You gotta love Jesus. He is so awesome.
Jesus rarely, if ever, does anything in the same way-over and over again.
When he heals those who are sick or lame, he does so in a myriad of ways.
When he heals Peter’s mother-in-law, he takes her by the hand and lifts her up, he reaches out and touches a leper to make him clean, he commands the paralytic to stand up – take his mat – and go home, he tells a man with a withered hand to stretch his hand out, and a woman reaches out her hand on her own volition to touch Jesus and she is healed. And all of that – is just in a few chapters…imagine, “how much more” there really was….
And I didn’t even mention about his making a mud-pie out of dirt and spittle and placing it on the eyes of a blind man – or the time when someone was healed by Jesus when they were not even close to one another…and on and on it goes…
When raising the dead, he reaches out his hand to touch a twelve year old girl, he commands Lazarus to come out of the tomb and he raises this widow’s son by merely touching the funeral bier.
Nothing is routine.
Each incident is different.
No two people are alike.
Jesus cannot be reduced to a formula or an incantation or to any one style.
It is, as if, each one is specifically designed for “that individual.” Nothing is canned. Nothing is ordinary. Nothing is routine. Everything becomes tailor made!
It was believed by many that when the Messiah came, “the blind would receive their sight, the lame would walk, lepers would be cleansed, the deaf would hear, the dead would be raised up, and the poor would have good news preached to them.”
And yet, Jesus was overlooked, bypassed and misunderstood. He was loved by the multitudes, but not by the powers that be.
The gospel story before us (tonight/this morning) is uniquely Lucan.
The context is simple enough.
It is the story of two great processions. One a funeral procession leaving the city and the other, a great crowd of people following Jesus, about to enter the city…
The two meet.
A mother is burying her only son, her social security, her lifelong protector and the only heir of the family inheritance. She is about to become one of the marginalized – on the outside fringes of society. Destitute… Alone… She will be totally dependent on others for her livelihood. Her life expectancy will now be shortened considerably.
She has suffered at least two great losses. First the loss of her husband and then, the loss of her son…
We should probably keep in mind that Jesus’ own mother was a widow…and therefore, he himself is a widow’s son.
Not everyone sees the marginalized some pass by on the other side, so as not to notice. Others just do not see.
Still others look away. Jesus notices. Of course, he does. Jesus’ heart goes out to her. He is compassionate!
And as we know, he is about to do something spectacular. That is the context.
As the two groups meet…for a moment in time, they become one extremely large group. Jesus speaks to the widow. His words are strange…but in a moment she and all those present with her – will all understand.
Her weeping will be changed. Her tears will cease.
The procession comes to a stop. Jesus reaches out and in this case, he touches the bier, not the deceased young man. Using the language of resurrection, he tells the young man to “rise.” To the amazement of everyone, the young man sits up and begins to speak. He is returned to his mother.
One encounter with Jesus and her life is forever changed. And as we might imagine, word of this incident is about to spread quickly.
Who is this? How does he do such things?
Now Nain is in Galilee…but the narrative ends by saying, “This word about him spread throughout Judea and all the surrounding country.”
So, the word about Jesus is going viral. As viral as it can in a day and a time before Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram and other forms of social media.
But note where it is spreading…all the way to Judea, the city of Jerusalem, the home of the Temple, the place of power, the realm of the High Priest and the chief elders…you gotta love Jesus, I tell you – he is so awesome…