Our readings this evening focus very clearly on faith. In the reading from Acts (27:1-25) Paul sets sail for Rome - he had an incrediblyuncertain future. As a prisoner of the Romans, he faced the possibility or even likelihood of imprisonment, torture and death, and yet relying on God for his strength he remained strong. We know from his letters the strength of that faith which still spoke of rejoicing and standing firm in faith in whatever situation he found himself.
But this evening I want to go back to the Old Testament and focus on the faith of the Shunammite woman that we heard about in our reading from the second book of Kings (4:8-37).
The account we have is that the prophet Elisha travelled regularly past her home and she made him welcome there with offers of meals. Clearly her welcome was good as he kept going back. Later she spoke to her husband and asked if they could build a room for him to stay whenever he needed to, and so they did.
When Elisha sought to repay her for her kindness she explained there was nothing she needed. However Elisha's servant Gehazi suggested that what she really wanted was a child. Elisha told her this would happen and though she was somewhat sceptical, that is what happened.
Some years later though her son died. Whilst the birth of the child was a miracle in the first place, so was what happened next as she persuaded Elisha to come back. He did and the son was brought back to life. All she could do was praise God for this renewed blessing.
That account says a lot about faith and about God's power, and it also has a lot to teach us today. The first thing is to do with the hospitality of the woman. She made a special place for Elisha to come and eat and later went even further, building a room which would have taken time, money and effort... Hospitality is a great Christian principle - caring for one another means making them comfortable, however inconvenient it may be to us. And there are few things more beneficial for fellowship times than enjoying a meal together.
But we can also take this further as well because in welcoming Elisha into her home, the woman was also welcoming God. Elisha was a great prophet and her faith would be helped by learning from a teacher like him. By making room and time for Elisha she was making room and time for God. It is a reminder that we need to make space and time for God too. We need to allow him to enter our lives...
Sometimes we allow God to only enter part of our lives – we allow him to come in only where we want him to be and where it is convenient and comfortable for us, but in order to know God fully we need to allow him to be with us in the more challenging things – in the times when it’s inconvenient to spend time in prayer or bible reading, in the times when we are challenged to stand up for justice, in the times when we are called to love our neighbour, whoever that neighbour may be and however difficult that may be.
Whilst putting it like that might sound it is an arduous sort of relationship, it is only by doing this that we can truly appreciate and know his blessing and peace in our lives. It is only by doing this that we will know the full transforming power of his love in our lives.
The second lesson we learn from this account is to recognise God's blessings for us. Elisha naturally wanted to thank her for her hospitality. Knowing she didn't need money he asked if he could put in a good word for her with the king or with the commander of the army. She was content with her life and didn't need anything.
What she had in her life she trusted that God had given her, and rather than worrying about what she didn't have she saw the good in what she had, and was grateful. It was Elisha's servant Gehazi, who thought that what she really wanted was a child. Her husband was old and if he died even a woman of fairly comfortable means would be left abandoned - at that time it was the duty of a child to look after parents in their older years. And this was the only real hope for widows.
And so Elisha promised her a son - she was as I said a little sceptical, but a year later a child was born. God had delivered on the promise made through Elisha. Again we can look at a parallel with our relationship with God here - just as new life was brought to this household that had welcomed God, we, by letting God into our lives, making him welcome in our hearts, receive new life too.
That birth was the first miracle here. But some years later we hear that the son died. The great promise seemed to have been broken. And here we are reminded of the fact though God is faithful and loves us, life won't always be easy - sometimes we will face struggles. And here the woman received a great test, but success came in knowing where to turn - not to try and sort out the problem simply by ourselves or to despair or lose faith, but to go to God.
The extent of our problems don't define us as individuals but how we handle them can. This woman had wanted nothing but had known the incredible blessing of God and now she did want something. She wanted to know why this happened certainly, but she also wanted something done about it. Her faith was strong enough to know that God could bring her son back to her.
We know that because normally in Jewish society a burial would have taken place within 24 hours of death - a mother wouldn't go off on a journey beforehand, but this woman went off to see Elisha and persuaded him to come back with her and eventually her son was brought back to life. Her incredible faith had unleashed God's power on Elisha allowing him to be used to bring back the son to life.
God delights in giving gifts to his people. He is a God who gives gifts, not because we are good or important, or because we will make a useful contribution, but simply because he is that kind of God who loves to give his people gifts for their enjoyment.
In the end of this account we are told that the woman simply fell at Elisha's feet and bowed to the ground... As we recognise the many blessings God gives us, not least his unbending love, surely our only response can be endless praise and a desire to serve him with all that we are and all that we do. Amen
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