Praying and Staying: Luke 7:11-17 - Third Sunday after Pentecost

¹¹Soon afterwards [Jesus] went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. ¹²As he approached the gate of the town, a man who had died was being carried out. He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow; and with her was a large crowd from the town. ¹³When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, “Do not weep.” ¹⁴Then he came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, rise!” ¹⁵The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. ¹⁶Fear seized all of them; and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen among us!” and “God has looked favorably on his people!” ¹⁷This word about him spread throughout Judea and all the surrounding country. (NRSV)

Nitobe Memorial Garden-4 by Ariane Colenbrander.  Creative commons image on flickr

Our society has a rather unusual relationship with death…

At Halloween, we have fun with it.  We dress up like ghosts and zombies; we decorate our yards to look like graveyards.  Movies replete with gore and bloodshed earn millions at the box office; TV shows containing much the same top the ratings… 

On the other hand, when death actually happens, society expects you to be unaffected.  Crying and sadness are considered signs of weakness.  If you’re sad, lonely, or depressed, you’re supposed to “get over it.”  Bereavement leave is practically unheard of in this dreadful 21^st century economy.  I’ve known people who’ve worked full shifts on the day their loved one died, rather than risk losing their job. 

Even within the Christianity faith, we get it wrong.  Grief gets treated with clichés like “God doesn’t give you more than you can handle…” “He’s in a better place…” “God needed another angel…”

The one I’m guiltiest of: “is there anything I can do for you?”

First of all, this question is nearly impossible to answer, because grief is so overwhelming—and because you’re culturally conditioned to be self-sufficient. 

At the end of the day, I wonder: do we really care?  Or, are we too wrapped up in ourselves?  Too busy to grieve; too busy to care; too secure in illusions of invulnerability…

In Jesus’ day, when life was so much more fragile, people took a little more notice when someone died…  Everyone in town would show up to accompany the bereaved from the place of death to the place of burial.  Instead of buying flowers, professional musicians and wailers would be hired accompany the procession.

This is precisely what Jesus encounters when he enters a town called Nain.  A man was being carried out who was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow.

If you’ve ever been through it, or you know someone who has, you know that losing a child (at any age) is the most painful thing that could ever happen to a person.  But this woman also lost her husband.  In a world where women were treated as property, this widow’s only hope for survival was the kindness of others. 

And if that wasn’t awful enough, people thought they could speak for God.  Most would assume that she must’ve been really some awful person for God to cause this to happen…

But Jesus enters into her world.  He is present with her.  Any notion that she was under God’s curse was dashed to pieces because God’s Son was ministering to her.  And notice how we didn’t ask “is there anything I can do for you?”  Jesus did what was in him to do. 

Unfortunately, you and I can’t raise the dead.  When someone’s hurting, you can’t fix them.  But you can still be with them.  Sometimes I think saying nothing best—because if you’re not thinking what to say, you’re better able to listen and even discover what you can do!  Don’t speak a word prior to speaking to God, calling the Holy Spirit to guide you and inspire you!

As a Christian, you already know the answer to the question “is there anything I can do for you?”  You can pray—for them, or better yet, with them.  And you can stay with them.  There’s nothing that helps quite like praying and staying.

As Christians, we all need to rethink how we think about pain and suffering.  The way of Jesus does not lead us to the pot of gold at the end of your own, personal rainbow.  The way of Jesus is not in the avoidance of suffering—and it is especially NOT in the avoidance of those who are suffering. 

To be one with Christ, you must take up your cross.  You must suffer with him—and one of the most significant ways that you fulfill this is by walking with his suffering people.  Even though you can’t raise the dead or make problems go away, you will be amazed what Jesus will do simply by you showing up.  The Holy Spirit will use not only your spiritual gifts, but even your wounds and brokenness to give healing.  You, too, will find healing.  You will find and receive the life from God that depends not on circumstance.  We are the presence of Christ to each other. 

Where there is a Cross, God makes for resurrection. 

This is why we are a Church.  This is why we exist as part of our community, and not apart from it. 

We are a people raised to new life in Jesus Christ, amid our brokenness, weakness, and need.  Healing is what we give and receive from each other through Jesus Christ.  We are a healing people.  We are a healing Church.  It's all about praying, staying, and trusting in the power of Jesus to bring us healing, hope, and a new beginning.