Luke 7:11-17As I read this story of Jesus again I realized something I’m not sure I had thought of before, did you notice that no one asked Jesus to help this woman or her son. Jesus and his disciples are walking into the city as the funeral procession is making its way out, and when they meet, no one asked Jesus to help, no one asked Jesus to get involved or raise the man up. It just says Jesus saw the woman and his heart when out to her. Since no one asked Jesus to help, you have to wonder what it was that moved Jesus so deeply that he decided to act.
There had to have been something, because everyday Jesus would have seen situations where people were in great need and he doesn’t get involved in each and every one of these situations. I’m sure he even saw people who had died, but he doesn’t raise them all up. So what was it about this situation that moved Jesus so much that he was compelled to act? I think Jesus acted here because this one hit close to home. It’s not that Jesus knew the man who had died, or his mother, but Jesus knew their situation and it was their situation that moved him. Look at what we know about them, it says the woman was a widow and the man who had died was her one only son; does that sound familiar, a one and only son. I wonder if Jesus felt her pain more deeply because Jesus himself was the one and only son of his father and the day was going to come when they were going to experience the pain of being separated by death. I wonder when Jesus saw the pain of this woman losing her only son if he could simply identify with that pain in a more personal way.
When we see people who like us, or people who are going through things that we personally have gone through our understand, I think our heart goes out to them in a special way. The first times I ever helped serve a meal in soup kitchen I was with some friends in Kansas City and I remember so clearly looking up and seeing a man who came through the line who reminded me of myself. In some kind of strange way I thought he actually looked a little like me. He was my height and build, and he wore glasses and he was wearing a shirt and jeans that looked like something I would wear, in fact they were very close to the clothes I had on that day. When I saw this man coming through the line, my heart went out to him in a way that was different from everyone else I served because I felt like I could identify with him. I felt his embarrassment for having to be there and his fear about what was going to happen to him in the days and weeks to come. Like Jesus who had great compassion for this woman because he could identify with her in some special way, I felt like I could feel his pain in some unique way and my heart went out to him. There wasn’t much I could for him that day other than serve him food, but I have never forgotten that moment.
We don’t know exactly what Jesus was thinking in that moment, but we do know that this situation touched his heart in a profound way; it was so powerful a moment that Jesus simply had to get involved and act. What is it that moves us so powerfully? What need moves us? What injustice compels us to act? What people or persons do we see who situations moves us so deeply that we are willing to get involved in order to make a difference? If there isn’t something that moves us to the core of our being, if there isn’t something that just compels us act, then we need to ask God to wake us up, or raise us from the dead so that like Jesus our hearts will burn within us when we see people who are hurting or in need.
At Annual Conference this week we heard and saw testimonies of some of the extreme needs there are of retired pastors in Sierra Leone. This West African nation has gone through civil war and is experiencing extreme poverty. There was a retired UM minister who said that the week before he didn’t eat for 2 days because he had no food. So for 2 days all he drank was water. My heart went out to him, maybe because someday I will also be a retired UM pastor, but my guess is that I won’t have to go without food for 2 days – but neither should he and there is something I can do about it. There is something we can do about the needs of our brothers and sisters in Sierra Leone. We can partner with them, we can support their work in the name of Jesus. We can help provide the pastors with salary with support and the churches with leadership, buildings and materials.
There are so many needs in our world today, what is it that moves you? What compels you to act? If there isn’t anything – then we have some heart problems and we need to ask God to revive our hearts and open our eyes not only to the needs of our community and world – but to the ways we can reach out and meet those needs.
Whatever the motivation was, Jesus experienced a deep and profound love for this widow and it moved him to reach out and get involved, and the length that Jesus was willing to get involved is also striking. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the grave, do you know how he did it? (called him forth) That’s right, he just called out to Lazarus to “Lazarus, come out”, and Lazarus came out of the tomb. But notice that here it says Jesus laid his hand on the coffin and said get up – or rise. Now while it says that Jesus laid his hand on the coffin, it would not have been a coffin like what we think of, it wouldn’t have been a closed box, but most likely a funeral bier which was just a pallet with the corpse lying on top of it. According to Jewish law, when Jesus laid his hand on the bier he makes himself unclean because he came into contact with the dead. It’s amazing to me to think about how many times Jesus was willing to make himself unclean in order to help others. When Jesus touched lepers, when the sick reached out and touch him he became unclean, but none of that mattered to Jesus, he was willing to make himself unclean if it would restore wholeness and life to others. When Jesus helped people, he was willing to get involved. He didn’t think about the cost to himself, he jumped in with both feet.
