"Do Not Weep? Easier Said Than Done!"
A sermon preached on The Second Sunday after Pentecost, June 10, 2007, at Edgemont Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), by the Rev. Christopher E. Yopp. Sermon based on Luke 7:11-17.
Our Gospel Lesson this morning from the Lectionary somewhat troubles me for several reasons. Mainly because, since the beginning of the year we have lost five very special people within our church family and that’s not to mention, the many more who have passed on over the course of my five years as pastor here at Edgmeont. Within such a setting, it is hard, at the most basic level, to hear that Christ was moved to compassion at the widow’s grief over the death of her only son and not ask; "Lord, what about us here at Edgemont?" "What about those who have died in our church family?"
I mean, we learn nothing of this woman’s faith, or even gratitude. She doesn’t even ask Jesus to raise her son, and then after raising him, we are told nothing of her expression of thanks. And yet, we practice and live out our faith daily. We read our Bibles and say our prayers. We assemble each week to be fed by word and sacrament. We confess our faith and trust in Jesus Christ. We look forward with a hope to the promise of heaven. We come forward each Sunday with open hands to receive Christ’s body and blood. We offer our tithes and offerings. We confess our sins and trust we are forgiven. We lay hands and anoint with oil and pray for one another. And yet, sickness and suffering, pain and death continue to surround us.
Oh, there is no doubt about it, we have been blessed. The spirit of the church continues to be alive and healthy in many respects; our stewardship, on all levels, has increased and is strong. But, at the same time, we have had our share of difficulties. Attendance is low, not only because some of the saints have been "transferred to the church above", but also because some have been hurt, and others have lost interest, either in the church itself or perhaps in the pastor.
And yes, we believe that our Lord still raises the dead! In fact, we trust in that promise each time we go to the cemetery and hear those words; "In the sure and certain hope of the resurrection unto eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, we commend to Almighty God our brother or our sister, and we commit this his or her earthly body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust; confident that the one who has made us shall not leave us in the dust, but shall grant us everlasting life."
We believe that our Lord still raises the dead! We trust that promise each time a person makes their confession of faith and goes down and rises up in the waters of Baptism.
We believe that our Lord still raises the dead! We trust that promise each time we gather around the table of the Lord and celebrate the memorial of God’s love and grace and hear those words; "Take eat and drink..., for this is my body... this is my blood given for you and for your salvation."
William Ritter, a pastor in the United Methodist Church tells the story of when one of his parishioners, Fred Jones, came to him one Sunday morning about fifteen minutes before the service. He said; "Pastor, I’ve got a great idea about how we can bring some new life and energy to the church." He went on to explain his idea or, perhaps I should say, his plan, he said; "About midway through the service, after you’ve already started preaching, I’ll pretend to fall asleep. You stop preaching and come down and rouse me. I’ll leap up - shout ‘Hallelujah!’ and cry that I’ve been raised from the dead. Then you go back and finish your sermon." Ritter said, "Needless to say, Fred didn’t follow through with his plan and neither did I. Instead, the service went on as usual, which is the way most of us expect it and the way most of us like it."
A pastor ended the Prayer of Invocation one Sunday morning by saying; "And Lord, may we do something in our service this morning that isn’t printed in our bulletins." You know, order and structure are great things when it comes to worship, but sometimes we get so boggled down with order, with structure that we miss out on experience. Our order becomes so rigid and strict that there is no opportunity for something new, something different, something spontaneous! That’s why I love it with the children get involved in the service - you never know what is going to happen, nor do you know what to expect. And certainly, the same reaction comes when in the presence of God. We see in the gospels, whenever Jesus was on the scene you never know what is going to happen - you never know what to expect.
