The golden cork.

That’s what wine-drinkers are hoping to discover when they buy a bottle of Browns Brothers Pinot Grigio. This Australian winery has placed five golden corks in five bottles of wine. If you are lucky enough to find one, you’ll win a lifetime supply of wine!

But maybe you’re not a wine-lover. Maybe ice cream is your passion.

If so, you really should have submitted an application for the job of Chief Executive Officer at Ben & Jerry’s. This ice cream company announced a contest called “YO! I’m Your CEO.” Don’t you love that? “YO! … I’m your CEO.”

Ben & Jerry’s invited people to send in 100-word applications. First prize in the contest was the job of CEO. Second prize: A lifetime supply of ice cream. Not bad for a consolation prize.

Exactly what is it that you would like to win for life? Underwear? Toilet paper? Vitamins? Pantyhose? Advil? Diet Coke? Groceries? Vacation rentals? Mortgage payments? The answer can say a lot about what we treasure, what we place at the very center of our lives.

Ever since Willy Wonka put golden tickets in his chocolate bars, we’ve been dreaming of being lifetime winners. Problem is, lifetime offers are grounded in a lot of wishful thinking, and for them to do us any good they have to be grounded in someone — or something — that is truly trustworthy. After all, a lifetime offer is only as good as the person or company that stands behind the offer. If the company goes out of business, you lose your benefits. If Ben & Jerry’s suffers a meltdown, no more ice cream. If Browns Brothers has a bad grape harvest, no more Pinot Grigio.

All of which brings us to the widow of Zarephath, one of the great mothers of the Bible, and an appropriate character to think about on Mother’s Day. She’s a lifetime winner! The prophet Elijah promises that her “jar of meal will not be emptied and [her] jug of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth” (1 Kings 17:14).

Sounds like a good deal, but what’s really going on here? Let’s take a close look.

Today’s passage comes from the beginning of the story of Elijah, right after he has been told by God to leave the land of Israel. Elijah is locked in a power struggle with Israel’s King Ahab, and their fight is over the nature of God himself. Ahab has been seduced into thinking that the Canaanite god Baal is the source of rain and life on earth, while Elijah holds to the conviction that the God of Israel controls rain and life. Elijah gets in Ahab’s face and makes the bold claim, “As the Lord the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word” (v. 1).

These are brave words by Elijah — the kind that can get you killed. God knows that Ahab has a temper, so he advises Elijah to “Go from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the Wadi Cherith” (vv. 2-3). There God sustains Elijah with gifts of bread and meat, delivered by a flock of ravens (vv. 5-6).

Then the word of the Lord comes again to the prophet, “Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you” (vv. 8-9). Elijah does what God says, and as he comes to the gate of the town, he sees a most pathetic sight: a poor widow, gathering sticks. Any sympathy he might be feeling is overwhelmed by his own thirst and hunger, aggravated by the drought that is now gripping the whole land. “Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink,” he calls to her. And then he adds, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand” (vv. 10-11).

The widow is at the end of her rope, and her response to Elijah is as depressing as a funeral dirge,

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.

It’s a sad and touching statement, sure enough. But Elijah will hear none of this gloomy talk. “Do not be afraid,” he counsels her; “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. 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 upon the earth” (vv. 12-14).

She goes and does what Elijah says — a remarkable act of faith for a woman so down in the dumps, so depressed, so close to death. And sure enough, she and her household are able to eat for many days. The jar of meal is not emptied, and the jug of oil does not fail, according to the word of the Lord, spoken by Elijah (vv. 15-16).

The widow of Zarephath becomes a lifetime winner. In a time of need, the Lord really does provide for her.

Notice, however, that this amazing gift comes with some strings attached. First, it requires a response: The widow has to act on the word of the Lord, and do the baking required to turn oil and meal into cakes. The same is true for us. When we are given a gift by God, we are challenged to accept it in faith and take action to put it to work in the world.

At the First United Church of Christ in Milford, Connecticut, which I served 20 years ago, a man named Milton experienced a spiritual awakening — right after he suffered a career-ending stroke. Laid up at home, he developed a thirst for the religion he had not tasted since childhood. He rode his wheelchair to a series of new members’ classes at the church, struggled to memorize Bible passages, and did what he could as a church office volunteer. Milton feasted on the Christian faith as few ever do, and he used his time of spiritual nourishment to reconcile himself to God and his family. Within a few weeks he died … at peace.

When we are given a gift by God, it is important to respond. Gifts of oil and meal are valuable only if we bake them — only if we turn them into cakes. So what are you going to do with the gifts you have been given by God? The Lord has given you time, and energy, and a whole range of talents. What are you going to make with the raw materials God has given you?

Second, God’s amazing gifts last only as long as the need is present. In the story of Elijah and the widow, the offer is good until the rain returns. This is an important point for us today, because we live in a culture of excess — we admire the rich and famous, and we want for ourselves the latest and the greatest, whether we’re looking for clothes or cell phones, cars or computers.

But God doesn’t promise to give us what we want — only what we need. He sustains us in a time of drought, instead of spoiling us in a time of abundance.

Travel to a developing country such as Honduras, and you will see the joy of Christians who have discovered that the Lord really does provide. At the Plan Escalon School, which the Midlife Men and I visit each November, the 400 young men and women who are students there gather for worship every Sunday, and they raise the roof with their spirited song and dance. They are thankful to God for the education they are receiving, even though their school is always desperate for textbooks and their menu includes little besides beans and rice. In a country in which many children have no hope of schooling beyond the primary level, the students of Plan Escalon are thankful that God has given them the chance to receive a high school education.

God sustains us in a time of drought, giving us exactly what we need. The challenge for us is to discover that these gifts are sufficient — and may even fill us with joy. When Bruce Horner finished his work among us, God provided Beth Corry and Vanessa Mueller to join Sallie Horner in music leadership. When Beth Corry had to be away this Sunday, the Lord gave us Michael Parrish … on very short notice. We can trust that God will sustain us, giving us exactly what we need.

The widow of Zarephath is a lifetime winner, but not only because she receives a prize of oil and meal. She is a winner because she acts on the word of God, because she turns her gift into something good, and because she accepts that God will sustain her instead of spoil her. Her faithfulness makes her a model for us today, just as she is a model for Jesus when he says to the people of Nazareth, “there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah … yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath” (Luke 4:25-26). Jesus wants the people of Nazareth to know that God isn’t going to bless them because of their race or creed or nationality. God is going to give help to those who make a faithful and active response to what he is doing in their lives.

Since a lifetime offer is only as good as the power that stands behind it, we can trust what God is putting before us. Better than ice cream or Pinot Grigio, God’s gifts will truly sustain us.

They’ll give us life, now and always. Amen.


Sources:
“Find a golden cork and win wine for life.” Pieces of Victoria. May 2006. http://www.tourismvictoria.com.au.
“Ben & Jerry’s company timeline.” http://www.benjerry.com
“Win a lifetime supply of free underwear!” http://www.iwearjockey.com