Resurrection Faith. Luke 7: 11 17; 1 Kings 17: Healing the Centurion s slave and raising the widows son

Transcription

1 Resurrection Faith Luke 7: 11 17; 1 Kings 17: After Jesus had done these two miracles Healing the Centurion s slave and raising the widows son John the Baptist had his disciples ask Jesus Are you the one who is to come or are we to wait for another? It s hard for us to imagine that John the Baptist, Jesus own cousin, didn t quite understand who Jesus was since Luke is the one who tells the story of John jumping in his mother Elizabeth s womb when the pregnant Elizabeth met the pregnant Mary. We presume that John baptized Jesus even though Luke doesn t Tell the story that way, because every other Gospel does. And so we are caught off guard by John s question. We mistakenly think that even though we might have doubts and wonders That the giants of the faith John the Baptist, Peter and Paul Would never have any doubt or question about who Jesus was. And yet Jesus own cousin asks the question and forces Jesus to say: Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive Their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them.

2 In other words, Go and tell John and anyone else who will listen That you believe in a God who raises people from the dead. And see where that will get you. It s absurd and yet that s what we believe. We say it in our Apostles Creed. We state that on the third day Jesus was raised from the dead We go on to says I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic church, The communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. We are a resurrection people. We believe in a God who raises people from the dead. Jesus did it in his lifetime and when he died God raised Jesus from the dead. So what does that mean for us? It means that we are a hopeful people. There is no situation that is so dark that God cannot enter in. That doesn t mean that we are either asleep or unaware of the perils around us. The word for resurrection eigero means to arouse, to awaken.

3 So that is the opposite of being asleep or unaware of the dangers or struggles in any given situation. A resurrection faith is a faith with eyes open to the dangers But it is a faith that is not afraid, even of death. And it s not just a New Testament idea. Today we read the story from First Kings of Elijah who raised the son of the woman in whose house he was staying. So it s not surprising that the people who witnessed the resurrection Of the widows son by Jesus would have immediately thought he was A great prophets like Elijah or Elisha. We are tempted to critical of those who thought Jesus was a prophet And yet for the people of Jesus day it was high praise indeed. And yet the next line in the Jesus story and the Elijah story Is the most important line. In the Elijah story the women says Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is true. In the Jesus story the crowd glorifies God and says: God has looked favorably on his people. You see both resurrection stories are stories of God s great love for us. And both stories inspire us to be a people who never give up.

4 We prayed for the 51 people who had died in the Oklahoma Tornado On Thursday night and discovered the next day that 24 people had died. The authorities gave many reasons why the count went down by 27 people double counting, confusion in the moment, Amazing rescue effortsbut the truth is that for us a people with a resurrection faith we ought not be surprised when God brings life out of death. That s why out Presbyterian Disaster Assistance is famous For being some of the first at the rescue sight and why They work tirelessly pulling people out of rubble Because we believe in a God that brings life out of death. Some school teachers especially are a little nervous with the Acronym for our relief efforts PDA because in school PDA stands for Public Display of Affection. I kind of like the acronym since it reminds us that our efforts to save each other Are our public display of God s affection for all God s children. Notice in today s text it says that when the Lord saw the widow, He had compassion on her. He raised the widows son as a witness to God s love so that the people would Say: God has looked favorably on his people.

5 So we are a resurrection people. Ours is a resurrection faith. We believe that the Prophet Elijah raised the woman s son to life. We believe that Jesus raised the widow s son from death to life. We believe that when Jesus was crucified that God raised Jesus From death to life eternal so that we might know Once and for all that God has conquered death in Christ. William Barclay called this the greatest single fact in history And the message that is at the center and soul of our faith. So what does it mean for us so what? It means that we never give up. No matter how difficult life might get, We believe in the triune God who can bring success out of failure, Health and wholeness (shalom) out of disease, and if and when We walk through the valley of the shadow of death, Our God can bring life eternal out of death. That s why the symbol of our faith is the Celtic cross. In the middle is a symbol of death the cross but around it Is the symbol of eternal life the circle. So when we say that we have a resurrection faith, it is a bold faith That never gives up in the hospital room, on the battle ground, In the hall of congress, in the inner city, in the mission field,

6 And it s the faith we teach our children. One of the children I remember from my youth group in Philly Named Janet is now grown. She was the youngest of three girls in her family. Through Facebook I was able to celebrate when she had her first baby. But also through Facebook I learned that the baby was premature And desperately small and in the NICU hooked up to a respirator. For three months I have followed that baby and watch Janet Continue to hope against all odds that her son would survive. And now he is 6 lbs 11 ounces and coming home after 3 months. And I m glad that Janet had a resurrection faith so that she knew Never to give up hope and that the God of resurrection was with her And her son not matter what. And I don t know about you but for me, it s another story from our time To go with the other tow sotries about God looking with favor Upon God s people as God raised a woman s son from death to life. Amen.