From what I've heard, a New Orleans jazz funeral is an experience like no other. The brass band begins its solemn procession at the church, playing hymns like, "Free as a Bird" and "Just a Closer Walk with Thee". But once the procession arrives at the cemetery and after the final words are spoken and the body is lowered into the ground, the mood suddenly changes. Brightly decorative umbrellas burst open, the snare drummer removes his mute, and the funeral procession heads back into town to the strains of "Didn't He Ramble?" and "When the Saints Go Marching In." Folks who heard the somber hymns earlier in the day wait for the procession to return, because they know a celebration’s coming and no one in New Orleans wants to miss the funeral celebration. In much the same way, when the funeral procession left the widow’s home in the town of Nain that day, her son’s body lying atop the funeral bier, she wasn’t planning for a celebration. No one was! I mean, after all, her only child was dead. What appears to be her last living male relative, now gone. Not only was she without the consolation of family, but she was also likely without any means of support. There was no expectation, no hope of celebration for this woman or the entourage that followed her. They mourned, they wept. They made their slow way to the cemetery outside of town. But as this procession emerges from the city gate, they are met by Jesus and his followers entering the city. And Jesus leaves that crowd that he is with and approaches the mother. He looks at her and says, "Do not weep."
And when he bids the dead man rise - he does? Although, the text doesn’t mention it, I am sure more than one or two jaws dropped. And once the initial shock wore off, the umbrellas bursted open, the mutes fell away, the horns started blowing, and the celebration began. "A great prophet has risen among us!" they affirmed. "God has looked favorably on his people!"
But, you know, another reason I have trouble with this story is the fact that in the course of Jesus’ ministry he healed a lot of people and with the exception of a few, all of them were grateful - ecstatic. Also, in the Gospel of Luke we read of three women, in particular, whom Jesus healed, and all of them, Jesus attributes their healing to their faith. But nothing is said about the faith of the woman in our Gospel Lesson this morning. She doesn't ask Jesus to raise her son. She doesn’t fall at his feet of Jesus begging for her son’s life. All she does is cry.
Now, of course, maybe the reason she doesn’t ask Jesus for a resurrection isn’t from a lack of faith. Maybe she just thinks it’s too late, like Mary and Martha when their brother Lazarus died. Her son is dead. But if that’s the case, why doesn’t she at least say "thank you?" Or if she did say "thank you," why doesn't the gospel writer record her response or, that of the woman’s son after he is raised? Maybe it’s because the mother and son joined in the celebration with the rest of the crowd. I am sure they did! But why didn’t the gospel writer clarify that for us? Maybe it is because this story isn’t about faith. Maybe it’s not about gratitude either. Maybe this story is about grace - pure, unadulterated, undiluted, unbidden, unearned, un-asked-for grace! This resurrection doesn't happen because of a mother's faith or her son's worthiness. It happens because Jesus had compassion for her. The mother didn't have to act faithfully. The son didn't have to live gratefully. It could be that both the mother and the son were faithful and were grateful – one can only hope so, but we are not told, so all that we can do is assume. But the point of the story is not the mother or the son. The point of the story is Jesus’ compassion. The point is that when grace comes into our lives, it requires nothing of us but a choice: to receive it or not. The point is to always have our party clothes with us, because with Jesus you never know when a funeral procession just might turn into a street celebration. Too many of us walk around with only our funeral clothes.
I love our Lord’s words to the widow, he said; "do not weep." You see, Jesus knew that there would no longer be a reason to weep. This is kind of what I envision will happen in the New Jerusalem; where God promises, "[I] will wipe away every tear from your eyes."
Our Lord’s words, "do not weep" here in our Gospel Lesson also remind me of the question Jesus asked Mary Magdalene shortly after he rose from the dead. He asked: "why do you weep?" Once again, when Jesus asked this question, he was saying: you don’t have a reason to weep, I have removed the cause for your pain and mourning.
I’ve got to be honest with you, the smarter I get and the more I study, the less I understand. But the longer I minister and the longer I serve God, the more I marvel at the awesome power and majesty of this God who I believe in. I don’t know what miracles are. I can’t explain them. Miracles are beyond my comprehension, beyond my explanation. If we could explain them, then they wouldn’t be miracles. In fact, I like John Claypool’s interpretation of miracles. He writes; "A miracle may best be described as what happens when God chooses to do suddenly what God normally does slowly." I don’t know how water becomes wine in the twinkling of an eye. But I do know how water becomes wine over several months of vineyard planting, and rain falling, and vines sprouting, and grapes fattening, and juice fermenting. I understand that! But in the twinkling of an eye? That, I don’t understand! But that is a miracle and we have take it on faith. One commentator has written of Jesus’ miracle of turning water into wine; "When the water came into contact with the holy, it blushed." That’s a great interpretation. Most of the time, God works at one pace. But every now-and-then, God will speed things up. God is gracious! And, while we do not always have answers for life’s questions, we must put our faith and trust in God’s gracious will and plan, and know that God is working for the good of those who love him. For God has promised to turn our mourning into dancing!
