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He undertakes another course of action, stronger than the first. What is this one? He dries up the river, he restrains the ravens, he raises a voice to him: Go to Zarephath of Sidon; behold, I will command a widow woman there to feed you. Do you see how the Lord hastened to incline him to compassion? For he did not send him to a ruler’s house, or to a king’s, or to some wealthy woman, but to a needy widow, so that even in this way he might be bent toward compassion. But he remained inflexible even so. For it was necessary for him, upon hearing the Lord say, "Go to Zarephath of Sidon; behold, I will command a widow woman there to feed you," to fall down, to cry out, to beseech, and to say, Do not bring me down to humiliation, O Master. You are sending me to the Sidonians, and you command me to trouble a widow woman, whose bread is filled with tears, whose table is full of groans, whose bed has a curse for a pillow? But Elijah said none of these things. For he knew that if he should refuse the widow’s table, the Lord would say to him: What are you saying, O Elijah? Do you refuse the widow’s 61.705 table, you who have caused the whole land of Israel to be barren, making it a widow, barren and childless, bearing no fruit, and you refuse the widow’s table? Therefore, so that Elijah might hear none of these things, he immediately set out on the journey to the Sidonians, being provided for in joy or in pain. But listen to this. Having been hosted by the widow, Elijah found a table that cost nothing, genuine, suitable, ascetic: water and oil and meal, and two sticks of wood. For what then? Did the widow have only two sticks of wood? Yes. How? Listen, and I will tell you.

This aforementioned widow bore an image of the Church; for this reason the prophet is sent to her. Therefore, when the prophet entered the house of the widow, he found truly the storehouse of our Church; he found water and oil and meal, and two sticks of wood; water, baptism; oil, the anointing; meal, the bread; two sticks of wood, the achievement of the cross. And Elijah had also cried out to the widow: The jar of oil shall not diminish, and the pitcher of meal shall not fail. For the grace of the orthodox faith is unfailing. Therefore, finding the widow's table that cost nothing, Elijah rejoiced, he exulted, saying to himself: Here I will pass the rest of my time, here I will spend all my time; for I have found a suitable table, I have no concern for the house of Ahab, and for the people of Israel, and for the madness of Jezebel; let them have their inheritance, the drought; for I will not be separated at all from the things here. Saying these things, Elijah reasoned joyfully to himself, not being aware, as a man, that in joy he was about to find pain. You all know how the widow, having two genuine sons from the same womb, rising from her bed at dawn, sees one of her sons delivered over to death. But if it is the nature of a widow to mourn for a perfect male child who has died, none of you is ignorant; for she considers the life of her child more glorious than all the wealth of the world. For the woman did not attend to the dead man according to custom, nor did she perform the funeral rites, nor was she occupied with the procession; but leaving her dead, she seized Elijah, holding, dragging, making a scene, crying out before all: What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sins to remembrance, and to slay my son? That is, You have killed him. Did you see how the joy of Elijah turned into pain? He was held as a murderer; for thus the widow said, "What have I to do with you, O man of God? You have come in to me to bring my sins to remembrance, to slay my son." You have killed him; your entrance caused this.

Did you not find my child weak? Was he not sick for one day? Your entrance has provided the death of my son. Why have you given me meal, when he who would eat it is not present? Give me my son; you have killed him, wishing to inherit my house. You take the meal, and give me my son. You feed me, and the

