Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Elijah and the Widow at Zarephath

⁸ Then the Lord spoke his word to Elijah: ⁹ “Get up, go to Zarephath (which belongs to Sidon), and stay there. I’ve commanded a widow there to feed you.”

¹⁰ He got up and went to Zarephath. As he came to the town’s entrance, a widow was gathering wood. He called to her, “Please bring me a drink of water.” ¹¹ As she was going to get it, he called to her again, “Please bring me a piece of bread too.”

¹² She said, “I solemnly swear, as the Lord your God lives, I didn’t bake any bread. I have one handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I’m gathering wood. I’m going to prepare something for myself and my son so that we can eat it and then die.”

¹³ Then Elijah told her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home, and do as you’ve said. But first make a small loaf and bring it to me. Then prepare something for yourself and your son. ¹⁴ This is what the Lord God of Israel says: Until the Lord sends rain on the land, the jar of flour will never be empty and the jug will always contain oil.”

¹⁵ She did what Elijah had told her. So she, Elijah, and her family had food for a long time. ¹⁶ The jar of flour never became empty, and the jug always contained olive oil, as the Lord had promised through Elijah.

²⁴ Christ didn’t go into a holy place made by human hands. He didn’t go into a model of the real thing. Instead, he went into heaven to appear in God’s presence on our behalf. ²⁵ Every year the chief priest went into the holy place to make a sacrifice with blood that isn’t his own. However, Christ didn’t go into heaven to sacrifice himself again and again. ²⁶ Otherwise, he would have had to suffer many times since the world was created. But now, at the end of the ages, he has appeared once to remove sin by his sacrifice. ²⁷ People die once, and after that they are judged. ²⁸ Likewise, Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of humanity, and after that he will appear a second time. This time he will not deal with sin, but he will save those who eagerly wait for him.

³⁸ As he taught, he said, “Watch out for the experts in Moses’ Teachings! They like to walk around in long robes, to be greeted in the marketplaces, ³⁹ and to have the front seats in synagogues and the places of honor at dinners. ⁴⁰ They rob widows by taking their houses and then say long prayers to make themselves look good. The experts in Moses’ Teachings will receive the most severe punishment.”

A Widow’s Contribution^(A)

⁴¹ As Jesus sat facing the temple offering box, he watched how ⌞much⌟ money people put into it. Many rich people put in large amounts. ⁴² A poor widow dropped in two small coins, worth less than a cent.

⁴³ He called his disciples and said to them, “I can guarantee this truth: This poor widow has given more than all the others. ⁴⁴ All of them have given what they could spare. But she, in her poverty, has given everything she had to live on.”