Sermon for the 16 th Sunday after Trinity – September 7, 2008
“ And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother. And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God. ”
THE mother wailed. Her eyes were fixed only on the form of her precious son, lying before her, pale and still. How could he die? Can a parent ever bury her own child? She cradled his head to her breast, and then finally let their friends lift his lifeless body and carry him to his grave. He would be buried today, before the sun set, and her eyes could never see him again. Her sorrow beyond measure, and yet in her heart lived a faith and hope of something more. For she had heard him say it, and his words she believed. Mary watched as they carried Jesus to a rich man's tomb.
Any mother who has had child die knows a keen and lonely sorrow, pain that no other can equal. Mary had been told, so long ago, how her child would cause animosity, that many might rise and many fall in Israel, and a sword would pass right through her heart. Simeon had declared her baby to be the Messiah, but today the Messiah was dead.
Some time earlier, another mother wept bitterly for the death of her only son, a widow in the village of Nain. They too bore her son away to bury him. But a stranger coming into town at that moment stopped the procession and comforted the bereaved woman with a word, and then turning to the dead man simply said, “Arise!” Three times it is recorded that Jesus raised the dead, though He may have done it more: Jairus's daughter, Lazarus, and the son of the widow of Nain. The man who had the power over death, even His own, held this ability to call a dead person's soul back into its lifeless form.
Jesus did not resuscitate Himself. He was dead Friday night to Sunday morning. When He rose, it was forever —the first born from the dead, Resurrected , bearing the final state of mankind: eternal life . The people He had raised so miraculously would go on to live and die as we all do, for they were brought back to life , not through the resurrection, not yet. But their miraculous return to life was surely a sign of Resurrection, the power of God over death itself, and His desire to see us alive.
Are we alive? This is not a facetious question. Consider the man raised from the funeral procession that afternoon in Nain. We know he went from death to life again. But was that man the same as he had been? Was Lazarus just the same guy he'd been before he died from his illness?
Imagine yourself, having truly experienced death. Your soul departed from your body and you saw yourself beneath you and knew you had died. Angels appeared about you and another dimension opened its gates to let you in. Holy people speak with you and heaven embraces you with its heartbreaking beauty. You finally know it is all real, this place your religion told you about, but never in sufficient phrases for all its profound loveliness, its stedfast peacefulness, its emanating love, and the powerful Presence of Almighty God. No earthly place could rival it, no experience in life would you choose in preference to it. And then suddenly: you are called . You feel your Master's voice not ahead but behind you. The voices of the mourners wailing again reaches your ears and you can't resist that scene drawing you back down, back to your dead body on the cart. A power you can't understand sets you back and your body is you . Somehow the pain that attended your death has left and you feel complete health. You open your physical eyes and see your parents, sisters, friends all around you. The word is still coming from the stranger and you feel it drawing you up, out of your swoon. “Arise!”
Now, is this man the same one who died? Or is there a difference? Other people have died, or nearly died so that they had something of this same experience. And if it was genuine, if they really had the heavenly vision, or even a taste of hell, and were given the chance to live this life out—their life is no longer what it was before. They are the same identity, but not the same person that they were. Knowing what lies ahead for them, if they faithfully keep the vision before them and live according to what they have experienced, these have become great saints, living witnesses, ecstatic Christians who have died and risen to new life.
Does it take physical death to raise us to new life? We must hope it isn't so. But it first takes a resolve that this life you've been living, the paths you have chosen, the dirty secrets you've shamefully hidden even from yourself and the lies you have told just aren't working and your life just isn't what you've hoped for. You've stumbled, fallen headlong, gotten all the wrong answers, and pretended to everyone that you're fine, thanks. If that isn't true, and you know this image you project is as fragile and transparent as an onionskin, you need something. You need to really change.
Most of us just add a little more Jesus. Christ spoke of new wine in old wineskins. What He meant was that many will try to add Jesus to their existing lives. The old life will not hold such a Savior, but burst at the seams. Or in a modern metaphor, you take an old carton half full of milk, one that has expired and is starting to stink. You have new milk, but you pour it into the old carton with the remains of the rotten milk. Can you drink it now? The whole thing begins to reek.
Adding Jesus to a failed life can't save you nor redeem your failures. You keep on failing and feeling worse about it, for now you have the Savior, but you don't feel saved. Now you have the Holy Spirit, but your spiritual life is still at the morgue. Jesus doesn't want visitation rights at your hospital bed. He wants the keys to your life . God isn't interested in your tithe if it doesn't truly represent the whole person who has given all the rest of it to Him, though it remains at home and in the bank. God can't use a half-hearted, double-minded amphibian , crawling occasionally onto shore, but then resubmerging into the murky waters of the old life.
What can we do, if we feel this great conflict has not deeply been resolved? The answer is simple—as in, not complicated —but it is difficult—as in, passing through a kind of dying process . We first need a confrontation, a showdown, with our sins. All of them . A real exposure, and not one may be left standing, or hiding, or kept for late night or when we're alone. We look at ourselves and shudder. Is this the man who called himself a Christian? If you need to— and I recommend this —write it all down and make a confession. Let there be a demarcation between the old man and the new life. Confession makes this process real, while we can play all sorts of games with ourselves alone, even in prayer. Confess it all, mourn over it, and determine to change. Your course was leading you away from heaven, away from God. It is against Him that your sins have been done, so now come back toward Him, step by step. Pray for this change to be permanent, and find someone who you can keep fully informed of your progress. Someone who can encourage you, but who will also confront you when you play a game with it, dodge the truth, and try to wade in those muddy waters again. Pray for that new life. Pray for a love of goodness. Pray for the full experience of God's true indwelling. Pray for His voice to speak to you. Pray for others you've hurt and, if possible, tell them you're sorry. Live it out. Arise!
Jesus said, “God is not the God of the dead but of the living.” Matt 22:32 “The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live… And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” John 5:25-29 “Have no fear; I am the first and the last and the Living one; And I was dead, and see, I am living for ever, and I have the keys of death and of Hell.” Rev 1:17-18 “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth on me, though he die, yet shall he live.” John 11:25-26
We are about life in the Church of Jesus Christ, but we need to live intentionally . The true cost of discipleship in Jesus Christ is to pick up a cross. A cross is not just a golden ornament: it is serious, it is deadly, and it will cost you everything. What did Jesus possess when His lifeless body lay in the arms of His grieving mother? Not even His clothes. A cross will separate you from your old life if you take it up and follow Him. St. Paul wrote that we are buried with Christ in our baptism, so that we might be able to rise up to newness of life. Are you walking in new life, or just a show of it? Ever see the remnants of retread tires that 18-wheelers leave on the highways? Retreads are cheap, for they reuse the cores of old tires. But the new tread gets weak and separates. Then you see those long strands of lost rubber on the roads and a big rig needing another spare.
St. Paul wrote: “God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved)” Eph 2:4-5 [May He] Grant you to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.” Eph 3:16-19
Arise! Die to the old life and live anew. Arise! Give up on what has always failed you. Arise! Let go of fear, shame and addiction to sin. Arise! Christ shall give thee light.
PFH+