Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity - September 27, 2009

The Church Season of Trinity
The Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity, One Year Series
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (September 27, 2009)

“Restored”

Readings: Psalm
1 Kings 17:17-24
Ephesians 3:13-21
Luke 7:11-17

Sermon Form Deductive

+INI+

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen

The text for today’s message as recorded in the Old Testament Lesson from the 7th chapter of Luke:

Luke 7:11-17 (NASB95)

“11 Soon afterwards He went to a city called Nain; and His disciples were going along with Him, accompanied by a large crowd. 12 Now as He approached the gate of the city, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a sizeable crowd from the city was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her, and said to her, “ Do not weep.”14 And He came up and touched the coffin; and the bearers came to a halt. And He said, “ Young man , I say to you, arise !” 15 The dead man sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother. 16 Fear gripped them all, and they began glorifying God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and, “God has visited His people!” 17 This report concerning Him went out all over Judea and in all the surrounding district.”

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

All too often, we are confronted with the reality of loss. Whether it be the loss of a relationship. Whether it be the loss of a loved on to debilitating disease or death. Whether it be the loss of our own health, or even the loss of things we have worked hard to achieve but have not attained as we desire. In today’s text (as well as the Old Testament lesson), we see God’s response to a great loss. Scripture tells us that it happened that Jesus journeyed to a city called "Nain", and His disciples accompanied Him, as well a large crowd.

Now Nain was a small, out of the way town— really like the crossroads of Estey, just North of town, in fact even today the population is only about 1600. Even though Jesus had plenty of important things to do, He decided that it was important for Him to go help a widow in Nain. Because with Jesus, nobody is below His concern, even widows in small towns. But as He approached the gate of the city, a dead man was being carried out, the only begotten son of his mother, herself being a widow, and a great crowd was with her.

In that time, it was horrible to be a widow , because they had no inheritance. They were completely dependent on their sons to care for them, and now, this widow lost not only her husband, but her “only begotten son”

Quite frankly, It’s not great to be a widow or a widower today, either. Nobody likes to lose people they care about. It’s hard to get used to loss—you may never get used to it in this life and when we lose someone or something we value, we cry; we get angry; we feel lost.

When the Lord saw her, He was moved with compassion for her and said to her, "Don't cry." But sometimes when we express grief over loss, it sometimes comes out the wrong way. You see someone you love who’s hurting and say, “Don’t cry.”Because you care so much, you don’t want that person to be sad. But keeping back the tears doesn’t make the sadness go away.

And yet, in today’s text, Jesus said to this woman who’d lost everything, “Don’t cry!” And that could be taken as a very insensitive comment. But no, Jesus had a reason to tell her not to cry. Because He didn’t want her to be lost in her sorrow. But He alone, the Lord of life, could and would do something about it.

The only begotten son of the widow was dead. But the only begotten Son of God was there to take care of things. And so Jesus Christ, gave her a reason not to cry. The Lord sees you, too...He knows your sorrow—He has lost many of those He loves to the gates of hell. And He is determined not to lose you. He has chosen you—hand-picked you. You belong to Him, and He says the same to you, whatever your loss—don’t cry. And so as Jesus approached and touched the coffin, and the bearers stopped. And He said, "Young man, to you I say, 'Arise!'"

Now, to understand fully what was going on here, we need a little Old Testament background, touching a dead body would make the one touching it unclean, it was to be avoided if possible. But Jesus wasn’t afraid of that, because the Prince of life can’t be corrupted by death. Instead of being corrupted by the death of the widow’s son, He raised the man to life, just like Elijah, just like Elisha. But Jesus did not do this by calling on the power of God. Jesus did this because His spoken Word is power the power of God.

This same Word of God, brought you to life out of the death of sin. He gave you faith through Holy Baptism. And through faith, He has given this gift of eternal life to you. And the Word of God does more than just raise us out of sin. The day will soon come when Jesus will again say to you and to me, “Arise!”

And all we have lost will be regained. Our loved ones who have died in the faith, our health, and all we hold dear will be restored to us. On the cross, the only-begotten Son of God entered into death so He could bring us into eternal life. And so this dead man to whom Jesus spoke, sat up, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

And so we can ask...What have you lost? Who do you think you have lost? When you find yourself feeling empty and alone, what are you lacking? What keeps you from being complete? And God’s answer is, “Do not be afraid.” Jesus will restore it to you when He restores all things.

But wait, in this crowd that was following Jesus, fear took hold of all, and then they began glorifying God, saying that, "A great prophet has arisen among us," and that, "God has visited His people." And this word went out all over Judea about Him and all the surrounding region. Why were they so excited? They knew that Jesus restoring this man to life was not a one-time event. And in fact, they were right it was not a one time event, but rather a miracle performed by Jesus that occurs over and over again. Jesus would heal and raise the daughter of Jairus and He would raise Lazarus too. And then, Christ raised Himself from the dead after He died for our sin. And He now gives this gift of resurrection freely to you and to me and to all who would believe in Him.

The crowd around Jesus was right, Because indeed God has visited and redeemed His people. Today you are the crowd, and He visits you today with words of comfort and healing, hope and forgiveness. Today you are the crowd, and He comes to you in His true body and blood in Holy Communion. Everyday Christ reminds you that you are indeed not alone and gently says to you, “Don’t cry.” And one day very soon, He will come to you, touch you and comfort you and Jesus Christ will wipe away every tear from your eye in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

+SDG+