Jesus journeyed to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd accompanied him. As he drew near to the gate of the city, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. A large crowd from the city was with her. When the Lord saw her, he was moved with pity for her and said to her, “Do not weep.” He stepped forward and touched the coffin; at this the bearers halted, and he said, “Young man, I tell you, arise!” The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, exclaiming, “A great prophet has arisen in our midst,” and “God has visited his people.” This report about him spread through the whole of Judea and in all the surrounding region.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Most miracles Jesus performs are for a stranger’s good. He grants a blind man his sight; heals a leper’s wounds; forgives someone their sins. These miracles are frequently in response to a person’s faith.
But today’s miracle – bringing a dead son back to life – is different.
It was far more personal for Jesus; it struck a particular chord in his heart. Jesus must’ve seen his own body tucked inside that coffin … and the inexhaustible grief of Mary, his mother, buried in that widowed mother’s face.
Soon enough, Jesus knows, he will be the one being carried in procession to a grave.
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Thus, this miracle is not only for the sake of the boy and his mother, but also for the consolation of Mary. As the Gospel tells us, when Jesus saw this boy’s mother, “he was moved with pity for her and said to her, ‘Do not weep.’”
Stepping forward, he touches the coffin, and says, “Young man, I tell you, arise!”
Suddenly, everyone’s grief is turned into astounding joy.
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How we wish the Lord would be moved with pity at the sight of every funeral procession, certainly ones for children.
But keep in mind, this miracle was performed before the resurrection; before Jesus conquered death forever; before the gates of heaven were opened to humanity.
Christians are called to be forward thinking; to celebrate not just a return to physical life, but also the promise of eternal life. As Saint Paul says, “Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting?”
May the same Spirit who brought Jesus to life raise us all again.
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Image credits: (1) Messages of Christ, The Widow of Nain, YouTube (2) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (3) The Gospel Coalition
When Jesus had finished all his words to the people, he entered Capernaum. A centurion there had a slave who was ill and about to die, and he was valuable to him. When he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and save the life of his slave. They approached Jesus and strongly urged him to come, saying, “He deserves to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation and he built the synagogue for us.” And Jesus went with them, but when he was only a short distance from the house, the centurion sent friends to tell him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof. Therefore, I did not consider myself worthy to come to you; but say the word and let my servant be healed. For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come here, and he comes; and to my slave, Do this, and he does it.” When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him and, turning, said to the crowd following him, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” When the messengers returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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This centurion receives the highest praise ever uttered by Jesus in Luke’s Gospel – yet the two of them never meet.
Luke gives us three reasons why this man merits such praise.
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First, the centurion communicates with Jesus through the Jewish religious authorities. Being a Gentile, not a Jew, he might have been concerned that the Lord would not enter into his home, because it would’ve rendered Jesus ritually impure.
So, the authorities vouch on his behalf, telling Jesus that he built a synagogue in their town, which was not only a gesture of good will and a sign of respect for the Jews; it also helped to preserve the peace.
This man was a wise leader, who demonstrated care for all under his authority, even those different from himself.
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As Jesus nears his home, the centurion’s friends become a vessel for his faith.
“Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof,” they say on his behalf. “Therefore, I did not consider myself worthy to come to you; but say the word and let my servant be healed.”
These words reveal more about the centurion’s heart: he’s a man of faith and compassion, who even cares about the lowest person in society, his slave.
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Most importantly, the centurion recognizes the source of Christ’s power. This is what provokes such praise.
Just as the centurion derives his authority from a higher power – the Roman emperor Antipas, so he recognizes that Jesus derives his authority from the highest power of all, God.
“I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith,” Jesus says.
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What might this Gospel passage say to us?
The centurion reminds us that what the Lord delights in is life lived with character and faith, a faith that recognizes who Jesus is and his power to save, even today.
