Connecting the Dots

One of the things I most love about reading Scripture is seeing the patterns from beginning to end of the Bible --- or connecting the dots.  Yesterday, I quoted Richard Rohr's words: "one dot is not wisdom: you can prove anything you want from a single Scripture quote."  Most Scripture teachings tend to remain at the level of "one dot," without making connections to the patterns that repeat and add meaning throughout the Bible.   The basic themes of the Bible are introduced in the Book of Genesis and are repeated through all of the books thereafter.  If we skip over the introduction, we will miss the depths of beauty that follow.

St. Jerome once wrote: "Ignorance of the Old Testament is ignorance of Christ."  Surely the Scribes and Pharisees of Jesus' day had the most familiarity with the Books of Moses -- but they failed to see the patterns that Jesus was bringing to light and fulfilling.  They accused "this people, ignorant of the Scriptures" of being deceived by Jesus (Jn. 7:47), saying that they themselves were too learned to be deceived.

It is not by study that we see the Light of the World; it is by the ministry of the Holy Spirit, the Breath of God in us, that we see.  He can reveal to the small and the simple great mysteries not seen by the educated and the learned.  All it takes is wanting to see the face of God.

In the First Book of Kings, chapter 17, we find the story of Elijah, who was told to go to Zarephath of Sidon during a famine in Israel:  "I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food."  When he reached the gates of the town, Elijah found the widow:  Will you bring me a little water in a jar so that I may have a drink?" he asked her.  As she was leaving, he also asked for a piece of bread.  Her answer was that there was nothing left in the pantry -- that as soon as she and her son ate the last handful of flour and the "little oil," they would starve to death. 

Elijah told her to first make a little cake for him and then make something for herself and her son--- for the jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the Lord gives rain on the land.  It took faith for the woman to use up her last handful of flour and last spoonful of oil to make a cake for the prophet -- but she did, and indeed, "the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah."

It is extremely helpful for us to actually study the maps (usually found in the back of most bibles) and to locate the places referenced in the stories we read.  In this case, we find Zarephath located to the north of Israel, on the coastline of Syria.  This widow was not an Israelite, but a foreigner who gave food and shelter to the prophet; for her faith and generosity, she and her son survived the time of famine.

Knowing this story of one of the greatest prophets of the Old Testament brings further richness and depth to the story of Jesus meeting the "foreign" woman at the well in Samaria and asking her for a drink of water.  This woman was not a widow -- or perhaps she was -- we do not know.  All we know is that she had been married 5 times.  Knowing that Jesus was in Samaria, to the north of Judah and Jerusalem, and that Samaria had had 5 rulers, or 'lords,' in its past history, helps us to bring even further meaning to His meeting with the woman.  He was in a foreign land, among foreign people, who had foreign gods, just as Elijah had been -- and yet He brought with Him the blessings of God.  He promised her "a fountain of living water springing up to eternal life."  And, when she asked about the "correct" way to worship,  He told her that true worshippers would worship the Father in spirit and in truth.

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus speaks in the synagogue at Nazareth, where he grew up: Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.  Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land.  It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. 

The people in Nazareth were furious at His words, and they tried to hurl him off a cliff.  All of us want to believe that we have the correct form of worship, and that the others are wrong.  But the prophet Elijah and Jesus Himself go to "foreigners," bringing an unending supply of graces and blessings, welling up to eternal life.  If we reflect on these two "dots" of Scripture, we might find rich connections -- of being open to the Spirit who, as Jesus says, "blows where He will."  There is no one on the face of the earth, no matter how far away from orthodox practice, who cannot be reached and touched by the Holy Spirit, who cannot find within themselves an inexhaustible supply of grace. 

Let no one believe he or she is outside of the reach of God's love, mercy, and power to save, no matter what the circumstances.  Don't go to church?  He will come to you.  Have no resources left?  Abandoned by all?  A prophet will arrive at your doorstep with all you need.  Look to the heavens and do not despair: God hears the cry of the poor.  If there is one thing we all have in common (all religions, all races, all cultures), it is poverty.  We are all in need of God.  And it is our need, not our creed, that calls down His Presence and His Power.