Shuffling in like Elijah, Part I

And she said to her husband, “Look now. I know that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us regularly. Please, let us make a small upper room on the wall, and let us put a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; so it will be, whenever he comes to us, he can turn in there.”

-2 Kings 4:8-11

You can see her in your mind’s eye, if you try. Fluffing the pillows, smoothing the sheets, turning the chair just so, polishing the table, oiling the lamp. She’s humming a little song as she works. You can see her, because you’ve seen so many just like her. Your mother, maybe, or your grandmother, or your aunt. Maybe you are like her, humming a little song as you prepare a room for someone you love.

She had fed Elisha many times. Like Jesus, who generations later, would talk about having no place to lay his head, Elisha traveled often. Like Jesus, who generations later would come to depend on the kindnesses, upon the hospitality of Martha and Mary, Elisha had come to depend upon the kindnesses of this Shunammite woman. He looked forward to her home-cooked meals. He looked forward to an hour or two of peace and quiet in her home.

She would invite him in whenever he came to town. She would give him food and drink. But she wanted to do more for this holy one. She wanted to make a special place for him, a place where he could feel at home, and so she said to her husband, “Look now. I know that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us regularly. Please, let us make a small upper room on the wall, and let us put a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; so it will be, whenever he comes to us, he can turn in there.”

What a wonderful surprise it would have been for Elisha! Perhaps the room had just been finished the day before. Or perhaps it had been finished and standing empty for many days, or weeks, or months. She would have visited the room every day, smoothed the sheets, fluffed the pillows, made sure that everything was just so. How excited she was to welcome him in, to surprise him with this gift of space and place. And he, in turn, was overwhelmed. Indeed, he offered her anything she wanted in return for her gift of hospitality, in appreciation of this place that felt like home.

This story made it into the Hebrew scriptures, I suppose, because it is a miracle story. Elisha, in gratitude for the woman’s hospitality, promises her that she and her husband will bear a child, which they do. Later on, when the child dies, Elisha brings him back to life.

But the most important lesson that we learn here is not from Elisha, but from the Shunammite woman, who worked so very hard to make room for the holy.

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by Pastor Cindy...more to come!