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ἄλλην πραγματείαν μετέρχεται ἰσχυροτέραν τῆς πρώτης. Ποίαν ταύτην· Ξηραίνει τὸν ποταμὸν, συστέλλει τοὺς κόρακας, βάλλει φωνὴν πρὸς αὐτόν· Πορεύου εἰς Σάρεπτα τῆς Σιδωνίας· ἰδοὺ ἐντελοῦμαι γυναικὶ χήρᾳ τοῦ διατρέφειν σε ἐκεῖ. Ὁρᾷς πῶς ἔσπευδεν εἰς συμπάθειαν αὐτὸν κλῖναι ὁ Κύριος; Οὐ γὰρ ἀπέστειλεν αὐτὸν εἰς οἶκον ἀρχοντικὸν, ἢ εἰς βασιλικὸν, ἢ εἰς εὔπορόν τινα γυναῖκα, ἀλλὰ πρὸς χήραν ἐνδεομένην, ὅπως κἂν οὕτω καμφθῇ πρὸς συμπάθειαν. Ὁ δὲ καὶ οὕτως ἀκαμπὴς ἔμενε. ∆έον γὰρ αὐτὸν ἀκούσαντα τοῦ Κυρίου λέγοντος· Πορεύθητι εἰς Σάρεπτα τῆς Σιδωνίας· ἰδοὺ ἐντελοῦμαι γυναικὶ χήρᾳ τοῦ διατρέφειν σε ἐκεῖ, προσπεσεῖν, βοῆσαι, ἱκετεῦσαι, καὶ εἰπεῖν, Μὴ καταγάγῃς με εἰς ταπείνωσιν, ὦ ∆έσποτα· Σιδωνίοις με παραπέμπεις, καὶ γυναικὶ χήρᾳ παρενοχλεῖν με προστάττεις, ἧς ὁ ἄρτος δακρύων πεπληρωμένος, ἡ τράπεζα στεναγμῶν ἀνάμεστος, ἡ κλίνη κατάρας προσκεφάλαιον ἔχουσα; ἀλλ' οὐδὲν τούτων ὁ Ἠλίας. Ἔγνω γὰρ ὅτι, ἐὰν παραιτήσηται τῆς χήρας τὴν τράπεζαν, ἐρεῖ πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ Κύριος· Τί λέγεις, ὦ Ἠλία; παραιτῇ τῆς χήρας τὴν 61.705 τράπεζαν, ὁ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν Ἰσραὴλ στειρεύειν παρασκευάσας, χήραν αὐτὴν ἐργασάμενος, στεῖραν καὶ ἄτεκνον, καρποὺς μὴ τίκτουσαν, καὶ σὺ παραιτῇ τῆς χήρας τὴν τράπεζαν; Ὅπως οὖν μηδὲν τούτων ἀκούσῃ ὁ Ἠλίας, εὐθέως ἐστείλατο τὴν ἐπὶ Σιδωνίους ἀποδημίαν, ἐν εὐφροσύνῃ, ἢ ὀδύνῃ ποριζόμενος. Ἄκουσον δὲ πρὸς ταῦτα. Ξενισθεὶς ὁ Ἠλίας ὑπὸ τῆς χήρας εὗρεν ἀδαπάνητον τράπεζαν, γνησίαν, ἁρμόδιον, ἀσκητικὴν, ὕδωρ καὶ ἔλαιον καὶ ἄλευρον, καὶ δύο ξυλάρια. Τί γὰρ οὖν; δύο ξυλάρια μόνα εἶχεν ἡ χήρα; Ναί. Πῶς; Ἄκουσον, καὶ ἐρῶ σοι.

