Christ’s Compassion
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… In last week’s Old Testament reading we heard of the widow of Zarephath. She was the woman who trusted in God to provide for her and her son, and so she gave Elijah first dibs on her flour and oil. Even though the woman was convinced that it would be her last meal, the Lord miraculously kept that flour and oil from running out.
But now in today’s Old Testament reading that same widow who so faithfully took care of Elijah loses that son to death. Now she has nothing left in the world. And listen to her bitter words: “Man of God, did you come to show me my sin by bringing death to my son?” This woman discovered that the wages of sinis death, and that the death of her son was the result of sin in thisworld.
Think also about thewidow in today’s Holy Gospel. She is a widow, and her son dies. In thosedays, without a husband or a son to care for them, most women were very poorand had nothing to rely upon except the pity of others. For both of thesewomen, death was a vivid reminder of their poverty and of their sin.
The fact is, death shows all of us our sin. When St.Paul writes that the wages of sin is death, he means that no matter how gooda life you think you live, death is going to find you. In fact, death isn’tjust something that comes down the road someday. Death is an enemy that isstalking you, it is tracking you down, it is seeking to take your life. And Death is theconsequence and result of our sin; maybe not any particular sin, but becausethere is sin in this world, death thrives.
That’s why we need to watch Jesus closely today. He is nearing the littletown of Nain where there is a funeral procession coming up out of the city. Jesus has compassion on this woman. His heart is moved. He has a literal gutreaction of sorrow and pity and compassion. So he steps up and touches thecoffin and tells the boy to get up. And the boy gets up. He’s awake. He’salive.
We need to understand something: For Jesus, death is nothing. It’s powerless. Death licks itschops, rejoicing that it has taken this young man from his mother, causingher sorrow and grief. Death couldn’t be happier that it has robbed a woman of herson. But then Jesus shows up. He touches the coffin and speaks, and suddenlydeath is running away like a puppy that has been scolded for piddling on the floor. Jesus breaks death; it doesn’t work right anymore.
And that is exactly what happened on the cross. Jesus was stuck there, andDeath thought it had Him. Death says, “I’ve got you now, Jesus!” But noteven Death can take Jesus. Jesus must give up His Spirit, He must allowDeath to have Him. But then on Easter, Death is defeated and ultimately rendered impotent. Like a mightywrestler who sends his opponent crashing to the mat, Jesuslays the smack-down on Death! Death doesn’t work right anymore. It is rendered powerless, ineffectual, weak, silly – a thing to be despised and laughed at.
That, dear friends, is your Jesus who takes your sin upon Himself and then leaves your sins and Death in his empty tomblike so many old burial rags. It is that Jesus who steps up, and with a touchand a Word He runs Death off, sends it packing, and gives life to a young man again.
Death isstalking us. It’s stalking you. Death doesn’t always mean the time when youdie. Sure, you might die today or tomorrow or years from now. But the actualdying isn’t everything death has to hurt you with. Death creeps backward inyour life and shows you your sins. Often, the sins we commit kill us. I don’t mean literally, though that’s surely possible. I mean that Deathcomes into our lives and kills and ruins whatever it touches.
For example: By the sins of selfishness, anger, and not appreciating one’s spouse as a gift from God, Death comes into a marriageand kills it, leaving that marriage a lifeless husk where there seems to beno more love and nothing but bad feelings, arguments, and regret. Or we fight and arguewith our children until Death comes and kills that relationship, leaving usdead to our children or us dead to them, leaving nothing but emptiness,sadness, regret, lack of respect, and a severely damaged relationship.
Death comes to us in physical ways, too, sometimes directly for oursins. Too many drugs or too much alcohol or smoking brings us a slow death from disease. Orsometimes death stalks us when we didn’t really do anything, bringing uponus some disease, some condition, some cancer that works overtime to end ourlives, and for no apparent reason.
But most of all, it is the sin with which we are born that brings Death. That Original Sin chasesafter our souls and makes us dead to God. This happens by our failure to recognize His blessings. It happens by our nottrusting Him for our good. It happens by our not confessing our sinfulness. It happens when we despise God’s Word, when we refuse to read it and study it, and when we refuse to come to the Divine Service, or only come occasionally, putting other things, people, and events ahead of church on the list of things to do on a Sunday morning.