Like Jesus, are we willing to get involved with people who are in need? Are we willing to jump in with both feet and not think about the cost? Are we willing to roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty? Are we willing to walk from town to town in order to raise awareness and money to help veterans who have served and sacrifice for our nation and or our freedom? Are we willing to partner with people on the other side of the world so they can experience God in worship and in the life of the church the way we do?
There had to have been something, because everyday Jesus would have seen situations where people were in great need and he doesn’t get involved in each and every one of these situations. I’m sure he even saw people who had died, but he doesn’t raise them all up. So what was it about this situation that moved Jesus so much that he was compelled to act? I think Jesus acted here because this one hit close to home. It’s not that Jesus knew the man who had died, or his mother, but Jesus knew their situation and it was their situation that moved him. Look at what we know about them, it says the woman was a widow and the man who had died was her one only son; does that sound familiar, a one and only son. I wonder if Jesus felt her pain more deeply because Jesus himself was the one and only son of his father and the day was going to come when they were going to experience the pain of being separated by death. I wonder when Jesus saw the pain of this woman losing her only son if he could simply identify with that pain in a more personal way.
When we see people who like us, or people who are going through things that we personally have gone through our understand, I think our heart goes out to them in a special way. The first times I ever helped serve a meal in soup kitchen I was with some friends in Kansas City and I remember so clearly looking up and seeing a man who came through the line who reminded me of myself. In some kind of strange way I thought he actually looked a little like me. He was my height and build, and he wore glasses and he was wearing a shirt and jeans that looked like something I would wear, in fact they were very close to the clothes I had on that day. When I saw this man coming through the line, my heart went out to him in a way that was different from everyone else I served because I felt like I could identify with him. I felt his embarrassment for having to be there and his fear about what was going to happen to him in the days and weeks to come. Like Jesus who had great compassion for this woman because he could identify with her in some special way, I felt like I could feel his pain in some unique way and my heart went out to him. There wasn’t much I could for him that day other than serve him food, but I have never forgotten that moment.
We don’t know exactly what Jesus was thinking in that moment, but we do know that this situation touched his heart in a profound way; it was so powerful a moment that Jesus simply had to get involved and act. What is it that moves us so powerfully? What need moves us? What injustice compels us to act? What people or persons do we see who situations moves us so deeply that we are willing to get involved in order to make a difference? If there isn’t something that moves us to the core of our being, if there isn’t something that just compels us act, then we need to ask God to wake us up, or raise us from the dead so that like Jesus our hearts will burn within us when we see people who are hurting or in need.
At Annual Conference this week we heard and saw testimonies of some of the extreme needs there are of retired pastors in Sierra Leone. This West African nation has gone through civil war and is experiencing extreme poverty. There was a retired UM minister who said that the week before he didn’t eat for 2 days because he had no food. So for 2 days all he drank was water. My heart went out to him, maybe because someday I will also be a retired UM pastor, but my guess is that I won’t have to go without food for 2 days – but neither should he and there is something I can do about it. There is something we can do about the needs of our brothers and sisters in Sierra Leone. We can partner with them, we can support their work in the name of Jesus. We can help provide the pastors with salary with support and the churches with leadership, buildings and materials.
There are so many needs in our world today, what is it that moves you? What compels you to act? If there isn’t anything – then we have some heart problems and we need to ask God to revive our hearts and open our eyes not only to the needs of our community and world – but to the ways we can reach out and meet those needs.