I mean, we learn nothing of this woman’s faith, or even gratitude. She doesn’t even ask Jesus to raise her son, and then after raising him, we are told nothing of her expression of thanks. And yet, we practice and live out our faith daily. We read our Bibles and say our prayers. We assemble each week to be fed by word and sacrament. We confess our faith and trust in Jesus Christ. We look forward with a hope to the promise of heaven. We come forward each Sunday with open hands to receive Christ’s body and blood. We offer our tithes and offerings. We confess our sins and trust we are forgiven. We lay hands and anoint with oil and pray for one another. And yet, sickness and suffering, pain and death continue to surround us.
Oh, there is no doubt about it, we have been blessed. The spirit of the church continues to be alive and healthy in many respects; our stewardship, on all levels, has increased and is strong. But, at the same time, we have had our share of difficulties. Attendance is low, not only because some of the saints have been "transferred to the church above", but also because some have been hurt, and others have lost interest, either in the church itself or perhaps in the pastor.
And yes, we believe that our Lord still raises the dead! In fact, we trust in that promise each time we go to the cemetery and hear those words; "In the sure and certain hope of the resurrection unto eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, we commend to Almighty God our brother or our sister, and we commit this his or her earthly body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust; confident that the one who has made us shall not leave us in the dust, but shall grant us everlasting life."
We believe that our Lord still raises the dead! We trust that promise each time a person makes their confession of faith and goes down and rises up in the waters of Baptism.
We believe that our Lord still raises the dead! We trust that promise each time we gather around the table of the Lord and celebrate the memorial of God’s love and grace and hear those words; "Take eat and drink..., for this is my body... this is my blood given for you and for your salvation."
William Ritter, a pastor in the United Methodist Church tells the story of when one of his parishioners, Fred Jones, came to him one Sunday morning about fifteen minutes before the service. He said; "Pastor, I’ve got a great idea about how we can bring some new life and energy to the church." He went on to explain his idea or, perhaps I should say, his plan, he said; "About midway through the service, after you’ve already started preaching, I’ll pretend to fall asleep. You stop preaching and come down and rouse me. I’ll leap up - shout ‘Hallelujah!’ and cry that I’ve been raised from the dead. Then you go back and finish your sermon." Ritter said, "Needless to say, Fred didn’t follow through with his plan and neither did I. Instead, the service went on as usual, which is the way most of us expect it and the way most of us like it."
A pastor ended the Prayer of Invocation one Sunday morning by saying; "And Lord, may we do something in our service this morning that isn’t printed in our bulletins." You know, order and structure are great things when it comes to worship, but sometimes we get so boggled down with order, with structure that we miss out on experience. Our order becomes so rigid and strict that there is no opportunity for something new, something different, something spontaneous! That’s why I love it with the children get involved in the service - you never know what is going to happen, nor do you know what to expect. And certainly, the same reaction comes when in the presence of God. We see in the gospels, whenever Jesus was on the scene you never know what is going to happen - you never know what to expect.
From what I've heard, a New Orleans jazz funeral is an experience like no other. The brass band begins its solemn procession at the church, playing hymns like, "Free as a Bird" and "Just a Closer Walk with Thee". But once the procession arrives at the cemetery and after the final words are spoken and the body is lowered into the ground, the mood suddenly changes. Brightly decorative umbrellas burst open, the snare drummer removes his mute, and the funeral procession heads back into town to the strains of "Didn't He Ramble?" and "When the Saints Go Marching In." Folks who heard the somber hymns earlier in the day wait for the procession to return, because they know a celebration’s coming and no one in New Orleans wants to miss the funeral celebration. In much the same way, when the funeral procession left the widow’s home in the town of Nain that day, her son’s body lying atop the funeral bier, she wasn’t planning for a celebration. No one was! I mean, after all, her only child was dead. What appears to be her last living male relative, now gone. Not only was she without the consolation of family, but she was also likely without any means of support. There was no expectation, no hope of celebration for this woman or the entourage that followed her. They mourned, they wept. They made their slow way to the cemetery outside of town. But as this procession emerges from the city gate, they are met by Jesus and his followers entering the city. And Jesus leaves that crowd that he is with and approaches the mother. He looks at her and says, "Do not weep."
