Do Not Weep
St. Luke 7:11-17
In the name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit.
St. Luke 7:13 “When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”
Dear fellow redeemed in Christ our Lord… Many of you have attended funerals. And, unless the Lord returns before you die, all of you will attend your own.
The reason a funeral happens is, of course, that someone has died. Wives lose their husbands, husbands lose their wives. Children lose parents, and in some of the hardest hits of all, parents lose their children. Friends lose friends, loved ones lose loved ones.
And every single time a death occurs, there is a permanent change in the lives and routines of those who mourn their loss. It is inevitable that life simply cannot be the same as it was before the death of a friend or loved one.
And the aftermath of death can, in some ways, be more overwhelming than the death itself. There is always paperwork – seemingly endless paperwork – insurance policies, medical bills, bank accounts, veterans benefits, creditors, engraving of the headstone, paying funeral costs… and the list goes on.
And all of that goes on during the first year of slogging through the painful memories of birthdays, anniversaries, family gatherings, holidays. And sometimes it seems that the pain and sorrow never, ever come to an end. You may go along for a while and not break down, and then something happens – a memory is triggered, a song on the radio, a friend calls – and you sit in a puddle of uncontrollable tears wondering, “How did that happen?”
You will recall the scene in I Kings 17 where the widow of Zarephath had experienced the devastating blow of the death of her only son. She was already no stranger to grief for she had lost her husband. And now is left all alone; her husband cannot help her bury her son; she has no man to take care of her, and she now will have to depend on the townsfolk for most of her needs.
But Elijah, the Man of God – the very presence of the Lord – was there. He heard this woman’s cry for help. In her grief the woman blamed Elijah for her son’s death, as she said, “What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?” (I Kings 17:18). But Elijah, the man of God, the representation of God to this woman, took her son to an upper room, prayed to the Lord, stretched himself out on the boy three times, prayed to the Lord again, and then “Yahweh heard the voice of Elijah and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived.” (I Kings 17:22). Death was defeated. Life lived. God has power over even death.
In the Gospel for today you heard of another funeral. This time the procession was on its way to the burial place. Unfortunately, the situation was the same: a widow who had already buried her husband was now on her way to bury her son.
And again, the Lord of heaven and earth – the Lord of life and Lord over death – meets the needs of those who mourn in a wonderful, miraculous, death-defeating way. Jesus “had compassion” on the woman. That means He also could feel her pain in His very guts. You’ve heard of the phrase “gut-wrenching;” that comes from the word “compassion,” to feel literally the gutsy pain and anguish of another. That’s your Jesus for you. He feels your pain like no one else can.
“When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” When you, out of love and concern for others, tell them, “Oh, don’t cry,” you are expressing a deep sentiment, and trying to comfort that person who is hurting. And, of course, that’s easier said than done, for often that very attempt to comfort brings on more tears as the person realizes your love and concern and sobs all the more in appreciation for your care. When you say, “Don’t cry” – in essence, “Do not weep” – you’re trying to soften the blow.
But when Jesus here says, “Do not weep,” He has something altogether different in mind. For He truly is the only One who can do something about death; He truly is the only One who can stop the weeping forever, for He truly is the only One who can stop death in its tracks. And then He proves it.
Luke records these words: “Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, ‘Young man, I say to you, arise.’ And he who was dead sat up and began to speak.”
This truly is chilling, goose-bump-giving scripture! Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, stops the funeral procession in its tracks. No one knew quite what He was about to do. And then, with a word, Jesus raises the boy back to life. And how many times have we said this, and it is still true, God’s Word is powerful; it does the very thing it says. In this case the word was “arise,” and death had nothing to do but obey. Life from death. Intense joy from deep sorrow. Resurrection from burial.
St. Luke says that they were carrying out this woman’s only begotten son. And Jesus, of course, knows about being an only begotten Son. And Jesus knows that as the only begotten Son of God, it is His job to come and save sinners like you from death, and to rescue you from this enemy that you cannot defeat on your own. When He saw the dead and only begotten son of this poor woman, He did what He came to do: He raised the boy to life, because God in His mercy had determined that only HIS only begotten Son would die for your sins.
And that’s exactly what Jesus has done for you. He has already gone to the cross, bearing in His body all of your sins and all of the punishment your sins deserved, including death. He took your punishment for you, in your place. He took all of your sorrow, all of your sin-sickness, and it was all nailed to the tree of the cross in and with Jesus. Jesus suffered for you. Jesus died for you. Jesus was buried for you. Jesus rose from the dead for you. And Jesus will come again to take you to be with Him.
All of these things are proclaimed so beautifully in the rite of Christian burial. Hymns that proclaim Jesus’ death and resurrection; hymns that teach and underscore the power of Baptism; hymns that declare the eternal fact that Jesus lives, and the victory’s won – those are the hymns that should and must be sung at a Christian funeral because you simply cannot have too much Jesus; you simply cannot have too much resurrection; you simply cannot have too much forgiveness, strength, and comfort spoken and sung at a time like that.
When such an opportunity arises and there are people grieving their loss, they so desperately need to hear of the only sure and certain hope and comfort there is. And when, so often there are those in church at that time who may never have been there before, that is when the church shines forth and proclaims in no uncertain terms that Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of the Father, is the Lord and giver of life. He is not the Lord of death, He is Lord over it, for He alone has defeated death forever.
Those are the solid and sure truths that are proclaimed in the funeral sermon. Those are the solid and sure truths that are proclaimed in the hymns of the church. Those are the solid and sure truths that are proclaimed even in the things that are seen, such as the funeral pall, the paschal candle, and the unique placement of the casket in a Christian funeral.
The funeral pall, if a congregation is blessed enough to have one as we are, is a solid symbol of Christ’s resurrection. The casket is wrapped in the white robe of Christ’s righteousness by virtue of Holy Baptism which, as we believe, teach, and confess, “gives forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this.”
The paschal candle, standing tall at the head of the casket, points our attention to Christ and symbolizes the unique presence of our Lord during the time immediately following His resurrection. It is lighted at baptisms and stands at the head of the casket for Christian funerals because of its association with Easter and the resurrection, as St. Paul writes: “We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”
And the unique positioning of the casket during the funeral service points us to Christ and His gifts and has been done in the Christian Church for years, and for very good reason. As Christians in worship, we face the altar of God from whom we receive His good gifts and blessings throughout our earthly life, especially His holy Word and blessed Sacraments. As in life, so also in death, the Christian’s body – feet to the altar – faces the altar of God during the service, which also serves as a visual reminder to all that by faith, the deceased has crossed from this life to eternal life and now sees his Savior face to face, as will all who place their hope of salvation in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Dear friends, hear again the wonderful, powerful, death-defeating, and eternal joy-giving words of your Lord Jesus Christ: “Do not weep.” For in Christ death is dead. In Christ, life eternal wins the day.
And as you hear and believe those words, come and receive your Lord’s body and blood – the same body and blood He gave up on the cross for your forgiveness; the same resurrected body and blood which defeated death for you; the same Lord Jesus before whom all who have gone before us in the faith are now worshipping in all His glory.
Rejoice! “Do not weep.” Christ is victor over death. He lives. And in Him you live.
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
