Widows

Felicity O’Brien, June 6^th,2010 at Longview. All rights reserved. PDF 

1 Kings 17:9-16

Luke 7:12-16

Two of today’s readings feature widows. Some of you may have been widowed, or may have been brought up by a widowed mother. You will know how hard it can be to survive. I have not been a widow but I was separated and had to raise my children on my own for a while, until I met my second husband.

The story about the widow from Zarephath has three main points that jump out for me.

First, she was a Gentile. Zarephath is in Sidon, and this was the territory of Jezebel, Elijah’s enemy. This means that Elijah was the first prophet to bring God’s message to the Gentiles. Continue reading →