Rise up, and go to Zarephath of the Sidonians, and dwell there. For I have instructed a widowed woman there to feed you. (1Kgs 17:9)
קוּם לֵךְ צָרְפַתָה אֲשֶׁר לְצִידוֹן וְיָשַׁבְתָּ שָׁם הִנֵּה צִוִּיתִי שָׁם אִשָּׁה אַלְמָנָה לְכַלְכְּלֶךָ׃
Surge et vade in Sarepta Sidoniorum et manebis ibi; praecepi enim ibi mulieri viduae, ut pascat te.
God chooses a poor widow to become the breadwinner of the prophet Elijah. She had NOBODY except her son and NOTHING except a handful of flour and a little oil…. And despite this, or maybe because of this (!), the Lord gave her this mission.
One could say that God’s choice seemed senseless and absurd to human beings… But thanks to the poverty of this widow, the Lord’s power could be fully revealed. It is similar in our life – many tasks often overwhelm us, but in God’s logic, this is not a reason for sadness. Once again, this is to convince us that “what is sublime may be of the power of God, and not of us” (2Cor 4:7).
