Luke 7:11-17 If there is any
event that proves this world is broken and dying-- it is for a parent to stand
beside their child’s grave-- and that very scene is repeated ten of thousands
of time across the world each day. Sadly,
it’s nothing new. The Bible says that:
Jesus went to a town
called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. As he drew near to the gate of the town,
behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother,
and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her.
The
name of the town “Nain” means “Valley
of Beauty” but that day
it was the valley of the shadow of death.
That contrast between beauty and death is the way of life in this world.
Most of us go for
many years experiencing nothing but God’s blessings—seeing life in this world
as green pastures and still waters. But
then some tragedy strikes that reminds us our life is a journey through the
valley of the shadow of death. We just
see it more clearly when we face a tragedy-- like the widow of Nain. That poor woman—long before the death of her
son—already knew about heartache: she lost
her husband.
When I look out at
this congregation, I thank God for all of the good marriages we have here. Couples who have stayed married and genuinely
love and care for one another. Those of us
blessed by God this way (with one who is truly flesh of our flesh) know that we
have been blessed by God with the greatest earthly gift he gives.
But we are
reminded today by the widow’s story that there will come a day of parting for
us and our beleoved—when that one who is as close to us as our own flesh is
parted from us by death—and we know how painful that will be.
That is what that
poor widow had already gone through—but even then, with that painful loss, she
was not finished walking through the valley of the shadow of death. Her only son died.
To lose a child is
the worst pain a human being can endure.
All of us who are parents can imagine what she was going through-- but
what not may be immediately apparent to us is what this death meant for her own life as a childless widow.
Women in that time
and place were almost completely dependent upon the men in their lives for
their welfare. They grew up under their
father’s authority--went from there to live with their husbands—and if their
husband preceded them in death—they went to live with their sons. That is how women were cared for in that
culture.
As heart-broken as
she was over the death of her son, somewhere in the back of her mind she was
already wondering to herself: how in the
world am I going to live?
That was the
burden that weighed upon her as she walked behind her son’s body in that
procession of death—until she met the Lord of Life who took that burden upon
himself. The Bible says that: “…when
the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, "Do not weep."
This
is the first place in his Gospel that St. Luke, as the narrator of these events,
addresses Jesus as Lord—the mighty covenant God who has the power and the authority
to change even death. And not only did he
have the power to do so, he was moved
with compassion to do so—his heart went out to this poor, sad widow in an
obscure town.
Jesus’ attitude of
love and concern for those without much earthly power must have really made an
impression on St. Luke, because he tells us again and again in his Gospel that Jesus
reaches out to help those who the rest of society regards as having little
value-- and we see that same thing here.
From the world’s
perspective, one, poor widow in an obscure town doesn’t matter much—but the
Lord counts her worthy of his help. Both
compassion and power were perfectly joined together in Jesus and that’s what
makes such a life-changing difference in the lives of those the Lord touches. He told the widow “Do not weep.”
If we didn’t know
how all this would turn out—if we were simply part of the crowd that day-- we
could appreciate Jesus’ word as simply a kind gesture—but one that was
ultimately empty-- because they couldn’t really change anything thing.
But when the Lord “Do not weep” he means it! Do not weep-- for there is no reason for
tears in the presence of the giver of life!
The Bible says:
Jesus came up and
touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And Jesus said, "Young man,
I say to you, arise."
People
of that day were not buried in coffins but were wrapped in cloths and laid upon
a stretcher and carried to their graves and as the widow’s son was being
carried to his grave, Jesus walked up to the stretcher and said “Arise.” And
the dead man sat up and began to speak.
Life- from- death! Just- like- that! And what is even more stunning than the dead
man being raised-- is how it was accomplished—simply by a word—spoken by the
One who brought all things into being by his Word.
What we see here
is that the Lord is not some impersonal force far removed from our lives. Instead, he is the living Word of God who took upon himself our flesh and was moved by
compassion at what we have done to ourselves by our sins to reach out and help. That day at Nain, the Word spoke—and the Word
was spoken—and life came where there was only death before.
The scene that we
have before us today gets our attention because it is so common—so easily
recognized. 1. We recognize ourselves in
that group of mourners—grieving over a loved one 2. We recognize ourselves in
that poor mother—wondering what the future holds for us 3. We recognize
ourselves on that stretcher being carried to our graves—knowing that we too
will one day die.
And Jesus wants us to see our helplessness in the
face of it all—because that is the painful truth about us too.
There was
absolutely nothing that anyone there that day could have done to change what
happened—there were no tears of grief that the mother could have shed which
would have brought life back to her dead son.
There was no show of support from the friends powerful enough to change
tragedy into triumph. There was
certainly nothing the dead man could do to help himself.
But Jesus
could—and did—and at Jesus’ Word the man was restored to life.
Through this
miracle, Jesus wants us to believe that there is now something greater than
sorrow and death in this world—he wants us to recognize that he has entered
into our sorrow and death and his life changes everything for us—even death.
When Jesus touched
the stretcher of the dead man that day he should have become ceremonially
unclean. But just the opposite
happened—Jesus’ wholeness and cleanness and life came to rest upon the man. And the Good News for us today is that what
he did for that one man—he has done for you and for me.
Jesus took all of
the uncleanness and sin and death that is a part of our lives and carried it to
the cross where it was washed away in his shed blood. Three days later he rose up from the dead,
promising us that we too will rise from death.
And that promise that he speaks in Word and Sacrament continues to bring
life in the midst of death.
Each of us, by
nature, is like that dead young man on the stretcher—we are helpless to change
anything about our spiritual condition on our own—but when the words of Jesus are spoken to us: in Baptism (that we have died with him
and been raised with him) and Preaching (rebuking our sins and calling us to
faith) and Absolution (that we are fully and freely forgiven all our sins) and
Holy Communion (that his body and blood are given for us)—when these words of
Jesus are spoken to us --death is transformed into life—real life—abundant
eternal life that only God can give. Just
like he gave that day at Nain. The Bible
says that: Jesus gave him to his mother.
Too often, we hesitate
to give ourselves wholeheartedly to the Lord because we don’t know what the
Lord will ask of us and we’re afraid to follow him. But Jesus tells us that it is the devil who comes
to kill and steal and destroy --while Jesus has come to give life—rich abundant
life—a full measure pressed down and overflowing.
That’s what we see
here. The community was given their
friend. The widow was given her son. And
the young man was given his life. And none
of their lives would ever be the same. The
Bible says that:
Fear seized them all,
and they glorified God, saying, "A great prophet has arisen among
us!" and "God has visited his people!" And this report about him spread through the
whole of Judea and all the surrounding
country.
The
Good News for us today is the God has indeed visited his people in his Son
Jesus Christ and in his compassion and power has brought us a new life that is
just as real and just as life-changing as what occurred that day at Nain that
day for the widow and her son.
The dark shadow of
sin and death has been driven from our life by the cross and empty tomb. And Jesus invites us to take our place along
side of him, glorifying God by speaking to others his words of hope and faith
that give life. Amen.
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