As the Commandment Says

based on Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17

Often something positive eventually comes from a disaster. This does not mean that the disaster was God’s way of achieving the positive. The birth of David results from Ruth’s union with Boaz (encouraged by Naomi), but the biblical events preceding that: Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot’s incest with his daughters, the famine and death of Naomi’s family… these are not God’s preferred method bringing grace into the world.

The first widow I ever understood to be a widow was 25 years old. She was in a college class with me. Her husband died of a heart attack while playing basketball. He was 29. Suddenly, the notion of widowhood became clear to me. It was not that a woman simply outlived her husband, but that there was a blank space at the table, an empty side of the bed, a phone number that goes unanswered, conversations that become one-sided. Widows and widowers of all ages and circumstances frequently surround us. And we forget their status. We forget that they are among those who are considered most vulnerable and most wise in Scripture. We forget that God’s heart is with them.

            It is critical to remember that her beloved, deceased partner may not have been a saint, but she will still grieve. That he is still thinking of his loved one, even if you are afraid to bring up the subject. That she may grow accustomed to her new state, but never stop missing the ones who rest in light. Being widowed, being left out of partnership, should not mean being left out of community. Let not the community of God forsake those who mourn. It is not enough to say God is with them. We are to be the hands, words, and consolation of the Spirit with widows, orphans, and strangers.

Double Share

2 Kings 2:9-12

9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.” Elisha said, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.” 10 He responded, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.” 11 As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. 12 Elisha kept watching and crying out, “Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

What would a “double share” of the spirit of a modern prophet or saint look like? The one who received a double share of the spirit of Dietrich Bonhoeffer would likely not rest while there were unjust governments in the world. A double share of Rosa Parks would mean resisting oppression wherever it appeared, and putting oneself in a position to resist it.

Twice the spirit of Malala Yousafzai could mean moving forward even in the face of certain death for the sake of others and one’s own self. Doubling the spirit of Mother Teresa would mean walking past no one in need, even as one fears and grieves the perceived absence of the Lord. A double share of the spirit of Pope Francis I might mean defying the unspoken traditions of your denomination to lift up your deeper understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

A double share of the spirit of Jon Stewart means skewering the loud voices of our time, on all sides, that seek their own advancement over the welfare of their neighbors. A second helping of the spirit of Fred Rogers would mean seeing all people, including children, as your neighbor and doubling the effort to lift them up to better circumstances. Twice the spirit share of Nadia Bolz-Weber means looking past what you think you are worth and fully embracing what God knows you are worth.

Elisha dared to ask for a double share of Elijah’s spirit. Would we dare to ask for a double share of the Spirit of any of these? More than daring to ask, would we (could we) dare to want it?