This poor woman! She trusted in the Lord's promise to provide for her and the oil and flour didn't run out. And then her son died! Why did the Lord save them only to let her son die? Was it because of her sin? Did she do something and so Elijah came to show her she was a sinner and let her son die? We think like that. We think God watches what we do and when the time is right, pays us back what we deserve. We think that when something's wrong, God is punishing us. And we make bargains. "Lord, if you make them better or make me better or make it work out how I want, I promise to go to church more or live a better life" or whatever. Our sinful flesh is afflicted with the idea that that is how the Lord operates: if you do bad, He'll punish you and if you do good, He'll reward you. So what did that woman do? What was her sin? Wrong question because that's NOT how the Lord works. He's NOT that kind of God.
What does St. Paul tell the Ephesians in our epistle lesson today? He wants them to know the love of Christ which passes all knowledge! He wants them to know how the Lord can do exceedingly abundantly beyond all they can even ask! When Paul writes to the Ephesians, he's reminding them of God's love for us in Christ. There's nothing bigger than that. There's nothing bigger than Jesus being sent to die for our sins. There's no payback that's coming. There's no retaliation by God. There's no keeping score. The fact is, God doesn't operate the way we do! Rather, His love is unfathomable in Christ. How can the Son of God become man and then die? And how can that death take away our sins? The widow is half right. The Lord doesn't kill her son to show her her sins. But He does suffer His own Son to die because of OUR sins! The Lord would never pay the widow back for her sins by letting her son die! But when the widow's son does die? That is for the Lord's mercy and glory to be shown!
What does Elijah do? He pleads for the widow and then the Lord answers his prayer and raises the boy from the dead. When the boy is dead, there is the Lord's chance to do beyond anything the widow can hope or desire. When there is death, the Lord brings life and that is far more than we would ever have expected the Lord to do. Consider the widow: she can figure that the Lord would kill her son because of some sin she has. But would she dare to hope the boy would be brought back to life? Just so, it is easy to think that death is a part of life. That the Lord is out to get us for our sins. That's our sinful flesh talking. But we could never in a million years imagine that instead of paying us back for our sins, God would send His Son to become man and die for them. And death DOES remind us of our sins, since it is because of sin that death is in the world. But we could never imagine in a million years that the Son of God who would die for our sins would then rise again on His own and have victory over death. Even Jesus' disciples whom He told that He was going to die and rise didn't believe until they had seen it! But there it is: The Lord raises the widow's son to life and He rises from the dead after taking away our sins!
Then what does the woman say? "Now I know that you are a man of God and that the Word of the Lord in your mouth is truth!" The miracle points her to the Word. Just so, Jesus' resurrection, His being alive, being seen by eyewitnesses, is our testimony that His Word is true. We haven't seen it with our own eyes but God, doing more than we can possibly imagine, gives us faith in this Jesus through the Word. By what appears to be ordinary water and bread and wine, the Lord gives us life where there was only sin and death. We would never imagine in a million years that the salvation accomplished for us by the dead and risen Jesus could be given to us as a gift with the splashing on of water and the word. We would never imagine that by bread and wine, we could eat and drink the flesh and blood of the Lamb of God. When we look at our lives and see our sin and death, God is not paying us back or punishing us. Rather, these afflictions are His opportunity to save us and demonstrate the height and width and depth of His love in Jesus Christ. Does death remind you of your sins? Do your sins trouble you? Then that's where the Lord is ready to save you. And He does, through His Son.
God is not a "gonna pay you back" kind of God. He is the merciful Father who has sent His Son to be our Savior. He didn't kill that widow's son to get her back for something. Rather, in the boy's death, His Word was glorified and shown to be the saving Word that it is, the Word that gives life. Just so to us. He is not waiting around to pay you back and give you what you've got coming. He's taken care of your sins in Christ. Now, by His Word, He gives you life and rescues you from sin and death. As St. Paul teaches us to confess: To Him be all glory in the church by Jesus Christ to all generations. Amen.
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