“JESUS VISITS HIS PEOPLE”
Saint Luke 7: 11-17
16th Sunday After Trinity: 20 September Anno Domini 2015
Father Jay Watson SSP
What’s the greater miracle, creation or re-creation? Yes. The Lord took the dead inanimate rigor-mortis dusty earth and breathed life and image into it. He made, “brought to life,” Adam. The Lord, at Nain, took the dead inanimate rigor-mortis, “soon-to-be-dust” corpse and breathed life and imputed image into it.
You as Christians believe in Christ. You all believe He went to Nain. Believe He’s here now. Don’t be googlie-eyed and silly in some fantasy that He’s in your “heart” or in your made-up emotions…which is just your old-Adam doing what it wants to do under the delusion of God-approval. Believe Christ is HERE in His Words and Body like He was in Nain. The danger is to only believe in an almost abstract way the impressiveness of this resurrection miracle. To only accept His raising of Lazarus as awesome. You believe the Old Testament signs when Elijah and Elisha vivified dead children in the Book of Kings, but “history” doesn’t have compassion on you. All the facts in the world, true as true can be, don’t stop your weeping.
You lament and complain, you whine and suffer, and you sin, and sin again, every day as you slowly grow older. You lose loved ones, friends, jobs, physical attributes, and possessions. The wages of sin is death and you truly earn what you would have coming…except... “It came to pass the day after, that He comes into a New Testament city called The Church, and beheld a dead man…” He beheld you.
The devil wants your old man to only look back. The world and Satan want you, now, to look only to yourself—your feelings, your reason, and your works. Or, even more subtle, for the serpent is subtle, Satan wants you looking only to some distant future. Even Saint Martha of Bethany almost missed Christ, when she testified truthfully, but just a tad incompletely, “Lord, if Thou hadst been here, my brother would not have died.” She confessed Christ’s power and providence to be sure. And, when Jesus said to Martha, “thy brother shall rise again,” she also readily acceded to true Biblical hope in the final redemption at the end of time: “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Martha’s faith was true and good, and so is yours when you confess that part of The Creed.
But Jesus is the Creed…now…for you…in your ears and soon on your tongue!
You take comfort that does pass understanding when, while standing at the grave of a family member, when sitting at the bedside of a dying spouse, when looking at the mirror of a slowing decomposing “you,” that one day very soon, the Second Advent will be here. The trump will sound and you His Saints will meet him in the air and be given the mansions prepared for you by His Father from before eternity. You believe in the life of the world to come. Amen. You should, you must, you do. But…but Christ “for you” means Christ for you now. For you Martha: “Jesus said unto her, ‘I AM the resurrection, and the life; he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” For the Widow of Nain: “Weep not.” For the dead young son: “Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.” For the widow of Zarephath: “see, thy son liveth.” For the Augsburger infant at Font: “I baptize thee in the Name of The Father and of The + Son and of The Holy Ghost.” For you all when you meet Christ at Table: “take eat and take drink for the forgiveness of sins.” For you all who so often faint at tribulations, or even worse, bring them upon yourselves by your willful lying, gossiping, coveting, and hating of others; by your not trusting and relying solely upon Your Lord and God: “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
“Lo, I AM with you alway, to the end of the age” means just that. Jesus is with you. The Lord became the dead man when He suffered and died on His crucifix in place of that young man from Nain and in place of you. Jesus suffered the pains of hell, the punishment of your sin, and entered death’s jail, hell’s funeral bier, so that young men and women, old men and women might everywhere awake to His Resurrected visage. He let Satan pierce His innocent flesh that He might give all sins’ victims rebirth in His living Body and Blood.
Christ Who very soon would have His own beloved Mother, The Blessed Virgin, following after His own funeral train to the sepulchre, weeping—a sword piercing her own soul—had compassion on this widow of Nain who had lost her own dear son.
He did for them what He does this Sunday for you…He comes and saves; He comes and forgives; He comes and washes, clothes, and feeds. He comes to make His Home in, with, and under you.
He lays across your frame with His cruciform. He breaths, mouth-to-mouth into your lungs. He rips open your closed caskets even as He ripped the gates of hell apart and kicked open the hillside tomb…as He had another Judge named Samson rip apart the gates of a heathenish Philistine garrison. He opened death’s prison, the Incarnate Word. He wept in your place so that you hear Him this morn: “Weep not!” The widows are espoused to The King’s Son, Himself the Lord of Resurrection and Life. The widows are given back their children. Saint Mary of Nazareth has her beloved Boy, back forever because He is her, and your, Life.
Jesus visits His people. This conquering Lord lifts His banner on high. He joins you to His living Head. Where He is thou too shalt be. Hallelujah!
In the Name of The Father and of + The Son and of The Holy Ghost
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