Pentecost 2 Luke 7:11-17 Christ’s Compassion and Power

1 Kings 17:17-24 Galatians 1:11-24 Luke 7:11-17

Funerals are something that brings out sympathy in us. When we see a funeral procession, even in the distance, we know that someone is going through the grieving process.  We feel sorry for those in their plight, even though we may not know who is suffering or all of the circumstances leading up to the funeral. Funerals cause us to pause for a moment, and then we politely go on our way tending to our own business.

In our Gospel lesson we see such a funeral. Although, we do not know the man who has died, nor do we even know the mother’s name, we can have some sympathy for her. From Luke, we learn that this is her only son and that her husband has also died. We begin to understand the hopelessness of the widow’s situation. Her son’s death means that along with losing her family she has lost her livelihood. Without a husband or a son to help support her she will live in poverty.

Judging by the crowd following her, many of the people of Nain are more than just sympathetic. They knew the family well and share the sorrow the widow feels as they go along with her.  They are sharing her emotions in a way that is up close and very personal.  They walk alongside of her to the graveyard offering her support and carrying her son to his final resting place. They are empathizing with her, actually entering into and experiencing her emotions, sharing her pain, her confusion and her sense of loss. They are showing her that they care and hoping that she may feel better--at least in a small way by letting her know that she is not walking alone.

They are helping and comforting her as best as they can.  What she really needs is her son back but they cannot accomplish such a wonder. Nevertheless over the next several days, they plan to be with her, taking care of little details, making meals for her, giving comfort and mourning with her just as we as Christians should do. But as time goes forward, they will have to go back to their own lives. The demands of their jobs and families will pull them away and eventually she will be on her own.

Even though they have sympathy and empathy, eventually they will be powerless to offer any lasting help. Right now the widow is weeping over the loss of her son.  But she is also weeping over her future life; a life without hope.

Into this heartbreaking situation walks Jesus.

Jesus and a crowd of followers are walking into the city while at the same time the funeral crowd is processing outward. Since the incoming crowd does not know the son or the widow, proper etiquette dictates that Jesus and the crowd following Him should step aside and allow the procession to proceed. But Jesus, in His divine wisdom knows the predicament of the mother. He sees the concern as well as and the helplessness of those gathered around her and He knows the hopelessness of her situation.

Rather than stand aside upon seeing her, Jesus meets the procession head on. Jesus has compassion on her and says, “Do not weep.”  He too has a feeling of sorrow and concern for the widow’s suffering. He is conscious of her needs and has a great desire to alleviate her suffering. In contrast to the empathetic crowd however, who can only make an effort to comfort her, Jesus can accomplish what is really necessary for her continued welfare and happiness. He has the power to give this dead man life.

He approaches the dead man and says to Him, “Young man, I say to you arise.”   And the dead man sits up and begins to speak.  Jesus out of His compassion and power has just accomplished many things.  He gives the young man life.  Although the widow and the crowd may have been thinking about how wonderful that would be, no one had actually asked for this to happen—for such a thing seemed impossible. But this miracle is easy for Jesus.

He gives the mother her son back and in so doing He gives her renewed joy and hope for a bright future. By showing such compassion and power, Jesus gives the people of Nain a reason to put their hope and trust in Him.

 But many of them look at what He could do for them only in this life. They think of Him as a great prophet, that perhaps God has sent the prophet Elijah back.

But the One standing before them is much greater than Elijah. Christ’s compassion and power go far beyond what He did for the widow and her son.

 Jesus would continue on His journey, preaching, healing and ministering to the needs of people wherever He went. Jesus did not come into the world to heal a few individuals or to raise a few people from the dead. If that was all he would do, then people would only die again in their sins.  His acts of compassion are small in comparison to His true mission. Jesus came into the world to teach and to preach the kingdom of God; to show the people what is to come for those who put their faith and trust in Him.  

His journey would end on the cross where He showed us His ultimate compassion and His critical goal. He would die for the sins of the whole world so you could have eternal life in heaven.  All who believe in Him shall not die, but have everlasting life. What Jesus did on the cross is the greatest achievement that has ever been done. But the fact that Jesus had such an important task ahead of Him did not stop Him from being kind and compassionate to those He encountered along His path to the cross. He took the time to have compassion on people like the widow and her son.

Once we were all like that young man. Our souls, dead because of sin, made us unable to save ourselves. But Jesus came into our lives at some point and made us alive. Through the word of God spoken to you by someone or through the washing of water and the word spoken at your baptism, Jesus made your souls alive so that you could arise and speak. Through His grace and not by anything you have done, He has made you alive to Christ.

 Through His death and resurrection, God has come to help you in the most tangible and unexpected way. By touching you through his Word and Sacraments, He shows His compassion and His power.  Through that faith, you find the hope and the trust you need to help you with all your losses as you journey through life. Just as our Lord’s heart went out to the poor widow, so also He mourns with you in your losses. But through His power and wisdom, He leads you along the path to salvation .

What a comfort you have knowing that in Jesus God has rescued you from eternal death even before you could speak. Even now He responds to your formal, spoken prayers and your inward “groans that words cannot express” as Paul calls them (Rom 8:26). You can confidently call on the God who has rescued you from an eternal death sentence because you have not only seen His compassion, but you have also seen His power in  His death and His resurrection. You call on a loving and compassionate God who takes care of the little things in your life as well as the big things that lead you to eternity with Him in heaven.  

So you express your faith in Jesus Christ in worship and in prayer by giving glory to God and believing His Word with your fellow believers. Unlike the witnesses who believed Him to be just a prophet, we respond knowing that Jesus is more than a prophet--for He is our Lord and our Savior. And like the witnesses of this miracle we proclaim, “God has visited His people!”  In Jesus Name, Amen.