Dead in body anddead in our souls; death is all around us. It chases us. It stalks us. It influences us. It hounds us. It kills the good things in our lives. And, finally,itkills us. Folks, it is because of Death that we need to cling to Christ, because Christtreats Death like it is nothing!
What is it that makes a young man rise from the dead? It is the touch and Word of Christ. The same Lord Jesus who conquered Death on that first Easter is the Lord who walked up to a coffin, slapped Death in the face, and gave the young man back to his mother.
That same touch of that same Christ is what slaps down Death and makes you alive again too. Beginning with the touch of Christ and the speaking of His Word in the waters of Baptism, Christ’s death and resurrection are made yours. Now you, in Christ, can leave behind the grip of Death on your soul. Your life is no longer a confirmed “kill” for Death. It has been snatched away – so much so that even when Death finally does kill you, you will be raised again from the dead by your Savior!
But it’s not just Death that gets thrown down by Christ and His Word. The same Death that infects and sickens and kills our marriages and our relationships with our kids and brings guilt and shame because of our sins and seems to kill our very souls – that same Death is defeated by the Words of absolution that deny Death its fuel.
Indeed, as Scripture declares, the wages of sin is Death. But your sins are paid for by Christ. Therefore, through faith in Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection, Death has no ultimate power over you. The same Jesus who brings life to a widow’s son is the same Jesus who touches you on your very tongue this day with His own body and blood. That same Jesus who can walk up and slap away Death is the same Jesus who can slap away Death not only on the Last Day but now, wherever Death’s vicious tentacles can reach.
Do you think your marriage damaged or dead? Do you think your relationship with your kids is damaged or dead? Do you think that you are dead to God because of your sins? The touch of Christ can and does wipe out those evil effects of death. Yes, Christ has been raised from the dead and yes, Christ raised a young man from the dead. That means Christ can also bring life to you wherever there is death. That is what His Word and touch do. That is the power of Christ our Savior which He gives us in His own body and blood.
Now, when that boy was raised from the dead, what did Jesus do with him? He gave him to his mother. Again, being a widow without a son was a really bad place to be. There was little hope for this woman and her future other than poverty and pity without her son to care for her. So Jesus raised him from the dead.
Christ has told you, “I say to you arise. Your sins are paid for. I died and rose again to give you life, and Death has no ultimate hold on you.” Men, He tells you that so that you will be something for your wives. Women, He tells you that so that you will be something for your husbands. Parents, He tells you that so that you will be of use to your children; and children, He tells you that so that you will be of use to your parents.
To all of you – Christ tells you that your sins are paid for, and that death has no hold on you so that you will be of use to your Mother, the church, and for your neighbors around you in your lives. Christ slaps down Death for you so that your life will not be for your own benefit but for the benefit of others. That’s the true slap in the face to Death. Death makes us selfish; it makes us focused in on ourselves; it makes us worried about ourselves. But when Death is slapped down, defeated, and made powerless, we are able to be something for others, because we don’t have to worry about Death and its ultimate effects anymore.
In today’s epistle, St. Paul says that Christ is able to do far more abundantly than we ask or think. That means His power over Death isn’t just for when we die. It means that Christ’s rule and throw-down of Death matters now, for this life – for marriages, for families, for relationships, for sicknesses, and for all kinds of struggles with sin. In every aspect of our life where Death tries to touch us, the power of Christ and the forgiveness of sins rescues us.
Now, that doesn’t mean that we won’t eventually die. Unless our Lord returns before then, we will all surely fall asleep in Christ. But the Lord Jesus who treats Death like a pitiful annoyance is the Lord who promises that, baptized into Him and touched and fed by His body and blood and Word, Death is ultimately nothing to us either.
Remember that you are baptized into His death and resurrection. Your Baptism saves you and rescues you from death and the devil. Remember that Christ’s body and blood placed into your mouths here at this altar delivers His forgiveness, life, and salvation. Remember that coming here week after week strengthens your faith and links you not only all the more to Christ but with each other as the family of God here at Divine Savior.
And remember that Jesus threw down Death and rose from the dead. So take that, Death! We shall despise Death just as our Lord does, because we are in Jesus.
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
