Help Wanted!

Shunammites Need Only Apply

II Kings 4:8-17; Luke 10:38-42

The story of the Shunammite woman, in our Old Testament lesson for today, has rarely been the focus of attention. In fact, I'm not sure that I have heard any sermons on the subject. But, evenso, the famous painter Rembrandt did a painting of the woman going off in search of Elisha. For a long time it was thought that Rembrandt's painting was of Hagar and Ishmael being banished by Abraham into the Wilderness. But, in 1966, art historians determined that the painting was actually Rembrandt's "Departure of the Shunammite Woman" a tribute to this unnamed heroine of the Old Testament.

The city of Shunem was located on the southwest slopes of the Hill of Moreh. Elisha passed through the area quite frequently on the way to his home at Mt. Carmel. It may be that Elisha went to Shunem because it may have been the traditional site of divine revelations; a place where holy men believed God's voice could be heard particularly well.

Now, the fact that this Shunammite woman opened her house for Elisha is not particularly surprising. Such hospitality is typical of persons of Semitic cultures, even today. The fact that the woman offered meals to Elisha allowed the woman to expose her entire household to the special blessing that follow from a man of God.

But, in this case, the Shunammite woman was especially hospitable, more hospitable than she had to be. What would have been expected was that perhaps the woman would have offered the flat roof of her house as a place for the holy man to pitch his tent, thereby providing a place of cool-breeze comfort. What the woman did, however, was build an actual room for Elisha, a chamber with walls, a place of permanancy and privacy, with bed, chair, and a table; a place whereby Elisha could maintain ritual cleanliness; a place where Elisha could have a lamp so he could read or study or pray at any time.

Now, the scripture tells us that the Shunammite woman's generous hospitality was not wasted on Elisha. In fact, her hospitality was so special that the holy man wanted to reciprocate. So, he pronounced a blessing on her and promised her something that she and her husband had longed for for many years, but had given up hope for: a son. And, indeed, before the year was over the promise of Elisha came true. The Shunammite woman's generous hospitality and openness brought the miracle of God's grace directly into her life.

I am reminded of another story about this kind of hospitality. It is the story of a man by the name of Dr. Howard A. Kelly, a renowned physician and surgeon, and a devout practicing Christian. During the summer holidays when in medical school Dr. Kelly sold books to help with expenses. Becoming thirsty, he stopped one day at a farmhouse for a glass of water. A girl came to the door. When he asked for a glass of water, she sweetly said, "I will give you a glass of milk if you wish!" He drank the cool, freshing milk heartily.

"The years passed. Dr. Kelly graduated from medical school, and became the chief surgeon in the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. A patient, one day, was admitted to the great hospital. She was from the rural area and was seriously ill. She was given special care, being placed in a private room with a private nurse. The skilled chief surgeon spared no effort to make the patient well. After undergoing surgery, she got well quickly.

One day, she was told by the head nurse, "Tomorrow you will go home!" though her joy was great, it was somewhat lessened by the thought of the large bill she must owe the hospital and surgeon. She asked for it. The nurse said, "Il will bring it to you!" She brought the itemized bill. With a heavy heart, the patient began to read the different items from the top downward. She sighed. But as her eyes lowered, she saw the following notation at the bottom of the large bill: "Paid in full with one glass of milk!" It was signed: "Howard A. Kelly, M.D."

Of course, as we look for a lesson in all of this, the obvious one is the lesson we should learn about hospitality. You never know, for example, whether or not you may be entertaining angels unaware. Helping the sojourners of this world, providing food for the hungry, clothing for those who have none, shelter for those who are homeless; all of these things come to mind when we think of Christian hospitality. Certainly, I could spend the rest of the time we have for this sermon on talking about this.

But there is another kind of hospitality we need to keep in mind as we consider the story of the Shunammite woman. Just as the Shunammite opened up her home for the holy man of God, and opened up spiritually to him, God looks at us to provide space for him within our heart. God wants us to open up for others in a physical sense, to be sure, but God also wants us to open ourselves up to him. And, yes, just as it is risky for us to open up our home to someone, so is it risky for us to open our hearts to God. But, blessings come from it, big blessings. For the Shunammite woman the big blessing was the fulfillment of the promise of a son. For us, as we open ourselves to the presence of God in our lives, there is the fulfillment of the promise of so much more.

