Pentecost 2                             Luke 7:11-17, Psalm 146                            6/10/07

                                                 "Who Will We Trust?"

 

I intended to have Bob preach today since I was at synod assembly the days I would normally prepare my sermon. If I had read ahead and seen what the lessons were I would have made sure Bob (or someone...anyone) had these lessons to deal with.

 

Lessons about God raising the dead make me nervous. I’m always half expecting that someone will call out, "So, why won’t God give me back my loved one, or better yet, prevent the death?" That is my nightmare because I don’t have a ready answer for that or any of the other "Why" questions others struggle with...questions *I* struggle with.

 

The widow of Nain story is even harder to deal with because no one even asks Jesus for help. Yet how many times have people I’ve known begged God almost continuously for days, months, even years, only to find themselves at the person’s grave side.

 

This lesson and our Old Testament lesson seem to rub our losses under our noses and makes us cry "Who can I trust?" How many times have I asked that question as I’ve struggled through the grief of my own losses.

 

But then, maybe it’s time to work through those losses again and at a deeper level.

It is helpful to remind ourselves why Jesus is here. The Son of God was born as a human baby to grow into a man who would suffer and die long before a ripe old age. He would die not of an incurable illness, not as a war hero, not in an accident. He would die at the hands of His own people. He would die so that they could live eternally. He would die as a sacrifice for their sins...and ours.

 

Because of His death and resurrection, this woman and her son, and all people to come who believe in Jesus have the assurance that they will never lose their loved ones permanently. They will be reunited in heaven.

 

Also, there is an aloneness far worse than what that widow would have suffered or that we suffer on losing a loved one. Jesus has shown that no matter how many losses we suffer in this life, we will never be alone. Through the gift of His own life, we are brought back into relationship with a God who will always be with us and always love us. No matter what happens to us in this life and no matter what we do, God will always include us in His family.

 

We can trust in the presence of His Spirit to strengthen, comfort and guide us. We can feel God’s loving arms around us even at the worst of times. We can trust even when we are buried in grief and pain that God will somehow bring good even from our loss.

 

And that is the point. Life won’t always be a bed of roses - and even if it could be, roses have thorns. There is pain and loss in this life, but those who believe in Jesus can trust in His love and power to help them.

 

I asked that the alternate psalm be used today because it seems to fit these lessons so well. It reminds us that we can sing God’s praise even in times of loss, because we can trust in Him. He has proved His trustworthiness throughout history.

 

And, if we look back over our lives we can see that He has proven His trustworthiness through acts of caring for us over and over in our own lives. God may not have always answered our prayers as we would have liked, but He has always brought us through. He has always been there for us.

 

This cannot be said for the rulers and institutions of this world as we see stated in Psalm 146. The psalm could almost be paraphrased,

 

Who will we trust? I’ve got my answer. Hallelujah!          Amen