Jesus brings a widow back into life.

Luke 7:11-17 (New International Version)

¹¹Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. ¹²As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. ¹³When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”

¹⁴Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” ¹⁵The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

¹⁶They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” ¹⁷This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.

Modern Context:

I want to take a moment to stop and ask God to be with Vanessa Robinson, the mother who lost her two boys who died in Maroopna last week. We pray that somehow a she will find a place of peace in her heart after the tragic loss, and that she will be able to rely on her community for support and love at this tragic time. Amen

We find the woman in this story, as someone who finds herself in a place where life has thrown her to a dark place. For this woman, this childless widow, is put in a position of worthlessness.

This woman undoubtedly finds herself questioning the value and worth of her life. She has lost her place in the world.

Widow, no husband no provider, turns to her son as provider, now he is dead. She has nothing for herself except a future of begging and/or prostitution.

Society has set itself a system of making women dependent on men. Without a man women are worthless. She can only define themselves as mother or wife in her community.

So not only has this poor woman lost her ability to define her worth through being a wife and a mother, but she has become a drain on society. She has found herself without any financial suriety. Wherever she goes she will be seen as a problem for her community. She is too old, she has no house she belongs to, she has no husband, she has no children, she is a financial burden on society. I think you would agree with me that these are still common feelings.

¹³When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”

Jesus responds to this woman and her pain and loss by giving her back her son. Giving her back a place in her community, giving her back her life.

If only it where that easy for us. We are surrounded by people in our Church, in our families, in our community, that feel removed from life and meaning. There are people that walk among us that question their worth, their place, their life. People in our community question their relevance because they are divorced, unmarried, childless, too old or because they feel they are a burden on those around them. You may know someone like that, it may even be you.

But we worship a God whose specialty is making life from death, meaning for the meaningless and hope for the hopeless. We invest ourselves in a God who loves the people God created and responds by offering life and love and meaning through the Christ.

You may not experience this as a supernatural moment when the dead are raised, but when you allow yourself to be loved, life is reinstated.

God has called us to participate in life through the Christ. We have been called from the edges of society, from the dark places of our souls and like the widow, been given renewed meaning in our lives.

And our response to this?

¹⁶They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help the people.”

We are called to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ, finding those on the edges of society, talking to people who live in the dark places of their souls, giving renewed meaning to the lives of those around us.

Go with this renewed life God has given you, and bring meaning to the widow!