Two great stories at the close of the year

1 Kings 17:17-24; John 4:46-54

Dear Friends in Christ -

As we draw close to the end of tumultuous 2009, our daily office readings give us two stories that grip the reader and pose some serious questions for looking back and looking ahead.

The first story is a story of the widow of Zarephath. The widow's son is dying and so she cries out to the prophet Elijah (who is staying with her), "What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to cause the death of my son!" The interesting thing about her accusative tirade is that this widow has already been the recipient of a profound miracle. When Elijah first came upon her, she was near starvation; she was preparing to have one last meal with her son and then, seeing no other prospects, she was resigned that she would die. Miraculously, her oil and flour jars were not only filled, but from that point on were always full. In spite of her unreasonably untrusting outburst, Elijah heals her son, but not without having his own tirade at God.

The second story in today's lessons is the story of Jesus doing a second miracle in the place where he had done his first miracle, at Cana, where he had changed the water into wine. Now a royal official has asked Jesus to heal his son. You can just hear the heavy sigh issuing from Jesus as he says to the official and those gathered around, "Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe." Jesus then tells the official to go home; his son has been made well. And the official returns home to find that his son was healed at the exact hour Jesus spoke the words.

Looking back, the big question that both of these stories call out sternly, with finger pointed, to the reader is: "Have you taken notice of the miracles you've already seen, and have they made a single lick of difference in your life?"

Looking ahead, the big question that the stories pose is this: "Will the miracles you've already seen cause you to turn to Jesus next time you're in 'need, sorrow, or any kind of trouble'? Will you trust him, like the widow and official, with those things/people most precious to you?"

Faithfully,
Janet+