Always sufficient

1 Kings 17:8-24
The Widow of Zarephath
Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” So he set out and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink.” As she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” But she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” Elijah said to her, “Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord the God of Israel:The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth.” She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days. The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.
Elijah Revives the Widow’s Son
After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill; his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. She then said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to cause the death of my son!” But he said to her, “Give me your son.” He took him from her bosom, carried him up into the upper chamber where he was lodging, and laid him on his own bed. He cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I am staying, by killing her son?” Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.” The Lord listened to the voice of Elijah; the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. Elijah took the child, brought him down from the upper chamber into the house, and gave him to his mother; then Elijah said, “See, your son is alive.” So the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”


Invitation
This is Gods table of discovery to which all are invited
So come prepared -
Prepared to be surprised
Prepared to be shaken and stirred
Prepared to be turned upside down
As God gives you a new perspective
As the love of God
Symbolised in this sacrifice
Challenges all you hold fast
And encourages you to look again
And see God present
In ways you never imagined
Prepare to meet God here
As though for the very first time.
In bread and in wine.

Narrative:
The same night he was betrayed, our Lord, gathered with his friends around a table showed us how to feast abundantly:
He took bread, blessed it, broke it, and shared it.
And told us to do the same.
Then he took the cup, that speaks of the abundant love of God
and is now, for us, a memorial of Christ.
So we have here the bread and the cup, symbols of abundance
through which God reminds us of grace and by which we remember Christ's sacrifice for all.
Through these may God lead us out of scarcity and into abundance.
God is sufficient
Christ is sufficient
God is abundantly sufficient.

Great Prayer of Thanksgiving

God we thank you
for your knowledge and your insight
For the way you look at the plight of human beings
and see, not only how we got ourselves into the predicaments with which we struggle, but how we can get ourselves out.
God of the past, the present and the future,
We thank you that you do not keep your wisdom to yourself
But share with us ways to Wholeness and paths to peace.
Your call to repentance is not made harshly or in judgment
but in love and acceptance
You call us to see with your eyes of love
so that we can discern your will for your people
and the part you want us to play
in bringing justice
for all Gods children
Align us O God
with your purpose
And keep on awakening in us
new discoveries
of your amazing grace
And even - and especially- when it seems
That the world is tilting out of our control
grant us calmness to know
that you've got it covered
and that all it takes to set things right
is our willingness to graft faithfully
for your kingdom.
As we share this feast
that you make sacred
may our communion with you and all the saints
bring us into communion with all our brothers and sisters
until we can do no other
than work for each others good.
So send your Spirit on these gifts of bread and wine
that as we feast on them
we may embark on a new pathway
on the journey to repentance
To you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit be glory now and forever.
Amen

Fraction:
Jesus took, blessed, broke and shared
Christ comes to us in abundance.

Jesus also poured out his love upon us.
We share to remember him


Here is God coming to you in love and abundance
We share these gifts to celebrate God's love.

(After all have been fed)

Prayer
God your gifts are given extravagantly and freely
Nourished by them may we go to live in freedom, sharing extravagant love.
We praise you for the abundance of communion that you create as we gather here to serve and be served.
And for the reminder that the great communion of saints
joins us in this feast.
So may we be shaken and stirred to go and live out your good news
until all are loved and all are fed
until we see your kingdom come
Father, Son and exuberant Spirit
Amen.



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