Pastor Dan Mangler's Sunday Sermon

Always More to Give

I Kings 17: 8-16

November 12, 2006

Always More to Give

Do you ever sit around and wonder who said this or that first and why? I wonder first said, "The proof is in the pudding", and why he or she said it. Or who was it who first said, "You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar", and why in the world that person would want more flies. And why did the first person to console a heart-broken spurned lover with the advice "There are more fish in the sea" say that, instead of "There are more birds in the forest", or "There are more books in the library"?

I wonder who it was who first said "You can't get blood out of a turnip", and if he ever met the person who said, “There’s more where that came from." I think the meeting between those two people would be fascinating. I kind of wonder if they didn't meet, and if we, perhaps, don't have a record of their meeting in our reading from 1 Kings 17 this morning.

It says there that when Elijah came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her and asked that she bring him a little vessel of water and a morsel of bread. She answered, "No way, Jose. You can't get blood out of a turnip." That is a Mangler free-verse paraphrase, by the way. Actually what she said was, "I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die. I can’t give you what I don’t have." To which Elijah responds, "Balderdash and horse hockey! There's more where that came from." Yes, another free-verse paraphrase. Elijah's exact words were: "Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth." To the widow's objection "You can't get blood out of a turnip" Elijah answers, "There is more where that came from."

And in the debate between "You can't get blood out of a turnip" and "There is more where that came from", "There is more where that came from" won. The widow did .what Elijah asked, and God did what Elijah promised: "She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days. The jar of meal was not emptied; neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.

My bet is that, by now, you are either nervous or resigned. You know as well as I that we are in the midst of our pledging of time, talent, and treasure for 2007. You’re worried that the pledges last week aren’t sufficient and I have more cards in my back pocket to hand out. Combine the lesson from 1 Kings of a widow who gave out of her poverty because God commanded it with the lesson from the Gospel of a widow who gave out of her poverty and was commended for it by Jesus, and you just know where the sermon is going. You can make the application as you wish, but I have bigger fish to fry (which, by the way, is another saying whose origins I wonder about).

At the heart of the encounter between Elijah and the widow of Zarephath is a new way of seeing. The widow saw only what she had. It wasn't even enough for herself and her son for more than a day. She had nothing she could give. You can't get blood out of a turnip. Elijah says, "You are too short-sighted. Don't look at what you have. Look, rather, at where what you have came from. Don't look at your present inventory. It isn’t what you have that counts; it’s what God has. Look to the inexhaustible source. We are not turnips that, once consumed, are gone forever. We are faucets that tap the reservoir of God's goodness through whom others can share in that goodness. And those blessings which are to flow through us to meet the needs of others are far more than just material blessings.

It is safe to assume that what we need others need, too. We have been conditioned to believe that there is a limit to everything, so we must accumulate all we need before we are free to share with others. And certainly we must have our needs satisfied before we can satisfy the needs of others. We give out of our excess.

For example, we all need to be loved. Conventional wisdom would say, then, that first one must have his love cup filled before he can love another. The less I feel loved, the less free I feel to love you. You need to be loved, but I have barely enough love myself, so "You can't get blood out of a turnip." But, remember, we are not turnips but faucets. God is the source of all love which we tap. And the wonderful paradox is that only when I open myself to let God's love flow through me to you do I myself enjoy that blessing abundantly. It was only when the widow of Zarephath shared what little she had did she then share in the abundance that God had. When you need love the most is exactly the time you need to give love the most.

We all need to be forgiven, not only by God but by those whom we have hurt. But what happens when forgiveness is not forth-coming, when our need for forgiveness is not satisfied, and we are asked to forgive? Conventional wisdom says "I can't give what I don't have. You can't get blood out of a turnip." But we are not turnips. We are faucets tapped into the limitless supply of God's goodness. It is in God that forgiveness was born. The idea of forgiveness began with him. And so when I am reluctant to forgive someone who refuses to forgive me, it is well that I remember that wonderful paradox that it is when I open myself to let God's forgiveness flow through me that I, myself, experience the inexhaustible supply of God's forgiveness. When I need forgiveness the most is the time when I need most to be forgiving.

When I am in despair and need hope it would be well for me to find another even more desperate and speak words of hope to that person. When I have been hurt and are in need of comfort, I would do well to find someone who is also hurt and in need of compassion. When I am confused and alone and need a friend who will be understanding and supportive, I might do well to find another who is confused and lone and in need of a friend whom I can understand and support. What I need most I am called to give away and in return my need is supplied abundantly. The widow of Zarephath needed food the most, but she was called to give it away. In giving it away she received it back ten-fold, a hundred-fold. It is the same with all of God's blessings. As we allow them to flow through us, we drink from them ourselves.

There are two responses to those who look to us for their needs of love, forgiveness, hope, comfort, understanding, and even the material needs of food, clothing, and shelter. The first is, "I don't have enough for myself. You can't get blood out of a turnip"; or "Here, take what I have. There is more where that come from." One sees only the current inventory. The other trusts the inexhaustible supply. Amen.

May the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.