Whatever the motivation was, Jesus experienced a deep and profound love for this widow and it moved him to reach out and get involved, and the length that Jesus was willing to get involved is also striking. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the grave, do you know how he did it? (called him forth) That’s right, he just called out to Lazarus to “Lazarus, come out”, and Lazarus came out of the tomb. But notice that here it says Jesus laid his hand on the coffin and said get up – or rise. Now while it says that Jesus laid his hand on the coffin, it would not have been a coffin like what we think of, it wouldn’t have been a closed box, but most likely a funeral bier which was just a pallet with the corpse lying on top of it. According to Jewish law, when Jesus laid his hand on the bier he makes himself unclean because he came into contact with the dead. It’s amazing to me to think about how many times Jesus was willing to make himself unclean in order to help others. When Jesus touched lepers, when the sick reached out and touch him he became unclean, but none of that mattered to Jesus, he was willing to make himself unclean if it would restore wholeness and life to others. When Jesus helped people, he was willing to get involved. He didn’t think about the cost to himself, he jumped in with both feet.
Like Jesus, are we willing to get involved with people who are in need? Are we willing to jump in with both feet and not think about the cost? Are we willing to roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty? Are we willing to walk from town to town in order to raise awareness and money to help veterans who have served and sacrifice for our nation and or our freedom? Are we willing to partner with people on the other side of the world so they can experience God in worship and in the life of the church the way we do?
As I have been thinking about these questions this week I have realized that in many ways we at Faith Church have been willing to get involved. I think the FaithCentre is a great example of that. When I listen to the stories of how Faith Church helped establish the FaithCentre I realize it took time, a commitment of money, a lot of man and woman hours, and a lot of hard work to create a place that helped meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of people in our own community. The mission trips we have taken to Mississippi and South Dakota show we are willing to get involved, work hard and sacrifice to help those who are in need. Next month there will be those of us who will go to Harrisburg to help lift up the lives of those in need in our own state, and there continue to be people who get involved in work right here in our own community. We are willing to get involved, but we can’t just look back at what we have done – we have to be willing to look to the future and see what God wants us to do.
Are we always looking for needs and situations where we can get involved? Are we constantly praying and asking God to show us how we can help lift others up, and who those people are? Are we asking God to show us the people who might be in need? And I’m not just talking about the people who need physical help, what about people who need the hope and the love of Jesus? What about the people who are hungry for God but are too afraid to ask for help or come to church and look for answers? Are we getting involved in their lives and sharing our faith and the love of Jesus with them? There are so many people around us dying for the love of God and we have it – our lives have been touched by the grace and love of Jesus, are we willing to get involved in the lives of others and in gentle and yet powerful ways share this love and hope with others?
If our lives are to reflect the life of Jesus, we have to be willing to reach out and lift up those in need around us, but there is something else we have to address in this story, something that might be even more difficult and more uncomfortable than getting involved in the lives of others – are we willing to allow God to raise us up? Are we willing to allow God to touch us and restore us to life? If we go back to the story, no one asked Jesus to get involved, but he did and he touched the funeral bier, he touched the dead man and raised him up to life. This is what Jesus wants to do for us. Jesus wants to touch our lives and he wants to raise us up from our sin, raise us up from our failures, raise us up from our depression and hopeless and fear and despair – Jesus really does want to bring us back to life and Jesus can if we will allow him to.
The first step of new life is simply asking God to lay his hand on our lives. With the touch of God comes power. With the touch of God comes healing and wholeness and hope and joy. The touch of God can bring whatever it is we are hungry for and what we are longing for. It may not happen in an instant like this man springing up from the coffin to hug his mother – but with persistence and prayer God will bring forth in us new life.
Today is a great day to ask God to touch our live sand bring us back to life because when we share together in communion we are giving God the opportunity to lay his hand on us. Communion is that special moment when we not only submit ourselves to the grace of God’s hand, but it is that moment when God in his power and love lays his hand upon us and calls us to rise. So I invite you to ask God to lay his hand on you. Ask God to touch your heart during this time of communion so that we can be raised up to new life. And if you are feeling like God has already raised you up to new life, then I invite you to ask God to show you how you can be involved in meeting the needs of people around you. Who are the people and what are the needs that God is calling you to meet? When Jesus saw our need for forgiveness and grace – communion shows us that Jesus got involved – he gave his body and his blood for us. Communion shows us exactly how far God is willing to go to help us. As we share in this meal, we ask God to help us find those ways in which we can get involved and not just help, but give ourselves away for others.
