One of my favorite scenes from old movies is from the 1931 version of Frankenstein. Have any of you seen that old movie? Surely even if you haven’t, you know the scene I’m talking about. Dr. Frankenstein adjusts his laboratory instruments to be struck by lightening and zap life into the monster he has lovingly and painstakingly created from pieces and parts of many cadavers. He stands there watching his creation, and suddenly, a hand begins to move. “It’s alive! It’s alive!!” he shouts with ecstatic joy. “This is what it feels like to be God. It’s alive”. This classic moment, gives us just a glimpse of the power it might take to create life out of death.
In today’s world, this isn’t as far fetched of an idea… organ and tissue donors create new life for those in need every single day. People are revived in ambulances, operating rooms, and trauma centers. A shock of electricity makes the heart jump back to life. CPR, Mouth to Mouth resuscitation, epinephrine shots…all of these modern medical advances that have indeed been used to bring life back to the dead. These are modern miracles.
Suddenly the crowd realizes that God was doing something special through Jesus.
Today’s scriptures both tell the stories of life being restored to the dead. In the first passage we heard, we learned about the Prophet Elijah restoring life to the son of the widow of Sidon. Although he goes through great pains and histrionics to make it happen, Elijah’s prayers are heard by God and the son is restored. The story from the Gospel, while it bears many similarities to Elijah’s story, is a bit different. Jesus had just been in Capernum where he healed a centurian’s daughter who was near death. As he is leaving from there and walking toward the city of Nain, they run across a funeral procession.
Jesus sees this procession and he notices the mother…how heartbroken she seems, how sad she is. He finds out that she didn’t just lose her child…but her only son and that she was also a widow. He is moved to action and touches the bier…the stretcher on which they were carrying the body…and then he simply commands the man to rise. And the man does. Suddenly the crowd realizes that God was doing something special through Jesus, although they don’t quite “get it” yet.
This is a very small story and it only appears in the gospel of Luke. This glimpse into the life and ministry of Jesus is used by the writer to share with the readers an idea of the compassion and power that Jesus had. We are given a chance to experience what the compassion, touch, and words of the Messiah can do. They give life. No…they don’t just give life…they bring BACK to life what was previously dead.
He threw caution and tradition to the wind and did what was right rather than what was safe.
We get an intimate glance at Jesus’ compassion. Scripture tells us again and again about how compassionate and caring Jesus was, but this is a dramatically clear example. He sees the woman and is moved by her plight. She is burying her only son. There is sadness enough when children bury parents, but it does not compare to the grief of attending nature’s reversal, when parents bury children. As if this weren’t devastating enough, she is also a widow. This would be terrible for any woman in any time or place, but doubly so because of her position in society. This woman will now have no economic support. She has no emotional support. She is desperately and devastatingly alone. Jesus sees this, and her situation affects him in such a way that he feels compelled to help her. His heart ached for her. He had to help.
Compassion is one of the hallmarks of Jesus’ Ministry. His compassion for people often moved him to do the extraordinary. He often moved out of compassion first and thought about the consequences or implications later. He didn’t let worrying about being politically correct or religiously correct get in the way of doing what was right. He healed on the Sabbath, he touched lepers, he welcomed children. He didn’t worry about what people thought. He worried about how people FELT.
His compassion moved him to action. He stopped his own traveling group, moved out from them, and walked to the funeral procession, placing his hand upon the stretcher. He stopped the funeral. He stopped the death march. And with a touch of his hand, he stopped death itself.
Jesus had a powerful touch. There is no doubt about that. He touched water and it turned to wine. He touched the blind and they could see. He touched the dead, and they lived. For Jesus to touch a dead body, or even the stretcher on which it was carried was a big no no…according to Jewish tradition this would make him ritually unclean for seven days. He wouldn’t be allowed in a temple or to touch the holy scriptures or take part in any Jewish rituals. And yet, he touched anyway. He threw caution and tradition to the wind and did what was right rather than what was safe. His compassion lead him to touch, and his touch worked miracles.
When I think of someone who used touch to show compassion, the first image that pops into my head is that of Mother Teresa. Do you remember the footage of her life? She used to walk in the slums and gutters of Calcutta and touch those who were covered in sores and disease. One day, Mother Teresa took in a woman off the streets of Calcutta. Her body was a mess of open sores infested with bugs. Mother Teresa patiently bathed her, cleaning and dressing her wounds. The woman never stopped shrieking insults and threats at her. Mother Teresa only smiled. Finally, the woman snarled, “Sister, why are you doing this? Not everyone behaves like you. Who taught you?” She replied simply, “My God taught me.” When the woman asked who this god was, Mother Teresa kissed her on the forehead and said: “You know my God. My God is called love.”
