman with no power and little agency – who has just about run out of food and is about to make the last meal for her son and herself to eat before they have nothing left – is the one who Elijah asks for a little bread. And, he has the audacity to ask that she feed him first. He promises there will be “enough.”
Somehow, she believes him and shares with the prophet from the last of her rations. And, miraculously, there was enough. There was enough for him and for her and for her son. Day after day, the meal and the oil did not run out. There was “Enough.” And that felt like abundance.
In our economy of consumption, it is easy to forget what is “enough.” We are constantly encouraged – by ads, by influencers, and even at times by the government to buy, buy, buy to keep our economy going. But having more “stuff” is not what makes for abundance.
My mother told me a story once about a time in which, early in their marriage, money was tight. They were in love. Valentine’s day was coming up – but neither she nor my dad got paid until the 15th of the month. That was a day too late. She had no money and she didn’t dare write a check – and in those days credit cards were not used for daily purchases. So… she invited my dad on a date to the drug store. There they looked through the rows of Valentine cards, laughed at the funny ones, oohed at the beautiful ones – and “gave” each other a card to read…before putting it back on the shelf. They then went home, she made macaroni and cheese and then pulled out the crayons and they made each other a card. My mother told me that it was the best Valentine’s day they had ever had. Abundance is not about the stuff that you have but the love and care that you share.
We pray, “Give us TODAY our daily bread.” But what does “daily bread” mean? For the widow and her son, it meant having “Enough” to survive for the day. For my parents, it meant realizing that their daily bread of love and care and a simple meal was enough. As Luther writes in his small catechism, “God gives daily bread without our prayer, even to all evil people, but we ask in this prayer that God cause us to recognize what our daily bread is and to receive it with thanksgiving.”
God has given us enough. And when God measures out “enough” – we receive an abundance of blessings. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran + October 6, 2024 + Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane