Scripture text: 1 Kings 17:17-24, Luke 7:11-17
There is an old trope in television and books, a plot pattern that many authors follow; so much so that it becomes almost a joke after a while. It goes like this. If a character in a story talks openly about how much they’re looking forward to something in the future, that character’s chances of survival in that story become zero.
This is commonly known as the “two weeks to retirement” trope and it shows up all over the place and all sorts of forms. In a recent L&O episode I was watching, one of the detectives was so looking forward to his transfer to another department of the force. Last day on the job, he confronts a dangerous suspect and is shot and killed. Bang!
In the anime Record of Lodoss War, the hero Parn is riding to battle with a group of knights. He pulls up alongside one who is clutching a pendant at his neck. “It’s from my son. I am so looking forward to seeing him again after the war is over.” (neck cut) Parn finds his body after the battle.
Pictured: Dead Man Walking
It’s become such a cliche that there are even video games out there that when you kill your on-screen enemies, they’ll cry out despairingly “I was only two days to retirement.”
The Bible does something similar. Now I’m sure Jesus and the prophets and all the other characters in the stories of the Bible encountered a lot of widows in their journeys. But when we are told a story about them encountering one, you can be sure of one thing: Death is close at hand. The presence of a widow is the Biblical equivalent of the “two weeks to retirement trope.” One shows up and someone is going to die.
Our Scripture texts today give us two such examples. First, the widow of Zaraphath. This is actually part two of the story. Part one toys with our expectations. Elijah comes to Zaraphath, meets this widow, who is making ready to cook a last meal for herself and her son in the midst of famine. She expects to die and we who are reading her story, knowing the trope, are expecting her to die. But God comes through and the food does not run out.
Lest you think we’ve dodged the bullet however, the story continues with what we have as our lesson today. One day, the son pitches over dead. Ah ha! We knew it was coming. But then Elijah moves to action. He takes the boy’s body, prays fervently, and a miracle happens. Life returns to the son.
Jesus’ encounter in Nain in our Gospel is very similar. As he’s entering the city, he sees a funeral procession. The son of a widow has died. Sounds familiar, yes? Well, it should because here we go again. The widow has appeared and death comes on her heels. But like Elijah before him, Jesus is not daunted. He goes to the bier, disregarding all social taboos about touching the dead, takes the dead man in hand, and commands him to rise. And he does so. Life returns to the son.
Time and time again we see this pattern. Tabitha dies in the book of Acts, after having helped many widows in the city of Joppa. Peter comes and commands her to rise. Time and again, we see this pattern. A widow appears, death follows, and then God intervenes.
Tell me that isn’t the story of life.
That’s our faith in a nutshell, my friends. It’s why we’re here. Life is a terminal illness. None of us gets out of here alive. In some form, death is always stalking us and eventually it will strike. Whether it is heralded by the presence of a widow or a grand announcement of retirement or with no warning at all, it comes.
But then God acts. He intervenes. He moves in with his power and grace and brings life where death held dominion. Time and again, we see this as well, not just in these widow stories but all throughout the Scriptures. He brings liberty to those in bondage in Egypt. He restores the remnant from captivity in Babylon. He makes the lame to walk and the blind to see. He calls Lazarus to come forth. And in Christ, he rolls the stone away.
I was reading an article earlier this week that really had nothing to do with this, but it had a line in it that struck a chord. It said, “The Jesus event reveals that God, in enormous love, has begun to launch a new kingdom right here in the middle of this old world. That is the long and short of Scripture.“ And how does God bring that kingdom? He brings life into the world of death.
This is our faith in a nutshell. This is why we’re here. God bringing life out of death. His promise is life, always life. Jesus says, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” And when he says that, he doesn’t just mean quantity. The word in Greek that we translate as “eternal” does not mean “infinite” in a mathematical sense. It’s about life being everything life is supposed to be: Joy and hope and happiness and pleasure.
And eternity is not a line that never ends. It’s not infinite time, it’s “timelessness.” Life without limits or boundaries. That’s what God promises us in Christ Jesus. It’s what we see in the stories of his miracles. God bringing life in the midst of death, whatever form death may take.
This is our promise and our hope. Out of love, God has launched his kingdom of life, inbreaking upon our world in so many ways. It’s what he offers to us, his beloved. A world without death or tears or loss or sorrow. A world without widows for all will be alive in Christ. Amen.
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