This week, the Narrative Lectionary makes another big jump, all the way to 1 Kings 17:1-16 [17-24]. The accompanying gospel text is Luke 4:24-26. Working Preacher resources for this week’s text is here.
Have you been spending time connecting the dots between texts each week? The leaps across scripture have seemed big to me. I’ve been encouraging people to read the connecting passages during the week, but still feel a need to draw some sort of line. How are you handling it?
This week, Elijah is sent to one of those foreign women the bible keeps warning us about. And despite the meagerness of her own resources, she agrees to feed him too. This story to me is about the abundance of “enough”. Her pantry doesn’t overflow as if she’s been to Costco and loaded up. She has just enough. It’s manna like.
And the enough-ness of the feeding is what sets up the real miracle, the bringing back to life of the woman’s son.
It is stewardship season for many churches, and the abundance of “enough” and the preparation for a miracle may both be helpful words for churches coming up with budgets these days.
It is also Reformation Sunday. It may be worth mentioning, even if we are hesitant to celebrate schism in the body of Christ.
Where are you leaning with this text this week? Time with the Children ideas?
Please add your thoughts here.
Marci Auld Glass is the pastor of Southminster Presbyterian Church and lives with her husband and sons in Boise, Idaho. She is a graduate of Trinity University and Columbia Theological Seminary. She serves on the Clergy Advocacy Board of Planned Parenthood and the Mission Agency Board of the Presbyterian Church USA.
Marci blogs at Glass Overflowing and is among the contributors to the RevGals book,There’s a Woman in the Pulpit (SkyLight Paths).
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I am going with the abundance angle. (I am also only reading to verse 16, not going to attempt the dead child story) That and the strange idea in the story of the widow that God’s abundance is shown only when we take the risk of using up what we have.
For Children’s Time we have located an old oil lamp and I think I will actually tell the story of Hanukkah as an example of abundance where folks were sure there was not enough. Then we will sing “Give Me Oil For Me Lamp”.
My opening thoughts for the week are here:
http://ministerialmutterings.blogspot.ca/2016/10/looking-forward-to-october-30-2016.html
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Great idea for the children’s time.
Someone on facebook (somewhere) said they are going to use the dough aspect of the text and have the kids make something with play dough during worship. That might be something I add to our prayer center this week.
I think of the big barns passage in Luke’s gospel when thinking of using up what we have.
Thanks for sharing!
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