For instance, everyone knows about the old codger who lives to be 100 and cavalierly attributes his longevity to booze, black cigars, beautiful women -- and never going to church.

According to a study that came out several years ago that kind of impious longevity may be the exception, not the rule. In studies of the relation of socioeconomic factors to disease in the population of Washington County, Maryland it was found that regular church-going, and the clean living that often goes with it, appear to help people avoid a whole bagful of dire ailments and disasters. Among them: heart disease, cirrhosis of the liver, tuberculosis, cancer of the cervix, chronic bronchitis, fatal one-car accidents and suicides.

The most significant finding was that people who go to church regularly have less arteriosclerotic heart disease. The annual death rate from such disease was about 500 for every 100,000 persons among weekly churchgoers, nearly 900 per 100,000 among "less than weekly" attendees.

As for bronchitis, researchers are at a loss to explain the relationship. (Maybe all that hymn singing helps clear the tubes.) Nevertheless, it appears that nice guys do seem to finish last.

But this only talks about the physical blessings in being a Christian and inviting Christ into our hearts. For, there are the spritual blessings, as well.

The story of Mary and Martha, in today's gospel lesson, is a great example of what I'm talking about when I refer to being open, spiritually. Martha wanted to serve the Lord, physically. Of course, this wasn't a bad thing for her to be doing. Her sister, Mary, had been doing this, as well. But, there came a time, as Jesus was speaking to his disciples, that Mary stopped with the physical service of the Lord and started to listen. For Mary this was the time when she could open herself, her spirit, to the Lord. But, then, Martha couldn't understand this. Caught up in all of her activity for Jesus, she couldn't take time to just sit and listen. But Jesus told Martha that Mary had chosen the better activity, and it will not be taken away from her."

Certainly, this is something for us to keep on our minds as we are busy doing so many good and worthwhile things in our life. We can be busy working at everything from being ambulance drivers, to volunteer firemen, to hospital volunteers, to youth workers, to council members, to church committee members. These are great ways of serving the Lord. Caring for other people, whether we do it on our job, at home, or in some other way, is tantamont to serving the Lord in the same way that Martha wanted to serve Jesus. But we mustn't forget the importance of just stopping all of the activity from time to time, to just simply listen and be open to the voice of Jesus, in the way that Mary did. We've got to do it. If we think we can continuously do good things all the time, without the spiritual re-energizing that we have got to have, then we're just fooling ourselves.

For many years the United Methodist Church has been very good at being involved in Social Action activities. We've been doing good things, like starting hospitals, running colleges, helping with feeding the hungry, providing shelter for the homeless, and so forth for a long time. But, periodically, many United Methodists feel the need to re-energize their spiritual batteries. Without that process of allowing some time to let God in, we begin to feel burned out. We may even begin to wonder why it is that we care in the first place.

In this regard, the place of refuge to which we go may actually be very much like that Shumannite women to which Elisha went. In her house he found refuge to pray, study, and rest in order to find the spiritual strength he needed to do his work for God. In the same way, this church, sunday worship, church school, a retreat center, a quiet place alone, or even a long talk with a trusted friend or counselor, can be like that Shumannite woman for us. And, God knows how much each of us need that place; that time; that Shumannite woman in our lives.

I am reminded of the hymn that appears in our new hymnal:

There is a place of quiet rest,

Near to the heart of God;

A place where sin cannot molest,

Near to the heart of God.

There is a place of comfort sweet,

Near to the heart of God

A place where we our Savior meet,

Near to the heart of God.

There is a place of full release,

Near to the heart of God.

A place where all is joy and peace,

Near to the heart of God.

O Jesus, blest Redeemer,

Sent from the heart of God,

Hold us who wait before thee

near to the heart of God.

Amen.