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INJ
St Luke 7:11-17
'Raised from the Dead'
Divine Service
The 16th Sunday after Trinity Sunday | September 7, 2008
Dear Saints,
Jesus doesn't get along so well with death. Remember that the next time someone tells you that death is natural, that it's good, that it's something that you have to comes to terms with, that you should be sad or cry when someone dies. No. Jesus doesn't like death, and neither should we.
Death is sad. Death is the enemy of humanity, the punishment for sin, the delight of the devil. Death is what is wrong with this world. And Jesus doesn't like it.
But the problem with death is that we can't do anything about it. We can do certain things to put it off for a while, like keep breathing, and eat, and have surgery or treatment or whatever. But this only delays the inevitable. The march of death chases us all down. It does no good to ignore or pretend it's not happening. Sometimes it is expected, sometimes it's sudden, but for all of us, and for all of our families death comes.
We aren't supposed to like it, but at the same time we can't stop it.
So when we hear the Gospel text appointed for us on the 16th Sunday after Trinity Sunday we see how the Lord Jesus handles death. We see what He does, and there's great comfort in the Lord handling death for us.
It's a dramatic scene. Jesus and His disciples are walking into the city called Nain, and when they get to the gate there's a crowd coming out of the city, a funeral procession, a woman who had already buried her husband, now is taking her only son to the cemetery to bury him as well.
And now these two crowds, these two processions meet at the city gate, the funeral procession, and the procession of Jesus. And Jesus sees this woman, and has compassion on her, and says, “Do not weep.” And the Lord Jesus Himself is going to take away these tears, Jesus walks over touches the open coffin, and speaks to the dead man, “Young man, I say to you, arise.”
And he does. This dead man sits up, and Jesus presents him to his mother, and now the funeral is over, sadness is replaced with laughter, tears are wiped away, and Jesus has fought back death and tears.
This, dear friends, is what Jesus does. He fights against death. From the time Jesus is baptized until the time He is laid dead in His tomb He never comes across a dead person that He does not raise. Jarius daughter, Lazarus, this widow's son. And this is because Jesus can't stand death.
Death is one of the three great enemies of mankind, along with sin and the devil. We've talked about this before, but it's important for us to have this grip on reality. Our three great enemies are sin, death and the devil, and these three are always together. It's the devil that temps Adam to sin, and death is the result. It was these three enemies that Jesus came to destroy, and destroy them He does on the cross.
When Jesus dies sin, death and the devil are finished. Their reign of terror is ended. When Jesus dies He is suffering the wrath we deserve, the death we've earned with our sin. The theological term for this, by the way, is the “substitutionary atonement,” that Jesus is our substitute, our replacement, under the wrath of God, so that by His death He satisfies God's judgment, expiates His wrath, and covers up our sin with His blood.
And it is this, the forgiveness of sins that overcomes the fear and the pain of death.
Remember, the bad thing about death is that it is a judgment for sin. “The wages of sin is death,” and all of us have a paycheck in the mail. On the other side of death there is judgment, like St Paul again says, “The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.”
But Jesus removes the sting, He takes it on Himself; He is crushed by the law and its threats and requirements and it curses and condemnation so that He might give us life and hope and salvation.
I've talked to a lot of people about death, a lot of dying people about death, and even some of you. When people know that death is getting closer they want to be prepared, so they ask, “What do I need to do to be ready for death?”
If you go to the funeral home and ask this question they'll give you a list. I've got one here: “88 Things that Must Be Done.” (This is a title worthy of the Pharisees!) Here's another 26 page booklet that is to be filled out. I never knew dying could be so complicated. “I'm not ready yet, I've only check off 59 of the 88 things that I must do.”
But to be ready for death is not to have all of your things arranged, to have your papers in order, to have your will complete and your estate planned and your funeral prearranged. While these things are good, they are not what make us ready for death.
To be ready for death is not to have made contact with all our estranged relatives and friends and made amends, it is not to have called all our loved ones around to tell them how much we love them. It is not checking off all the things on a bucket list. All this is good, but it is not what it means to be ready for death.
To be ready for death is not to be content with our life, to be satisfied that we've done the best that we could (this is self-delusion anyway). To be ready to die is not to be satisfied with ourselves, that we've made up for the wrongs that we've done, to have the sentimental and totally false comfort that I hear so often in this damnable sentence, “I've lived a good life.”
Maybe I should pause and say a few words about that, because I hear that phrase a lot, and the more I hear it the worse it sounds, “They lived a good life.” Now, if what is meant is, “The Lord gave them a lot of great gifts in this life,” then God be praised; there's nothing wrong with thanking God for His gifts. But if what is meant by this phrase is that the good things that happened to me, and the good things that I've done, these things make up for the horror of death, then let us never speak these words again.
When it comes time for us to die, there is no comfort in the good gifts of this earth because we are about to lose them all. There is no comfort in the illusion of our own good works because we know that all of them were weighed down with sinful and selfish motives. In the face of death there is no real and abiding comfort in a good life.
When it comes time to die there is only one thing that we need, one thing on the check-list, one thing that will bring us from death to life eternal and the eternal joys of heaven. “Pastor, what do I need to do to be ready for death?” Dear saints, the answer is that everything has already been done. All you need is Jesus.
It is faith in Jesus, in His love, in his death, in His blood, in His empty tomb, in His promise of the forgiveness of all of our sins, it is this that takes the fear out of death, the darkness out of the grave, the despair out of our suffering. Jesus is the expert at opening up graves, at giving out life after death; His resurrection on the third day proves it. Jesus is the one who gives us victory over sin death and the devil, and you have Him, and He has you.
And because of this, dear saints, you are free, free to give thanks to God and to suffer; free to live and to die. “Weather we live or we die, we are the Lord's.” [Romans 14:8]
Remember the widow at Nain? She had made preparation for the death of her son, for the funeral, the grave, the tombstone, the mourners, but there is Jesus, and into the midst of her grief and sorrow, into the pain of death He comes with life. That is our Jesus, He comes into the midst of our suffering and death with His comforting promise of life eternal, and on the last day He will stand on the earth and call out all the dead, and for all who believe in Him He will give the gift of the resurrection unto life eternal. May this be your comfort in life and in death. Amen.
And the peace of God which passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Pastor Bryan Wolfmueller
Hope Lutheran Church | Aurora, CO
