Ways to Help (2)

1 The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.”

2 Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”

“Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.”

3 Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. 4 Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”

5 She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. 6 When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.”

But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.

7 She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.”

The widow’s dilemma can be as real today as it was in Elisha’s time. She faced poverty and exploitation, hopelessness and despair. Notice that Elisha responded to this crisis by engaging her in finding a sustainable income to support herself and her sons.

Yesterday we affirmed the importance of meeting immediate needs. But we also know that bigger problems often call for more sustainable solutions.

Elisha’s response to the widow respects her abilities, invites her participation, engages her neighbors, and transforms her “nothing but a little oil” into a cottage industry to support her family.

While bandages have their uses, new skills, knowledge, and opportunities are needed to help people find new beginnings and pathways out of poverty.

I thank God for the many organizations and people who are “teaching people to fish” by teaching sustainable agriculture, nutrition, and health care, literacy and numeracy skills, leadership and human rights—and who do all that as an expression of God’s love and his desire for abundant life for all people.

Have you considered supporting such important work?

Dear God, the suffering of the poor who bear your image is an affront to you. You long for their renewal and flourishing. Use me as you will to help change the story in their lives. In Christ, Amen.