Emmanuel friends and faithful, we are going to start a new series looking at comforting passages throughout the Bible.
Jesus is the bread of life, and we also know that Jesus is the living Word. We are calling this series, Comfort Food. Scripture comforts us and it also nourishes us like a good meal. In these isolated days, I have found myself making more and more comfort meals at home. Comfort food brings us back to life. It recalls a better time. It brings us back to a place of peace and ease. So I figure, during this series, let’s be comforted both by God’s Word as well as favorite comfort food recipes from all of you at Emmanuel! We will make a digital cookbook available after we compile recipes from the series. Let us begin our worship.
Call to Worship (Written by Ann Harbridge)
O God, you come to us in unexpected places
In isolation, behind closed doors
On dusty roads, as we go from place to place
In video chats with friends and telephone conversations with loved ones.
You come bringing us peace, where there is no peace
You come bringing us hope when everything seems hopeless
You come bringing us courage when we are afraid.
Come and be among us now, in every place where we are.
Open our eyes to see you, open our hearts to know you.
In the name of the Risen Christ we pray. Amen
Hymn – Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus
This is a classic hymn redone by a group called Page CVXI. Sing along if you know the words!
Artwork –
Piece by Peter Gorban, 1990, titled: Prophet Elijah and the Poor Widow from Zarephath
Scripture Reading – 1 Kings 17:8-16
8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 9 “Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” 10 So he set out and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink.” 11 As she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” 12 But she said, “As the Lord your God lives, 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 of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” 13 Elijah said to her, “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. 14 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.” 15 She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days. 16 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.
Video Meditation
Questions for Reflection
What is your favorite comfort food? What memories are associated with that meal?
Like Elijah, have you ever heard God’s clear commandment in your life? What was it like?
What questions arise in you from the passage?
What about this passage is comforting to you?
Artwork –
Piece by Giovanni Lanfranco, 1621-1624, titled: Elijah Receiving Bread from the Widow of Zarephath.
Prayer of Intercession
Hear us as we pray for those who are thirsty,
places where there is drought, or a lack of a clean water supply.
And for those who have to carry water for miles to keep everyday life feasible.
Lord hear us
Lord graciously hear us
We pray for those who are hungry,
places where the harvest has failed, or some disaster or accident has affected the crop yield. For those who are struggling to find employment
and so struggling to afford to put the food they would like on the table.
Lord hear us
Lord graciously hear us
We pray for those who are struggling because they are widows or widowers,
for those who are bereaved
having experienced the death of someone important to them
whom they loved and still love.
Lord hear us
Lord graciously hear us
We pray for those who are ill or near death,
those known to us
and those unknown to us but known to you
Lord hear us
Lord graciously hear us
In silence we lift up those people and situations uppermost in our thinking today…
Lord hear us
Lord graciously hear us
Closing Song – I Will Praise Your Name, Yahweh
This is a song written and performed by John Van Deusen. It is a mantra of praise that builds upon the mighty works of Yahweh. Each verse is a reminder of what God has done and each chorus is a simple line of praise. The song builds to a climax of praise and closes with declarations of Jesus’ kingdom. The last full minute of the song introduces discord and chaos through electric guitar. John Van Deusen often writes these songs as mantras to get him through turbulent times. Our lives are full of fear and anxiety and certain discordant rhythms in this season of pandemic. Thank God that Jesus’ kingdom prevails. Thank Yahweh that we can remember and recall his great works. What a comfort!
Benediction
We worship a God that notices you. Our God knows and loves you.
Like the Widow of Zarephath, you may be on your last legs of food, resilience, patience, hope, health, or faith even. May the God that sustained Elijah, and turned scarcity of oil and flour into abundance, be the very God that meets you this day. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, may it be so! Amen.
David’s Comfort Food Recipe
If you haven’t logged into our Facebook group, I encourage you to do so as many great recipes have been shared. Next week, I am going to share one of my weirder comfort foods. But for now, and because the weather is beautiful and its beginning to feel like summer, here is my favorite healthy comfort food recipe.
Spicy Garbanzo Bean Salad.
Equal parts chopped tomato, diced jalapeño (use pasilla peppers if you don’t want it spicy), drained canned garbanzo beans, diced cilantro, chopped red onion, and cubed avocado. This is your base. Anything you add to this is up to you! I’ve added corn for sweetness. I’ve added bell peppers for crunch. You name it, go for it!
After those elements are all added to a large bowl, there are only three ingredients left: Lime juice, salt, and pepper. If the bowl is large, add the juice of 4-5 limes. Salt and pepper to your own taste! Mix it all together and you’re done! Store in fridge to get cold. Experiment with cumin, smoked paprika, or any of your favorite seasonings. Make it your own!
This is comfort for me because it reminds me of ceviche. It takes me back to eating tacos in Mexico with the youth group. It is tart, filling, healthy, and delicious. Next week, my recipe will be the complete opposite!
This story took place during the “Ahab Administration”, which had embraced worship of the god Baal. Baal was depicted by Canaanites as riding on storm clouds that brought rain to renew the fertility of the land. Elijah’s statement to Ahab that rain would be withheld was, in effect, a statement that Baal was powerless and Yahweh was supreme. After Elijah’s pronouncement, he went “on the lam”, first to the wilderness and then to a town outside of Sidon, in Phoenicia (around this time Ahab’s wife Jezebel had ordered the killing of Yahweh’s prophets). Elijah received room and board from a widow, and he provided her with an inexhaustible supply of ingredients for bread. (Jesus multiplied bread—Elijah only multiplied the ingredients.) I take this to mean that bounty comes from God.
The food prepared in this story was a food staple (bread). The drought that ensued from withholding of rain made even food staples in short supply. I can’t think about this now without recalling recent TV images of people in long lines at food banks because of an economic “drought” caused in response to the pandemic. I don’t think that I should try to force the Elijah story into a shape matching current circumstances. But I should try to empathize with folks who today may be as desperate for food as the widow in the story, and ask what God would want me to do to help.
That piece of scripture really came to life for me today. It reminded me of how God feeds me on so many levels. Today’s worship really was ice cream for the soul.
Thanks Emmanuel
Enjoyed the on-line service, especially the interviews. First I had to google CXVI to find out what the Roman numeral numbers were – 116.
George Groen, if. you watched it, I’m sure Kevin Lindsay mentioned your name.
One comment was we didn’t know if the widow was a believer. In verse 9 of 1 Kings 17 it says, “I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food.’
A timely message about food as am sure so many people are struggling to put food on the table, due to this pandemic. Praying this will be over soon.
Looking forward to next week’s Church in Your Home.
Theme was well developed through questions. Many times, it is not that we necessarily have the ‘Right Questions’, as it is to have the ‘Right Questions’. The interviewees did a nice job of raising good questions, as you do in your reflections, David!
Thank you! Meaning full and timely. Love the music too. Hope to see you all in church soon.