Friday, June 26th, 2009

Luke 7:14-15
Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, "Young man, I say to you, arise." And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.

Raising the dead...this thought is so contrary to anything that I have experienced that it is hard to grasp and understand the significance of such an event.

I will put myself into this scenario and hopefully enliven my imagination in order to grasp the full intent of this passage and apply it to myself.

I am living in a town called Nain. I am close friends with a widow women and her son who have stuck together and been great comfort to each other in the course of their husband and father respectively. These two had a very close relationship with one another and it is comforting to see.

I am good friends with this widow's son, and consequently, because of his relationship with his mother, I have also grown very close to her as well, a dear woman.

However, just recently the greatest tragedy and biggest joy that could have happened did happen. All of a sudden, this dear friend of mine died. The details of his death aren't that important to relate, but what is important is that he really died. In fact, someone came running to tell me about his death, and I was struck with grief. Not only was my friend dead, but also my friend's mother now was left with no one, for her husband died, and now her only son had died. What a tragedy, can you imagine being in her position. What an awful thought to have everyone that you loved so dearly be taken away.

At any rate, I ran over to the house and witnessed this tragedy, my friend dead and his mother wailing and crying because her only son was dead.

Needless to say, the plans for burial and the funeral had been all arranged, and because of how much of a wonderful woman she was, and her influence in the community, there was now a great crowd assembled for this funeral.

As was custom, those who were part of the procession, carried the bier. I was one of the ones who was carrying it.

This was one of the most wonderful things then that could have happened. The widow woman, was now walking beside us, and she was crying and wailing because of the great amount of grief that had overcome her. This was the most shocking part of the procession. All of the sudden, from out of nowhere, this man walks up, comes to the widow woman, my friend's mother, and tells here not to cry. This was extremely bizarre, because this was customary for her to do. She was crying and wailing because of her great grief at the lost of her son. And here comes a stranger telling her not to cry. What was this about I wondered?

Then, as I stood beside the bier, holding and walking with it, this man's interaction with the widow and then us shocked us. For this man came and touched the bier, and immediately we stopped. He then did something that as I heard the words flowing out of his mouth, I thought he was a madman, because he actually spoke to my friend who was already dead. His words, have echoed through my mind every day for the rest of my life. "Young man, I say to you, arise."

Then, it happened, my friend sat up in the bier and began talking to us. I was shocked, I couldn't move, I couldn't speak. This man then took him out of the bier, and gave him to his mother.

Everyone in that crowd, and all around had the same reaction, we were filled with awe and wonder and fear. So immediately we began to worship God, because this man was no ordinary man, he was a prophet sent from God, perhaps the greatest prophet I thought at the time.

I then sought to find out who this was, and I found out that he was Jesus of Nazareth, and consequently later, the Christ, the one who was to redeem his people.

Thus, this experience in my life showed me that he is the one who can make the dead alive, but not just the physically dead, but the spiritually dead alive as well.

Now, as I stand here, in the 21st century, I have never seen a dead man or woman raised physically, but I have seen the dead raised. The spiritually dead are given new life every day, and I who was once dead, am alive. So not only have I witnessed other dead be raised, but I have experienced this myself.

So, how does this apply, well it applies because just as Jesus Christ spoke to the young dead man, and he was raised, and thus, the act of salvation and the raising from the dead is initiated and controlled solely by God. And just as the young man had no choice but to be raised, so I had no choice but to be raised when I was called by Jesus Christ to rise up.

The next thing is that this produced so much joy in everyone, because they experienced this great redemption physically, so, the spiritual redemption produces great joy in everyone who understands it.

Oh Lord, help me be grateful for all that you have done for me. Help me to remember and realize how wonderful you are, that you would call me, a dead rotting corpse that could not respond to anything, and give me new life. Oh Father, thank you for choosing me, oh Son, thank you for redeeming me, oh Spirit, thank you for giving me the new birth and coming to live in me. Lord, forgive me for not living like a man who has been raised from the dead. Forgive me for sinning against you in thought, word and deed. But most importantly, forgive my pride, as so often, I think that I have something wonderful and amazing to offer, and that my salvation was a great gift to others and you. Forgive my arrogance. Now, today, help me to live as a man who has been raised from the dead, let me share my joy and delight, as I now look forward to my real home. May I not grieve your Spirit today, but make my life a clean abode for your Spirit. In Christ, amen.