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A Jar of Oil
The widow of one of the prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and now creditors come to take my two children as slaves.” Elisha said to her, “Tell me, what do you have in the house?” She answered, “Nothing except a jar of oil.” (2 Kings 4:1-2, adapted)
Let’s not pretend with one another that loving God means you will never be broke. Let’s not repeat the lie that you are guaranteed to have plenty so long as you serve God.
Because I’m not the only person of faith who ignores the 1-800 numbers of creditors calling.
Bad things do happen to good people. Bad circumstances. Bad relationships. Bad environments. Bad credit. And you’re on the hook for dealing with the consequences, regardless of whether it was your fault or not. Rise to the occasion. Repair your heart. Fight the system. Reassess your budget. Use whatever you have and do the best you can.
Even if it’s just a jar of oil.
Devastated by the death of her husband, the widow now faces compounding crises. She is not well-off; prophetic work doesn’t exactly come with a pension and life insurance. The stress of calling creditors keeps her awake at night. And now the worst of all nightmares: they will tear her children from her, enslave them for their own profits.
What good is “take nothing with you” if everything has already been ripped from you?
If there’s really nothing, or the threat of nothing, then fight like hell to not be alone, at least.
Cry out to those who will listen. Call for community. Protest against those who would separate you from love and loved ones. Resist the despair that lies to you when it says nothing means no one.
Bring your jar of oil, and stay together.
Prayer: Let there be love and companions along this weary way, O God.
published through the Daily Devotional
The Measure of Humanity
“The question, ‘What is man*?’ is one of the most important questions confronting any generation,” began Martin Luther King, Jr. “The whole political, social, and economic structure of a society is largely determined by its answer to this pressing question.”
King was presenting the first of two addresses to the 1958 gathering of the National Conference on Christian Education of the United Church of Christ, reflecting on the nature and purpose of humanity. Are we animals? Are we a “cosmic accident”? Are we gods or fools, angels or sinners? He quoted Psalm 8 with its ancient question, “What are human beings that [God is] mindful of them?”
In his second address to the gathering, King developed this existential question—examining not only the condition of our being but also the character of our living. How do we make choices, set goals, and mature in such a way that we can live with ourselves? How do we labor together to support each other’s well-being, to recognize and address global needs? “As long as there is poverty in the world I can never be rich,” King declared. “As long as diseases are rampant . . . I can never be totally healthy. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be.”
To be human, with integrity, is a noble life.
To be humane, with mutual compassion, is a worthy life.
To be humanity together, King asserted, not only with integrity and compassion but also with hope in the mystery of God, is a complete life.
Quite often I greet the morning with existential questions: pondering my flesh and bones, critiquing my faults, evaluating my purpose and its worth, faltering to understand my little piece within the grand puzzle. King’s The Measure of a Man returns me to the essentials:
To be human is to be a miracle, a complex chemical mass that is full of ideas and faults and growth and discontent. To be humane is to return to love, in all its complexities, over and over again. To be one part of the whole of humanity is to play with our toes in holy dust even as we reach with our spirits toward holy fulfillment.
* King’s use of “man,” meaning all humanity, is kept in this quotation.
Quotations drawn from The Measure of a Man, Martin Luther King, Jr. (Christian Education Press, 1959)
published through Witness for Justice
He Started It
Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field, famished. Esau demanded, “Let me eat some of that!” Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.” Esau moaned, “I am about to die! Of what use is a birthright if I starve to death?” Jacob said, “Swear...
Space for Grief
Sarah lived one hundred twenty-seven years, and Sarah died at Kiriath-arba. Abraham said to the Hittites, “I am a stranger residing among you; give me property for a price so that I may bury my dead. Entreat Ephron for me, so that he might give me the cave of...
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Once when Jesus was praying alone, with only the disciples near him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” They answered, “John the Baptist; but others, Elijah; and still others, that one of the ancient prophets has arisen.” He said to them, “But who do...
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When Jesus came to the [sycamore tree], he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to the guest of one who...
Seconds
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. - Psalm 23:5 (NRSV) If a steaming dish of buttery mashed potatoes is part of the dinner spread, you’d best believe I’ll be returning for a second helping...
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The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: This month shall mark the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. – Exodus 12:1-2 (NRSV) The shadows of Lent have almost reached their longest hour. The tension of Holy Week is...
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Hail and hallelujah! Welcome, and praise be for your safe arrival. We were not the same without you, but now joy and hope have multiplied within us. Hail and hosanna! Come by here, and let us honor your journey. We will break bread to nourish you, and share tears to...
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In my social media feed, there’s a funny video of an emu overreacting to a loud noise by running haphazardly around the pasture with panicked energy, its legs churning, its neck swinging in high alert. A voiceover for the emu shouts: “They’re coming for the eggs!...
Sabbatical
Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather in their yield; but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of complete rest for the land, a sabbath for the Lord. – Leviticus 25:3-4 (NRSV) Eight hours you shall work a...
