Third Sunday After Pentecost
Shepherd
of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS)
When Death Meets Life
Luke 7:11-17
11 Soon afterward, Jesus
went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with
him. 12 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. 13 When
the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t
cry.” 14 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!” 15 The dead man sat up and
began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. 16 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.” 17 This
news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country. (NIV)
Death marched arrogantly
on. Yet again its dreaded wheel had been
spun, and when the spinning stopped, another life to which it pointed was
powerless against its beckoning. After
all, when Death’s dreaded reach extends toward man, man can do nothing to avoid
it. Death always wins. It takes its life and immediately the social
and cultural customs and etiquette surrounding Death ensue, for what else can
men do but oblige when Death arrives, ever the uninvited guest? Nearby neighbors and residents of Nain knew
the routine. From the moment the widow’s
son had died, the mourning had begun.
The process of preparing the body was a familiar one, for no community
is ever immune to Death. Washed and
wrapped, the body was placed upon a stretcher to be carried outside the city to
the place of burial. Death marched
arrogantly on.
Many followed along
respectfully with the procession, some simply because that’s just what you did
when Death demanded its morbid parade, and others because they were torn apart
inside at the plight of the widow who had now lost her only son. Now was no time for work or play or study;
Death called out to all, and everyone fell in line, all mourning and wailing,
various instruments clanging in their midst, loudly announcing that Death had
claimed yet another victim. Pallbearers
took turns bearing the burdensome weight of Death as they were honored to carry
the corpse to its final resting place.
The funeral procession had made its way from the widow’s home to the
gate of the city. The body would be laid
to rest outside the city, so as to avoid the defilement of Death. And Death marched arrogantly on.
That is, until the procession
of Death met head on with the Possessor of Life. Ah, and what should happen when Death, to
this point virtually unchallenged throughout history and claiming nearly an
undefeated record, should meet face-to-face with Life? Would Death continue its dominance? Would Life stand idly by, unable to undo
Death’s deed and watch yet another of Death’s trophies be placed in a tomb,
prominently displayed, as if upon a mantel for all to see?
Luke recounts for us what
happens when Death meets Life. “Then [Jesus]
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” (v.14,15). And there we have an answer to our question of what
happens when Death meets Life: Death has met its match! While man alone has been and always will be
powerless in the face of Death, Jesus has turned the tables on Death, which is powerless
in his midst. With this miracle Jesus
attaches the reality of flesh and blood to the name he gives himself in John’s
Gospel, “the Life” (14:6). No, he is not
just “the way and the truth,” but also “the life!” And while that title certainly includes
eternal life, we need not limit its significance, for we cannot quickly cast
aside that he is also the One who restores physical life, as he did for
Lazarus, for the daughter of Jairus, and here for the widow’s son in Nain.
And why should Jesus do such a thing?
No more than probably a day ago, some 25 miles away in Capernaum, Jesus
had healed the servant of a centurion. Remember
though, that this healing took place at the request of the centurion. He sought out Jesus and pleaded for him to
heal his servant. Jesus was willing to
grant his request, and was amazed at the centurion’s faith in the process. But here in Nain no such request had been
made. No envoys had been dispatched to
seek out Jesus and ask him to come to the aid of the widow.
So why did Jesus reach out, disregard any ceremonial laws of becoming
unclean via contact with the dead, and command a corpse to come to life? It was to demonstrate that in him the natural
order of things, ever since Abel’s murderous brother Cain ushered death into
the world, was to be turned around. No
longer would Death march arrogantly about, tapping mankind on the shoulder as
it pleased, without any prospect of hope for those in its grip. Yes Jesus’ miracle at Nain was a vivid and
blatant smack in the face to Death, reminding it that God had draped himself in
humanity in order to permanently disable Death.
But there’s more to the story that cannot be ignored, for Jesus at
other times and in other places would also demonstrate his power over
death. So why here, in what appears to
be a random encounter with a woman he had never met, whose name is not even
mentioned? Because Jesus sought not only
to showcase his almighty power over death itself, but also to put on display a
side to the Savior that he wants all people to see: Jesus is a personal
Savior. Not only that he is your and my
personal Savior, but also that he personally cares for you and me as
individuals.
