The title of this sermon is my attempt to get all you beloved people to focus for a few moments on what Jesus has done in the Gospel lesson for today. I want you to notice that Jesus first sees the grief and pain of the mother who has lost her son. And with that sight He has profound in-sight of her condition – so much so that He is deeply moved with compassion. The Bible doesn’t use that term but it is very apparent that at the moment that God visits with us in our grief and painful circumstances – that God is moved with compassion.
What happens then is amazing. But lets make sure this visit is fully savored:
“The Message” interpretation says that this 7th chapter of Luke first tells a story about Jesus entering Capernaum where a Roman captain had a servant who was on his deathbed. The captain prized the servant highly and didn’t want to lose him. When he heard Jesus was back, he sent leaders from the Jewish community asking him to come and heal his servant. They came to Jesus and urged him to do it, saying, “He deserves this. He loves our people. He even built us a new synagogue.”
Jesus went with them. When he was still quite far from the house, the captain sent friends to tell him, “Master, you don’t have to go to all this trouble. I’m not that good a person, you know. I’d be embarrassed for you to come to my house, even embarrassed to come to you in person. Just give the order and my servant will get well. I’m a man under orders; I also give orders. I tell one soldier, ‘Go,’ and he goes; another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
Taken aback, Jesus addressed the accompanying crowd: “I’ve yet to come across this kind of simple trust anywhere in Israel, the very people who are supposed to know about God and how he works.” When the messengers got back home, they found the servant up and well.
Not long after that, Jesus went to the village Nain. His disciples were with him, along with quite a large crowd. As they approached the village gate, they met a funeral procession—a woman’s only son was being carried out for burial. And the mother was a widow. When Jesus saw her, his heart broke. He said to her, “Don’t cry.” Then he went over and touched the coffin. The pallbearers stopped. He said, “Young man, I tell you: Get up.” The dead son sat up and began talking. Jesus presented him to his mother.
They all realized they were in a place of holy mystery, that God was at work among them. They were quietly worshipful—and then noisily grateful, calling out among themselves, “God is back, looking to the needs of his people!” The news of Jesus spread all through the country.
The nagging question here in the back of many folk’s minds is why don’t we see people revived like this in today’s world like it happened during Jesus’ ministry.
First you and I can realize that both of these healings go to show the Lordship of Jesus Christ. That God is glorified in each resuscitated dead or almost dead person.
Second you and I can receive hope that our lives here and now can be revived from dead bone impassionate condition to exciting fruitful and productive lives.
Christ is glorified whenever you or I have experienced a set back in health or any limiting circumstance. Set backs, set ups, upsets, backups – all challenges are opportunities for God to show us just how great and wonderful God really is in our lives and in the lives of others.
A children’s storybook reads like this: There once was a man who had only marbles in his head and jelly in his knees. When someone asked how far can you think? He said, “As far as my thoughts will roll until my wobbly knees will buckle under. Then I just shake – rattle and roll until the band stops.”
You see, the man with marbles in his head and weak wobbly jelly knees could keep on going if there was music playing. But who plays the music. In the children’s story someone else plays the music until the weak kneed marble brained man discovers that he has the right music inside his own soul.
Beloved people you and I can discover that God has special music – a special message in our very heart and soul that can keep us going no matter what. This is to God’s glory and it proves the Lordship of Jesus Christ when we keep praying for others and ourselves to hear and obey what God is telling you and me to do. When we read or listen to stories of Jesus healing or raising someone from the dead – if we are lacking passion and excitement in what we are doing in life then you can either give up and quit or pick up and pray for strength and guidance. To God be the glory.
The second and last point is that when Jesus has compassion, He sets an example for you to have compassion for others when you see their difficulties, loneliness and unbearable hurt. You can go and touch even the coffin of someone’s lost and lifeless shell of a body and if God wills it – that person will be resuscitated to new life that is truly abundant.
Bishop James R. King, Jr. of the Kentucky conference gave the sermon message at my commissioning service last Tuesday morning. He told of a 80 year old woman who had a date with a 90 year old man. When the woman returned from her date, her daughter noticed how shaken and concerned she seemed to be. “Mother, what’s wrong.” “Oh, I feel so bad. I had to slap him three times.” “Oh mother, was he fresh with you.” “No, I concerned that he had died on me.”
Now, that is where many of us may be at this time or sometime soon in our lives. Maybe you’ve felt like a dead man walking – needing someone to slap you back to life. The truth is Jesus speaks and Lazarus, Jarius’ little girl, the captain’s servant, this mother’s dead son and so many others are brought back to life – in a moment – in the twinkling of an eye. And God still speaks to us today even though your experience and loss of loved ones seems to keep you from listening.
Stop focusing on what God did nor didn’t do for you our for your loved one. Look to what God can and will do in your live right now. Do you know that Jesus can touch that pew you are sitting in right now and it is no long a dead piece of wood like the coffin that mother’s son was lying in. Jesus touches this room and the things right now with the seeing compassion of God in your life. Jesus is ready to touch your box in which your soul finds itself right now. And you have a choice to wake up or to remain asleep. PPPush open the lid of your coffin and come out. Wake up and join other people in a great adventure with Christ. It’s never too late. It’s never over for God. Don’t give up.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for waking us up today. Thank you for Your looking on our grieving, lonely, hurting lives with compassion. Thank You for sending Your Holy Spirit to represent Christ and touch our caskets of hopelessness. Awake in us a passion, perseverance and hope that will never die. Make us true believers and send us to give others the resuscitation of life in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
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