When the Security Net Fails

World Mission Council - Harvest Service Notes

Introductory Note : This can be used as by two voices in place of the sermon. Or the preacher could take the notes and adapt them into a sermon. The 4 stories are taken from real life situations faced by members of the Presbyterian Church of South Sudan (PCOSS) although names have been changed to protect identities.

1 Kings 17.8-16, Matthew 19.16-30

When the security net fails

Elijah was a refugee. By speaking out publicly against King Ahab, he was forced to flee for his life. He goes to a place called Zarephath, near Sidon (in what is now Lebanon.)

He finds himself in a place where he has no family, no friends and no connections. He discovers what many refugees know, that leaving home means leaving behind the safety nets others rely on in tough times.

[Rebecca fled her home in December 2013 as civil war erupted in South Sudan. She and her children have been living in a United Nations Camp set up for displaced people. She has no idea where her husband is. The camp provides a safe space for her but yet she remains vulnerable, fleeing her home means she has few possessions, no support from relatives and has lost her sense of identity and her freedom. ]

In the face of famine, Elijah has no resources, no rights and no contacts. Starvation is a real possibility. With no-one else to rely on he has little option but to rely on God.

[Daniel and his family fled their home in Malakal, South Sudan, when soldiers entered the town looting and killing. They now live in the bush in a makeshift village. They have had to move from one area to another because of the fighting and are unable to establish any gardens and have not been able to grow any food for themselves. They have had to eat toots and weeds to survive. Occasionally relief maize has been distributed and they have received some of that. It is hard for a person who is a farmer to depend on others to feed their family. )

By contrast, the rich young ruler has everything he needs and more. and cannot imagine what it is like to live without a security net.

The kindness of strangers

Elijah - a stranger, a foreigner, a refugee and the follower of another faith - approaches a lady gathering firewood, and asks for a drink of water. In a time of drought, that is no small request. But he also asks for food from a woman who is facing famine herself.

The first miracle in the story is that the woman responds to Elijah’s need. She has so little that she doubts she and her son can survive, yet she shares the tiny store of food she has. It would be hard to overestimate the sacrificial compassion of this nameless woman.

[Joshua aged 13 years is a refugee from South Sudan, now in Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya. He was separated from his family as they swam over the River Nile to escape the war. He was afraid and hid in the bush for three days every time he heard people around him. He was weak and exhausted and fell asleep. When he awoke, there were people around him. They were also on the move and invited him to travel with them. They shared their small amount of food with him which probably saved his life.. Joshua is now living with them in a house given to them in the Refugee Camp. ]

The rich young ruler, on the other hand, is so concerned to hold on to what he has, that he chooses to give up on Jesus rather than give up on his material wealth. Often those who know what it is to face real hardship themselves, or who can imagine themselves in the shoes of others, respond with a generosity of spirit to the needs of the stranger.

A little can be enough

The second miracle in the story is that however little the woman and Elijah have to share between them, it always ends up as enough. By their willingness to share, the flour and the oil on which they rely do not run out, and nor does their trust in God’s ability to meet their needs.

[The Presbyterian Relief and Development Agency (PRDA) of the Presbyterian Church of South Sudan work hard to distribute relief foodstuffs to people who are in desperate situations in makeshift camps and isolated villages. As a local church agency they are able to reach right into the heart of areas which other agencies cannot. In the name of the church, they are providing not just food for the physical needs of those that are hungry due to famine caused by climate change or by war. Our sharing allows the PRDA to share with others in times of greatest need.]

If they did not share, there would not be enough. Elijah, the woman and her son would all have starved. By pooling their spiritual and material resources, the whole range of their needs are met more effectively.

The rich young ruler, on the other hand, refuses to share, even when challenged by Jesus. No-one else benefits from his wealth. He loses out spiritually because of the depth of his attachment to his material goods.

Reflecting on these stories at harvest time tells us that even those who appear to have next to nothing, have something to share. The ability to understand and respond to the needs of others is not just a material but a spiritual response. God can take the little that we have – a little faith, perhaps, or the limited resources we can share, and use it so that spiritual and material needs are met better than if we sought to hold on tightly to what we have.

As Jesus tells us, “Many who are now first will be last, and many who are now last will be first.”