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Image credits: (1) Church Leaders (2) JW.org (3) Give Me Faith, First Pres Joliet
Peter approached Jesus and asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount. Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt. At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’ Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan. When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount. He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ But he refused. Instead, he had the fellow servant put in prison until he paid back the debt. Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported the whole affair. His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’ Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt. So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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If you ventured into your kitchen this morning and did a “head-count” of your everyday dishes, you might find you have an imperfect set.
There might be 7 dinner plates, 5 saucers, 9 glasses, 3 soup bowls.
Incomplete sets are the mark of a “lived-in” kitchen. Many of you have children or grandchildren running around, which might account for an occasional mishap.
I myself am clumsy from time to time.
Maybe a bowl fell off the counter last week; a glass broke in the dishwasher; a wet plate slid from your hands.
What do we do when a dish breaks?
We sweep it into the trash bin.
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That’s how we deal with most things when they’re broken.
That space heater that fizzled out last winter; that wobbly wooden chair; that old couch the kids jumped on just one too many times.
Toss it. Drag it to the curb. Throw it in the dumpster.
But what about a broken heart? A fractured relationship? A weakened friendship with God?
Are we supposed to dispose of one another like a broken bowl?
Or can damaged relationships be pieced back together?
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The Japanese have a fascinating custom called Kintsugi.
When a bowl breaks, they don’t throw it away; they piece it back together using glue flecked with gold.
They say that breakage and repair are all part of the history of that object. The focus is not on how the object broke, but the fact that it was restored.
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This is where the Gospel is directing our attention this week: mending relationships.
I’m sure everyone can recall a moment when hurtful words were exchanged; voices were raised; doors were slammed; a dish or two was broken. Maybe that happened as recently as this morning!
We all have those “we need to talk” moments, which I preached on last week. So, after, “we need to talk,” what follows?
Forgiveness.
As we heard in our first reading from the Book of Sirach: “Forgive your neighbor’s injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven. Could anyone nourish anger against another and expect healing from the LORD?”
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In fact, Jesus instructs us to forgive one another, “not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” Meaning, without limit.
This does not mean that we play the role of doormat, allow hurtful behavior to continue, or that we trust without verifying, putting ourselves in a position to be let down repeatedly.
Forgiveness means flushing out the past, and any anger associated with it, so that the negativity doesn’t eat away at us like an ulcer.
Countless studies have shown that withholding forgiveness affects our own physical and mental health, hurting us more than it harms anyone else.
Anger raises our blood pressure, disrupts our sleep, weakens our immune system, and decreases our overall sense of happiness, perpetuating the pain someone else has caused.
“So, forgive others, just as God has forgiven you,” the Lord says.
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But let’s be clear: forgiveness is not the same thing as reconciliation.
Forgiveness means we stop obsessing; we attempt to talk things out; we choose not to be angry; we recognize our own imperfections, making it possible to find mercy for others.
Reconciliation, on the other hand, is a two-way street, whereby both parties have the desire to make their relationship continue in some form, even if the terms have changed.
As the old saying goes, “It takes two to tango.”
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Is there someone I need to forgive? Is there anger – hurt – inside of me I need to let go of?
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Imagine venturing into your kitchen, doing a “head count” of all your everyday dishes. You might find an imperfect set.
7 dinner plates, 5 saucers, 9 glasses, 3 soup bowls, because an incomplete set is the mark of a “lived in” kitchen.
Like a dish, occasionally, we, too, chip, crack, and break.
Conflict is part of living in an imperfect world – and being imperfect ourselves. But we are not meant to be thrown out or tossed to the curb like a broken bowl or a wobbly chair.
By the grace of God, we can be pieced back together time and time again.
In that sense, God is the ultimate Kintsugi artist, who fills the chips and cracks within us with the golden glue of his forgiveness.
All of the breakage and repair is part of our story – and a beautiful one at that, which leads to redemption, so long as we forgive others, just as God has forgiven us.
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Image credits: (1) R.M. Drake (2) Watermark Community Church (3) The Walters Art Museum Online Collection