Αὕτη ἡ μνημονευθεῖσα χήρα εἰκόνα τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἔφερε· διὸ πρὸς αὐτὴν ἀποστέλλεται ὁ προφήτης. Εἰσελθὼν τοιγαροῦν ὁ προφήτης εἰς τὸν οἶκον τῆς χήρας· εὗρεν ὡς ἀληθῶς τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἡμῶν τὴν ἐνθήκην· εὗρεν ὕδωρ καὶ ἔλαιον καὶ ἄλευρον, καὶ δύο ξυλάρια· ὕδωρ, τὸ βάπτισμα· ἔλαιον, τὸ χρίσμα· ἄλευρον, ὁ ἄρτος· δύο ξυλάρια, τοῦ σταυροῦ τὸ κατόρθωμα. Ἦν δὲ καὶ πρὸς τὴν χήραν βοήσας ὁ Ἠλίας· Ὁ καμψάκης τοῦ ἐλαίου οὐκ ἐλαττονήσει, καὶ ἡ ὑδρία τοῦ ἀλεύρου οὐκ ἐκλείψει. Ἀνελλιπὲς γὰρ ἡ χάρις τῆς ὀρθοδόξου πίστεως. Εὑρὼν τοιγαροῦν ὁ Ἠλίας τὴν ἀδάπανον τράπεζαν τῆς χήρας, ηὐφράνθη, ἠγαλλιάσατο, λέγων πρὸς ἑαυτόν· Ὧδε διάξω τοῦ λοιποῦ, ὧδε τὸν ἅπαντά μου χρόνον διατρίβω· ἁρμόδιον γὰρ τὴν τράπεζαν εὗρον, οὐδείς μοι λόγος τῷ οἴκῳ Ἀχαὰβ, καὶ τῷ λαῷ Ἰσραὴλ, καὶ τῇ μανίᾳ τῆς Ἰεζάβελ· ἐχέτωσαν κληρονομίαν, τὴν ἀβροχίαν· ἐγὼ γὰρ τῶν ἐνταῦθα οὐδ' ὅλως χωρίζομαι. Ταῦτα λέγων ὁ Ἠλίας πρὸς ἑαυτὸν εὐφραντικῶς λογιζόμενος, μὴ συνειδὼς, ὡς ἄνθρωπος, ὅτι ἐν τῇ εὐφρασίᾳ τὴν ὀδύνην ἔμελλεν εὑρίσκειν. Ἴστε πάντες, πῶς ἡ χήρα δύο παῖδας ἔχουσα γνησίους καὶ ὁμοκοιλίους, ὄρθρου τῆς κλίνης διεγερθεῖσα, θεωρεῖ τὸν ἕνα αὐτῆς υἱὸν θανάτῳ παραδοθέντα. Εἰ δὲ πέφυκε χήραν ἐπιτηδεύειν ἐπὶ τέκνῳ ἄῤῥενι τελείῳ τελευτῶντι, οὐδεὶς ὑμῶν ἀγνοεῖ· ἐνδοξοτέραν γὰρ ἡγεῖται τὴν τοῦ τέκνου ζωὴν ὑπὲρ πάντα τὸν πλοῦτον τοῦ κόσμου. Οὐ γὰρ προσετέθη κατὰ τὸ εἰωθὸς τῷ νεκρῷ ἡ γυνὴ, οὔτε ἐκήδευσεν, οὔτε πρὸς τὴν ἔξοδον ἠσχολήθη· ἀλλὰ καταλιποῦσα αὐτῆς τὸν νεκρὸν, τοῦ Ἠλία καθήψατο, κρατοῦσα, περιάγουσα, ὀχλοποιοῦσα, κράζουσα ἐπὶ πάντων· Τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοὶ, ἄνθρωπε τοῦ Θεοῦ; ἦλθες πρός με τοῦ ἀναμνῆσαι τὰς ἁμαρτίας μου, καὶ θανατῶσαι τὸν υἱόν μου. Τουτέστι, Σὺ αὐτὸν ἐθανάτωσας. Εἶδες πῶς ἡ εὐφροσύνη τοῦ Ἠλία εἰς ὀδύνην μετῆλθεν; Ὡς φονεὺς κατείχετο· οὕτω γὰρ ἔλεγεν ἡ χήρα, Τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοὶ, ἄνθρωπε τοῦ Θεοῦ; Εἰσῆλθες πρός με τοῦ ἀναμνῆσαι τὰς ἁμαρτίας μου, θανατῶσαι τὸν υἱόν μου. Σὺ αὐτὸν ἐθανάτωσας· ἡ σὴ εἴσοδος παρεσκεύασε τοῦτο.

Μὴ εὗρες τὸν παῖδά μου ἀσθενοῦντα; μὴ ἠῤῥώστησεν ἡμέραν μίαν; ἡ σὴ εἴσοδος τὸν θάνατον τοῦ υἱοῦ μου παρέσχε. Τί μοι ἄλευρον ἐχαρίσω, τοῦ ἐσθίοντος μὴ παρόντος; δός μοι τὸν υἱόν μου· σὺ αὐτὸν ἐθανάτωσας κληρονομῆσαι τὸν οἶκόν μου βουλόμενος. ∆έξαι σὺ τὸ ἄλευρον, καὶ δός μοι τὸν υἱόν μου. Ἐμὲ σιτεύεις, καὶ τὸ