Bread and Oil - Leftovers or First Fruits - your Choice

First reading                                                                                                               1 Kings 17:19-16

'Jar of meal shall not be spent, the jug of oil shall not be emptied'

Elijah the Prophet went off to Sidon. And when he reached the city gate, there was a widow gathering sticks; addressing her he said, ‘Please bring me a little water in a vessel for me to drink.’ She was setting off to bring it when he called after her. ‘Please’ he said ‘bring me a scrap of bread in your hand.’ ‘As the Lord your God lives,’ she replied ‘I have no baked bread, but only a handful of meal in a jar and a little oil in a jug; I am just gathering a stick or two to go and prepare this for myself and my son to eat, and then we shall die.’ But Elijah said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, go and do as you have said; but first make a little scone of it for me and bring it to me, and then make some for yourself and for your son. For thus the Lord speaks, the God of Israel:

“Jar of meal shall not be spent,

jug of oil shall not be emptied,

before the day when the Lord sends

rain on the face of the earth.”’

The woman went and did as Elijah told her and they ate the food, she, himself and her son. The jar of meal was not spent nor the jug of oil emptied, just as the Lord had foretold through Elijah.

First, a bit of background to help you put what is going on in our reading into context.  At the time Elijah met this widow there was a drought which resulted in a famine throughout the land.  Elijah had told the people that there would be no dew or rain in the land unless he said so.  This was because the people of Israel and Judah had turned away from God.  The Jews had separated into two groups.  The first group lived in the south, they were called Israel and the group who resided in the north were living in the land of Judah.  Now, both of the kingdoms were in trouble with God because they had wandered off on their own path but those in Judah took it to the extreme because they had descended into paganism, worshiping idols.  So, the widow and her son were not the top-shelf people, they were pagans. Imagine if a man came to your house during a drought and famine and demanded that you give him some water and some bread.  It appears that she had enough water because she immediately started out to get some for the prophet, but then the prophet demanded some bread.  This caused her to stop and tell Elijah that she had only enough oil and flour left to make a small cake for her and her son.  Notice she said, "As the Lord YOUR God lives...?"  It was not her god, it was his God. He told her that she should first make something for him and then for herself and her son because she would not run out of flour or oil.  She placed her faith in what the prophet of God said and she ate for a year, that is until the drought and famine were over because of the faith she placed in the promise of God that the prophet had revealed. 

She did not give to the prophet from her large surplus of flour and oil.  For all she knew Elijah was a flim-flam man who was out to steal her last bit of food.  But, he wasn't and she was rewarded for giving all she had.  Her story is much like the story of the widow's contribution from today's Gospel reading.  The widow gave to the temple not from her surplus funds, leftover after she met all of her needs, she gave her all, everything that she had. 

Think about what you give to God and I do not mean just money.  Do you give to God from your surplus after all of your needs are taken care of or do you give from your first-fruits?  If we give to God from our first fruits, his response will be greater than what we gave to Him.  Donate money, of course, but also donate your time for God's kingdom.  Give Him your best and He will take care of the rest.