1 Kings 17:8-16 (17-24)
Psalm 146
Galatians 1:11-24
Luke 7:11-17
Come Holy Spirit , fill the hearts of your Faithful,
and kindle in them the fire of your love.
and kindle in them the fire of your love.
We are treated this morning to two resurrection stories.
We begin with Elijah, who here performs the first resurrection found in the Bible. The scene is tense. There is famine in the land, and God makes sure that Elijah, the widow who houses him, and her son, have enough to eat. The widow, probably a pagan since she was not in Israel or Judah, witnessed a small act of God’s power in the always-bountiful grain and oil and recognized the power of God. But her son dies unexpectedly, and perhaps you can imagine how she felt. Not only did she lose a child, but her own security in a patriarchal society. The only person left who would have felt any sense of responsibility to care for her was dead. She, in what I imagine is anger, uncertainty, and sorrow, immediately calls out Elijah.
"What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to cause the death of my son!"
I imagine Elijah is stunned. She thinks it’s his responsibility. Did she take Elijah in, show him hospitality, simply to lose her son once Elijah noticed how sinful she was? Is that how the God of Israel operated? Elijah, probably in shock, does not defend God, or make excuses. He takes the boy to an upper room, and cries to out to God. As if to say to God, “Why did you allow this? Were you not paying attention? Is this how you, the all-powerful and just God, reward her hospitality?”
And then the Lord listened to Elijah. God heard Elijah’s voice. And God did something God had never done before! Do you think that perhaps God recognized God’s own truth in Elijah’s request?
We are then treated to a reading about Jesus, a reading that echoes the story of Elijah. Jesus comes into Nain (NAY-in), around him his disciples and a large crowd. Crowds then converge, for there is a funeral procession in progress. A community surrounds a widow who has just lost her son. Like the widow before, her survival would be in question with no living male relative, no source of income. Would the community surrounding her take care of her, or would they simply disperse after the burial? I’m sure that may have weighed on her mind. Jesus, always mindful of those who were the invisible and the untouchable of society, sees her tears. He is moved to compassion, and revives her son. With this act, Jesus proves to many his own status as a man of God, a prophet who acts like Elijah. In fact, this is Luke’s point. Remember this when Jesus once asks his disciples who he is, and one says that some call him Elijah.
These are very dramatic stories. To be sure, Resurrection is a weighty topic. I wonder: Have you ever been resurrected? Have you witnessed a resurrection before? Have you ever participated in the resurrection of someone else?
My guess is that you have, for we are a people of resurrection…a people of Easter. We understand Baptism to be a rite in which we die to sin and rise to newness of life, as the ’28 prayer book put it. And in the current Prayer Book’s words at Baptism, we pray over the water that “In it we are buried with Christ in his death. By it we share in his resurrection. Through it we are reborn by the Holy Spirit.” So, if you have been baptized, you’ve undergone resurrection. If you are a godparent, you sponsored a resurrection. At the Easter Vigil we witnessed three resurrections… at EVERY baptism you witness resurrection.
What does it matter if we think we are resurrected? What does it even mean to be resurrected?
First, if we are already resurrected, then the resurrection matters here, now…in this life. Baptism is a one-time event, but it also brings communal responsibility. It isn’t simply a hedge against death.
Second, the Greek word used to mean “rise” in our translation also comes with another context. It would have been used to describe the raising of a statue to commemorate an important person. It is a word that carries with it an understanding of not only “getting up,” of just rising, but also bringing, restoring, or acknowledging honor. The dichotomy of honor and shame were so very important in the society in which Jesus lived. With this context in place, I define a resurrection as an event in which one is able to stand or to rise up, with dignity. It is a restoration from that which causes shame… understood both individually but also in community.
Look again at the texts for today. These resurrections are not just for the sake of the children who are raised, but an act of mercy to the women who had much to lose in a society that could have just as easily decided that the widows were not their responsibility…How often we hear that sentiment! Community and relationships are restored.
If God’s concerns are also ours, if faith is not just for us but for others, and if we can enact resurrection—allowing ourselves and others to stand with dignity…free of shame—let us be guided by today’s psalm: give justice to the oppressed, give food to those who hunger, free the prisoners, open the eyes of the blind, lift up those who are bowed down, and care for the stranger, the orphan, and the widow.
“Lift up those who are bowed down”… perhaps another definition of resurrection….
Can you remember a resurrection now? Have you seen it? Experienced it? I have. A gent came into the parish three weeks ago. He's a painter by trade. I saw him three months ago when he was homeless and gave him some groceries... what could be easily carried in a backpack. This time he took food that required a kitchen to make and he's off the streets. He said in three months he'd be bringing in food for others. This gets to what it means to be a people of resurrection, and the work is underway.
This parish provides a meal every month for those who suffer homelessness and hunger. This gets to what it means to be a people of resurrection.
A woman walked into my other “home parish” in Mobile, AL last week. She was recently released from prison and needed a license so that she could get a job. The license cost $18.50, which she didn’t have. They were able to provide after going around the office. She broke down in tears… over $18.50. It doesn't seem like much, but it represented for her a new beginning...a chance to rise up from shame and find dignity. She also got the job.
This gets to what it means to be a people of resurrection. ..To allow people to have new life, and live without shame…To experience what Christ experienced in his ministry and to share in God’s vision of what our world could be…To call to God and humankind that justice will be done and invite others into this resurrection work …A resurrection work that didn’t just happen thousands of years ago, but continues today. It continues now. It continues here.
Amen.
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Edited 6/5/10-Final Draft.
