Dire Need by Rev Stuart Simpson
9th June 2013
1 Kings 17:17-24
Luke 7:11-18
The loss of a husband in ancient Israel was normally a social and economic tragedy.
In a generally patriarchal culture, the death of a husband usually meant a type of cultural death as well.
A widow was in dire need
Although the denotation of widow referred to a woman whose husband had died, because of the social
context the word quickly acquired the connotation of a person living a marginal existence in extreme
poverty.
The widow reacted with grief to her plight, and probably wore a distinct garb as a sign of her status.
Disillusionment and bitterness could easily result
She would be in dire need
Her crisis was aggravated if she had no able-bodied children to help her work the land of her dead spouse.
To provide for her children, to maintain the estate, and to continue payments on debts accrued by her
husband imposed severe burdens. Since she was in an extremely vulnerable economic position, she became
the prime target of exploitation. The fact that she was classed with the landless stranger and Levite indicates
that she was often unable to keep her husband's land.
In the story today we see a widow who is in dire need
Not only has she lost her husband but now she has lost her only Son
And as we have heard this means she will be burdened beyond imagining
N T Wright paints a picture of the situation
Walk in the crowd a few paces behind the bier, on a hot day in Galilee, with the bright sun sparkling
on the tears which are streaming down everyone’s cheeks
Death is common enough,
And everybody knows what to do
The professional mourners and wailers are there
Making plenty of noise so that friends and relatives, and particularly the poor mother can cry their
hearts out without the embarrassment of making a scene all by themselves
People are coming along with spices to anoint the body, ready to wrap them up in the grave-clothes
to offset the smell of decomposition
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A death in Middle-Eastern community touches everyone
The family burial plot will be a little way outside the town: probably a small cave in the side of a hill,
where the husband and father had been buried some time before, and where now his bones, folded
with care and devotion, lie stored in a bone-box, leaving the main shelf clear for the next burial
The next burial which in the widows mind should have been her own not her only sons!
In the midst of this moving, weeping, grieving crowed, enters a man
A man leading a group of his own
He seems familiar
He seems to have been affected by what is going on around him
It is here that Jesus sees the situation of the widow and is moved to compassion and acts,
not allowing even death to stop him
‘Stop everything!’ he says and walks over to where the widow’s son’s body is lying and tell him to get up
In a moment of compassion the situation is changed
No longer is the widow in dire need
As we look through scripture we see that God has a special place for widows
In Luke 7:1-11 and also in the reading today Jesus harks back to his hometown sermon in Nazareth in which
he challenged his initially approving family and friends with a reminder that God works good among those
who are not faithful to God, even to those who oppress God’s people
He mentions the Widow of Zarephath, (which is the Old Testament reading today) and Naaman the Syrian
general whose lives were saved by God through the prophets Elijah and Elisha
In Luke 7 we return to themes of how God’s prophets, those being God’s active word into the world, reach
out to heal and save
Especially those who are without power
Those who are easily abused and misused in society and by society
Those who are financially destitute
So who are those in dire need today?
Who are those many people who are without power?
Who are easily abused and misused?
Who are financially destitute?
One such group of course are some of our children in New Zealand
And as some of you know St John’s will holding a public issues forum on Child Poverty on the 19th June at
7:30 in the conference centre.
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Jonathon Boston, who is not only a member of St John’s but was the co-chair of Expert Advisory Group on
Solution to Child Poverty will be speaking
I would like to encourage as many of you who are able to get along to this forum to go because it is a
major issue that we as Christians should be aware of
Anyway a quote for the primary document developed by the Expert Advisory Group on Solution to Child
Poverty states this
Approximately 270,000 New Zealand children live in poverty. Many of these young people
experience significant material deprivation. While many children spend only short periods in
poverty, some experience poverty over long periods of time in their brief childhoods.
Growing up in poverty is often harmful. The short-term impacts include missing out on important
childhood opportunities like school outings and sports activities. But the impacts also include lower
educational achievement, worse health outcomes, feeling stigmatised and having weaker social
networks. As a result, childhood poverty can leave life-time scars, with reduced employment
prospects, lower earnings, poorer health and higher rates of criminal offending.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the famous 20th century theologian once said “The test of the morality of a society is
what it does for its children.”
There are many famous quotes that have a similar ring. If a society is unable to care for its most vulnerable
members then what type of society has it become? Even wild animals have the instinct to care for the
weakest, because it ensures a future.
What then, does it say about New Zealand society, where we have our most vulnerable members, our
children, going without the most basic of needs? Have we become less than human, have we become worst
than animals?
How should the church respond when we see this happening to our Children, many who are in dire need?
How should we be the church when we witness dire need around us?
When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, “Do not weep.”
Out of compassion step into the situation
God chose to be born among a defeated people in a backward town under a shadow of dishonour, through a
dirt-poor, unwed teenager, because God wanted to dwell in the midst of his people and their messy lives.
The very first statement Jesus ever voiced about his concern for poor, oppressed, marginalised people was
when he cried out as one of them – eyes shut tight, mouth open wide, wailing, kicking, shaking and dripping
with blood and amniotic fluid.
Maybe we are to step into the situation rather than watch from the sidelines
And he said, “Young man, I say to you, rise!”
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Furthermore God did not just come to simply dwell among the poor but came so the poor, the vulnerable,
all those who live under abusive powers, could be redeemed.
If we used the issue of Child Poverty what would this redemption look like?
Two examples of churches in New Zealand trying to do something:
One church surveyed its local community and discovered a disproportionate number of single parents. In
considering how Jesus would respond to this, they decided to host a candlelit dinner for single parents while
entertaining and feeding the children in the hall. Parents were overwhelmed by the unconditional love they
experienced and some felt able to come to church on Sunday.
Another church’s visits to local schools unearthed concerns over the increasing number of latchkey kids, that
is, a child who returns from school to an empty home because his or her parent or parents are away at work,
or a child who is often left at home with little or no parental supervision.
The school principles and church worked together to develop an after-school and holiday care programme.
The church now cares for up to 50 children each day while modelling Christian values and love
St John’s is involved in others ways through pastoral care of families, and hosting public issue forums and
supporting DCM
I wonder though if these stories, these acts of compassion to those in dire need are ever shared with the
community
I believe as the Christian Church the good news of Jesus Christ for the poor, oppressed, widow, powerless
can be held up as the model to re-educate the community about ‘it taking a community to raise a child’.
I also believe the media needs to be encouraged to propagate the good news stories rather than expose the
awful data that leaves people feeling helpless and unable to respond. However that is another sermon!
Let us as God people respond as Jesus did and in compassion, proclaim in word and action the redemption
we have in Jesus Christ to those who are in dire need. Amen
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