Words of Welcome

Mark 12:38-44 I know that you’re all glad that the election season is over.  Whether your candidates won or lost, if you’re like me, you’re enjoying watching TV a whole lot more than a week ago.  None of those annoying political ads are blaring at you. Your email inbox has gotten a bit lighter as well. But, here’s a bit of warning – once you give to a candidate or a party, you’re marked for life, and you can expect to get many emails asking for money.  All of this constant fund-raising can be a bit annoying, but it’s part of the game.  And, while, politicians will tell you that they welcome contributions of every size, they would rather you give the maximum amount than the minimum.  Not only that, but if you have a Super-PAC, there is no maximum, so give as much and as often as you can.  Since we were inundated with TV ads from Super-PACS, you know that a lot of really big givers gave a lot of money to these efforts to influence our votes.   S...

1 Kings 17:8-16 Julianna Claasen, in reflecting on today’s text, wrote: Sometimes God’s provision comes in the most unlikely of places and by means of the most unlikely of people. 1 Or, to put it another way, “God works in mysterious ways!” The story of the prophet Elijah’s encounter with the widow of Zarephath is a perfect illustration of this principle. Think about it, God sends the prophet, who is fleeing from the wrath of Queen Jezebel, to a foreign land to find shelter with an impoverished widow and her son. What is more, not only was this widow poor, she wasn’t even a worshiper of Yahweh. Being from Sidon, she would have been a worshiper of Baal, the same god worshiped by Jezebel. And yet, it was this most unlikely woman who provided food and shelter for a stranger, even though her resources were few. But in the midst of her scarcity, God found abundance. There is another story about a widow. Although this story is a bit different, it also features a widow who gives...