"Stone Soup" | The Rev. Heidi Thorsen | November 10, 2024

As a kid, I was enchanted by the storybook Stone Soup. The story originates from a European folk tale, and it may be familiar to many of you.

In the version of the story that I encountered as a young person, a woman was hungry and had nothing to eat. All she had was an empty pot, and a stone. The woman filled her pot with water from a stream, placed the stone inside, and began to heat it over an open fire. A local villager passed by and asked the woman, “What are you making?” The woman replied, “I am making stone soup. It tastes delicious, but it needs a little garnish.” The villager, who was also hungry and would love a taste of stone soup, admits that he also doesn’t have much– but he has a few carrots he can add to the soup. He hands them over, and the woman stirs them in.

Soon another villager passes by. And another. And another. One after the other contributes an item to the pot: potatoes, cabbage, onions, chicken, corn. The woman continues to stir the soup as more villagers draw near.

Finally, she declares the soup is ready. She removes the stone, ladles out portions, and there is more than enough for everyone. The soup is delicious– a combination of all the gifts that the villagers had to share.

As a child, I wanted to know what stone soup tasted like. I wanted it so badly that my mother even agreed to make stone soup at home for us. We picked the perfect stone, washed it several times in the sink, and then one by one added the ingredients to the pot. Of course we were kind of missing the point, with all the ingredients coming from our own fridge. But we still read the story together as we made the soup, and we recognized that there was something magical about a meal that started as almost nothing, made delicious by the contributions of many.

Of course there may be cynics out there who hear this story with suspicion. They see the woman with the pot as a con artist, someone who was able to take the villagers for all they are worth. I do not read the story this way, and I don’t think that’s the way it was meant to be read either. Instead, I think this woman is like the widow of Zarephath, in our reading from 1 Kings today. She is a woman who has next to nothing, and nevertheless chooses to believe that sharing with others is a better way forward than clutching her limited resources to herself. I think this woman with the stone soup is also like the widow in our reading from the Gospel of Mark today. She didn’t withhold a secret storehouse of carrots, potatoes, and onions. Instead she gave everything she had– even if it was just a stone– and she put it in a pot to share with others.

I share this story about stone soup today with the optimism of the Gospel of Jesus Christ– believing that we are truly better together than we are apart. Believing that we are never islands in and of ourselves, even if we wished that was the case. Instead, we are intricately connected with one another in the fabric of creation. We are knit together in one body, the Body of Christ. We are branches on one vine, as the Gospel of John says (John 15:1-8). We are part of one another– and whatever hurts one part of this unity hurts us all. Whatever is good for part of this body is good for the whole.

The Kingdom of God, which Jesus preaches about throughout the Gospels, reminds me of this story of stone soup. In the Kingdom of God, everyone’s contributions are welcome, and there is more than enough for everyone.

Some days it is hard to believe that we are better together than we are apart. It can be hard to believe that we are better together when our country is so divided, as this past week’s election revealed in stark detail. It can be hard to believe that we are better together when we have such radically different ideas of how the soup should be made. It can be hard to believe that we are better together when certain political viewpoints seem to want to exclude some peoples’ contributions from the pot altogether - potatoes are welcome, but carrots, you’re out of here. It can be so hard to believe that we are better together than we are apart.

And yet, that is what the Gospel of Jesus Christ teaches us, again and again. We are a part of something bigger than ourselves. And we are our best selves when we live “not to ourselves alone” (as it says in Romans 14:7), but when we are accountable first and foremost to God– to the God who urges us to love our neighbors as ourselves.

In our scripture passage from the Gospel of Mark today, we might ask ourselves why the poor widow gave everything she had, when others gave only a part of their riches to the common good. This is an incredible act of faith. It is an example of her faith not only in God, but also in the fundamental teaching of the Gospel: that we are better together than we are apart. That there is more than enough for everyone.

Are you ready to give your all to Jesus Christ, and the values that he represented? Are you ready to give your all to the common good, recognizing that we are all deeply connected to one another through the love of Jesus Christ?

In order to do this, we have to be open minded. We have to recognize that we might not like all of the ingredients in the soup, but still we have something to learn– something to gain– from every person’s contribution. But we also have to “Beware of the scribes.” As our reading from the Gospel of Mark says today, we have to beware of those “who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of  I welcomeappearance say long prayers.” In other words, we have to beware of those who would promote their selfish gain over the common good. We have to beware of those who pursue their own salvation over the collective salvation of the Body of Christ. many contributions to that body; many contributions to the pot– except in cases where one’s contribution denies or dehumanizes the contributions of others. In those cases, we have to look out for one another. We have to let our love for our neighbor shine, and stand up for those whose right to participate in our common life is most threatened. What is harmful to one of us is ultimately harmful to us all.

This week, I have been so grateful for the gift of communion– more grateful than at many other times in my life. Last Wednesday at 12:10pm, a small number of our congregation gathered for our weekly Wednesday Eucharist. Despite our differences– and I don’t claim to what all those differences are– we stood together, and we prayed together. We united our voices, as we spoke the words of our liturgy in unison. 

We celebrate communion again today. We also celebrate a baptism– a powerful reminder of how we are knit together in one human family. After the baby is baptized and the bread is broken, we will say these words together:

We who are many are one body,

For we all share in one bread.

Whatever your political views, or feelings of grief or hope in this moment, I hope you will always remember that we are one body. Out of many, we are one. And our faith professes the same principle, in the most expansive way. May we live not for ourselves alone, but for God– who calls us into community with each other, reassuring us that we are better together than we are apart. 

Are you ready to give your everything for the sake of the Body of Christ; for the sake of our blessed and broken human family? May God give us the the strength to give ourselves fully for the joy, survival, and flourishing of all. Amen.