Is there any way we can doubt that from his interaction with the
mourning mother of Nain? Luke tells us, “When the Lord saw her, his heart
went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry” (v.13). He knew her situation, whether by
omniscience, knowing and seeing all things, or by the fact that the mother of
the son was alone in the funeral procession, unaccompanied by either a husband
or any children. He knew her situation,
and his heart sank to his stomach for her.
It was gut-wrenching to witness her pain and loss. Her entire means of income, her whole
retirement – all gone. No husband and no
son to care for her, was she to resort to a life of begging for her remaining
days? These concerns weighed on Jesus
deeply and he cared for her.
If that were it, that Jesus cared for her, perhaps we would not see so
much to get excited about in this account, for we have been in similar
shoes. Our hearts have poured out to
others in care and concern. We have
witnessed others experience extreme loss.
We ourselves may have experienced extreme loss. We and others express our condolences, share
our sympathies, promise prayers, and offer hands of help. But those are the extent of our expressions
of care. We can do nothing at all to actually
change the circumstances of the one hurting.
We can do little that seems to adequately show we care.
But Jesus did. Yes, he spoke caring
words: “Don’t cry.” But he went further and took caring action: “Young man, I say to you, get up!” His compassion was not just a general
compassion for all people who have lost someone, but a specific, a personal
compassion to this widow whose loved ones had been ripped away from her in
death. Jesus’ compassion compelled him
to speak and show his care.
Dissect your heart and see for a moment if there is legitimately any
room inside, a corner, a cubby tucked away in there somewhere, which harbors
even the slightest bit of doubt over whether your Savior cares for you
personally. Yes, others will tell us God
works it all out for out good, but that isn’t good enough for me at times, is
it? I need to know that he cares about
me, and to be honest, it just doesn’t always feel that way. My marriage is on the rocks – don’t you care,
Jesus? I am still single – don’t you
care, Jesus? The footsteps of the pink
slip–bearing boss seem to be drawing closer to my door each week – don’t you
care, Jesus? And yes, one day – if it
hasn’t happened to you yet, it will – Death will march arrogantly into your
life and pluck away a loved one. And all
the comforting words of others, even brothers and sisters in Christ, will not
keep you from questioning at some point, “don’t you care, Jesus?” The irony, of course, is failing to see that
the very rebellious doubt demonstrated by you in such a situation is itself
death-deserving sin, and, if left unchecked, will see to it that a loved one
isn’t all that dies – your faith will die as well.
“Don’t you care, Jesus?” Stand
just outside the city gate of Nain and see how much Jesus cares. Jesus stumbles upon a complete stranger and
his holy heart moves him to heal her hurt.
And that, for a stranger. But you
are not a stranger! You are known to him by name. In baptism he called you by name and said, “I
say to you, get up!” Rise up out of the
death of unbelief as a newly adopted child of God. Jesus cares!
At his table, when you receive his precious body and blood – when you
receive the life that they offer – Jesus calls to you and says, “I say to you,
get up!” Rise up out and step outside of
the cloud of guilt, paid for by the body nailed to the cross for you, the very
body which you receive in Communion. Jesus
cares! And yes, one day, it will happen
to you that Jesus will speak to the remains of your body, “I say to you, get
up!” On that day you will know to the
fullest degree that your Savior cares for you.
In fact, no one cares more.
Jesus, the way and the truth and yes, the life, came to destroy
Death. Death in general, yes, but to put
a fine point on it, he came to destroy your death. He replaced it with his perfect life. Why should he do that for you and for
me? Because he cares for you. He cared for you in the past at Calvary, and
when he himself raised up to vacate the tomb.
He cares for you in the present through the means of grace, baptism and
the Lord’s Supper, where repeatedly he calls you to rise up in peace and forgiveness. And finally he will care for you in the
future enough to personally share his eternity with you. That, dear friends, is
the confidence we have in Jesus when Death meets Life. Amen.
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