Widows
Felicity O’Brien, June 6th,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