The real sermon #4

Ok, I've gone back and forth a number of times about what to preach this Thursday. This is the third sermon I've written this week ... and I think it's the one I'm actually going to preach.

Luke 7:11-17 (Today's New International Version)
Jesus Raises a Widow's Son

Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, "Don't cry."
Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, "Young man, I say to you, get up!" The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.
They were all filled with awe and praised God. "A great prophet has appeared among us," they said. "God has come to help his people." This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.

Some days we need to hear a tale of resurrection. Perhaps this is one of those days for you. If your soul is heavy, your heart is troubled, or your mind is tired – listen up. If everything’s perfect for you … well, I’ll try and work something in for you, too.

Almost everyone has lost someone close. Most of us have attended a funeral or mourned the loss of a relative.

When I was 8 years old my aunt died. By that age I had been to more than a dozen funerals and I knew the routine very well. Once I attended a funeral as a toddler. My mischievous Uncle gave me a wallet and showed me how to open it up and beg like a street beggar. I was a cute kid and came home with a nice chunk of cash.

When my aunt died, everything was different. I was old enough to really understand. I knew what had happened, I knew what death was – and I hated it.

The scripture today focuses on the widow of Nain. As the Bible describes her as a widow we know that she had already lost a husband. As Jesus enters her city, her only son is on the slab and about to be buried. Her culture treated widows terribly. A widow could inherit her husband’s property if she had children to take care of. If she had no children, her property would go back to her husband’s family. She would be left with nothing. No house, no income, no family, and no prospect for future love. No one would demean themselves to marry a widow. This woman had truly lost everything.

Sometimes in life it feels as though we have lost everything. When relationships come crashing down, while waiting on a diagnosis from a hospital, after failing a class, when we hear of an accident, or simply when a day has been too long and there hasn’t been enough sunshine.

At one point in my life;I had given up my job and my job security, I had no home of my own, my family was on the other side of the world, my friends were all on vacation enjoying the seaside, I became sick and had no one to take care of me, and then I got the phone call. One of my closest friends explained that he had cancer. It would more than likely prove to be fatal – doctors discussed his life in measurable quantities. Weeks, months, or years. I felt my world crash that day. I needed a resurrection story.

When Jesus saw this pitiable woman he approached her and said, “Don’t cry.” He walked over to her dead son and beckoned him to rise once more. The boy sat up and began speaking. Jesus gave him back to his mother.

This is a story of healing. Jesus physically healed this man by bringing him back to life. But this story is also one of spiritual, emotional, and social healing. Jesus restored life for this young boy – but he restored EVERYTHING for this woman.

When the people around Jesus saw this miracle they began to rejoice. Suddenly this stranger became their savior. He was automatically a prophet and God. This was wonderful. But sometimes we experience the opposite. When God fails to perform the miracle we demand, we turn our back. We cry and curse God for the failure.

The death of my aunt was especially painful because I had prayed for a miracle. I had prayed that she would be healed and she wasn’t. My magic genie Jesus failed to deliver and I was angry.
When we hear this story, I hope you think of the widow woman. She had lost everything – and Jesus gave it all back to her … and then some.

This body – this useless shell of a body – will pass away. When my friend Jonathan dies (and I really do pray that he will die decades from now, after years of us sitting together on a porch being cranky old men yelling at the neighborhood kids) we will rejoice in his obedience to God. We will rejoice that God restored him.
The healing in this story, and in mine, is so much more than a physical healing. “This story shows that healing is not simply about curing illness or raising the dead; it is about redeeming the entirety of human life in relationship with God.”

Because of the resurrection of Jesus, our lives are redeemed.

WE are the resurrection story.

When life is too hard and you need a resurrection story, look around at the people in this room. Look at the people who have been redeemed by the words of Jesus. Look to those who were spiritually dead until Jesus said, “Get up!”

And remember in all of your days, that when those around you are having a rough day – you are the resurrection story they need to hear.

This story is a beautiful reminder that we serve a God who heals. God still restores people, he raises the dead, and he cures the sick. And he uses us to do it. Pope John XXIII said, "Consult not your fears, but your hopes and dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what is still possible for you to do." The mistakes you have made don’t matter. God doesn’t view the forgiven sins and failures of yesterday – he sees the hope and future of tomorrow. God has a plan for you to help restore the people around you.

If you allow it, God will use your resurrection story to restore others. Go forth this day, and live life in such a way that those watching will be amazed at the Jesus who has raised you back to life.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.