The touch of a woman like Mother Teresa, the touch of Jesus…those are expressions of God’s love. But it goes deeper than that. Touch is essential to human life. Touch is one of the first forms of communication between an infant and mother. It is one of the most basic human needs. It is where bonding begins. Studies have shown that infant massage in the neonatal unit leads to increased weight gain and immune function of premature infants. Loving touch has been shown to relieve fussiness and stress and to alleviate pain. Our need for human contact is necessary. Babies who are not touched fail to grow normally. Children, who are not lovingly touched often, grow up to be more physically violent. Touch, even at a young age brings healing. Mother Teresa’s touch brought healing. And in our story today, Jesus’ compassion and touch brought the ultimate healing…it brought back life to the dead.
Jesus did the miracle; the young man did the work.
But it wasn’t just his compassion and touch that made this miracle happen. Jesus spoke. He spoke simple words. “Young Man, get up.” Jesus didn’t do anything fancy. There were no fireworks, no lightning bolts from the sky, no pulling rabbits out of hats, no mystical illusions: just a simple touch and simple words. “Young man, get up.” Jesus does not pray that God will restore life to the man, but instead speaks directly to the dead man. He does no tricks, engages in no histrionics. He simply issues a brief command. That is all that is required. He simply says, “get up”. He commands the boy to rise…to stand. And the young man stands up. He stands up out of his coffin right there in the middle of the street. He stands up and goes to his mother. The young man simply obeyed Jesus. He simply got up.
In today’s scripture, Jesus lays his hand on the coffin. Jesus speaks. Jesus works the miracle, but… Did Jesus lift that young man out of the coffin? Did Jesus bend down and manipulate his body, forcing him to stand? Did Jesus do the work? No. Jesus did the miracle, the young man did the work. The only person who could make that miracle come to complete fruition was the young man himself. He had to do the work.
The miracles we are seeking here at court street are going to take work. We have to be both Jesus AND the young man in this story.
As much as our compassion moves us, we must also respond to the compassion given to us.
Like Jesus did, we have to demonstrate compassion. When Jesus saw a woman in need, he did not turn and walk the other way. He could have...it would have been easy to just shrug and keep going. But He stood up!!. He stepped up...He said "I can do something" He did not ignore her grief. He did not say that she was unworthy of his help. He did not pretend she didn’t exist. In fact, he was SO moved by her plight that his compassion moved him to action. Our compassion can move us to action as well. We are not a cold-hearted group of people. We are deeply loving and compassionate, we have to find ways to let that compassion move us to action. A compassionate church is a church that channels the love of Christ to the world beyond the walls of the congregation. The compassionate church ministers to those who others will not help. The compassionate church isn’t afraid to reach out to those society has left behind. The compassionate church stops and addresses the plight of those who suffer. Like Jesus and the widow of Nain, the compassionate church gives people what they need in order to survive and live full lives.
Yes, we can be a compassionate church. Our compassion can stop pain and loss in its tracks, or at the very least help people deal with their grief. Compassion can and should be the hallmark of this congregation. But, compassion isn’t the only element in this story. The miracle in this story and the miracles we are seeking take a special kind of partnership. Not only do we have to be moved by our compassion, but that compassion, that touch, the very words of Christ have to be the things that pick us up and move us to action. As much as our compassion moves us, we must also respond to the compassion given to us. The compassion shown to us by God and by Jesus Christ commands us to action. Just as Jesus commanded the young man to rise, we are commanded to rise up in response.
Just like the young man in the story, we are the beneficiaries of Christ’s compassion. And when he bids us to rise, WE have to be the ones to STAND UP. God is not going to do it for us. God is going to work with us. We are going to do the work together, but we cannot do it unless we are willing to work for the miracles and unless we are willing to stand up. And, to be quite honest, I think we as a church are much too talented and gifted and unusual to let anyone keep us from standing.
So I'll ask you...
Are you willing to stand?
Are you willing to stand up and do the work that needs to get done to make miracles happen here at Court Street United Methodist Church?
Are you willing to stand up and volunteer when you are asked?
Are you willing to make a commitment to this neighborhood?
Are you willing to stand up to the injustices of the world out there so that the world in here is a safe place for ANYONE who walks through our doors?
Are you willing to stand tall and proud right here in the middle of downtown Rockford?
Are you willing to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves?
Are you willing to stand up as a representative of Christ's compassion?
WILL YOU STAND?