And when he bids the dead man rise - he does? Although, the text doesn’t mention it, I am sure more than one or two jaws dropped. And once the initial shock wore off, the umbrellas bursted open, the mutes fell away, the horns started blowing, and the celebration began. "A great prophet has risen among us!" they affirmed. "God has looked favorably on his people!"
But, you know, another reason I have trouble with this story is the fact that in the course of Jesus’ ministry he healed a lot of people and with the exception of a few, all of them were grateful - ecstatic. Also, in the Gospel of Luke we read of three women, in particular, whom Jesus healed, and all of them, Jesus attributes their healing to their faith. But nothing is said about the faith of the woman in our Gospel Lesson this morning. She doesn't ask Jesus to raise her son. She doesn’t fall at his feet of Jesus begging for her son’s life. All she does is cry.
Now, of course, maybe the reason she doesn’t ask Jesus for a resurrection isn’t from a lack of faith. Maybe she just thinks it’s too late, like Mary and Martha when their brother Lazarus died. Her son is dead. But if that’s the case, why doesn’t she at least say "thank you?" Or if she did say "thank you," why doesn't the gospel writer record her response or, that of the woman’s son after he is raised? Maybe it’s because the mother and son joined in the celebration with the rest of the crowd. I am sure they did! But why didn’t the gospel writer clarify that for us? Maybe it is because this story isn’t about faith. Maybe it’s not about gratitude either. Maybe this story is about grace - pure, unadulterated, undiluted, unbidden, unearned, un-asked-for grace! This resurrection doesn't happen because of a mother's faith or her son's worthiness. It happens because Jesus had compassion for her. The mother didn't have to act faithfully. The son didn't have to live gratefully. It could be that both the mother and the son were faithful and were grateful – one can only hope so, but we are not told, so all that we can do is assume. But the point of the story is not the mother or the son. The point of the story is Jesus’ compassion. The point is that when grace comes into our lives, it requires nothing of us but a choice: to receive it or not. The point is to always have our party clothes with us, because with Jesus you never know when a funeral procession just might turn into a street celebration. Too many of us walk around with only our funeral clothes.
I love our Lord’s words to the widow, he said; "do not weep." You see, Jesus knew that there would no longer be a reason to weep. This is kind of what I envision will happen in the New Jerusalem; where God promises, "[I] will wipe away every tear from your eyes."
Our Lord’s words, "do not weep" here in our Gospel Lesson also remind me of the question Jesus asked Mary Magdalene shortly after he rose from the dead. He asked: "why do you weep?" Once again, when Jesus asked this question, he was saying: you don’t have a reason to weep, I have removed the cause for your pain and mourning.
I’ve got to be honest with you, the smarter I get and the more I study, the less I understand. But the longer I minister and the longer I serve God, the more I marvel at the awesome power and majesty of this God who I believe in. I don’t know what miracles are. I can’t explain them. Miracles are beyond my comprehension, beyond my explanation. If we could explain them, then they wouldn’t be miracles. In fact, I like John Claypool’s interpretation of miracles. He writes; "A miracle may best be described as what happens when God chooses to do suddenly what God normally does slowly." I don’t know how water becomes wine in the twinkling of an eye. But I do know how water becomes wine over several months of vineyard planting, and rain falling, and vines sprouting, and grapes fattening, and juice fermenting. I understand that! But in the twinkling of an eye? That, I don’t understand! But that is a miracle and we have take it on faith. One commentator has written of Jesus’ miracle of turning water into wine; "When the water came into contact with the holy, it blushed." That’s a great interpretation. Most of the time, God works at one pace. But every now-and-then, God will speed things up. God is gracious! And, while we do not always have answers for life’s questions, we must put our faith and trust in God’s gracious will and plan, and know that God is working for the good of those who love him. For God has promised to turn our mourning into dancing!
posted by Pastor Christopher @ 1:15 PM
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