Soon afterwards Jesus went to a town called Nain,
and his disciples and a large crowd went with him.
As he approached the gate of the town,
a man who had died was being carried out.
He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow;
and with her was a large crowd from the town.
When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to
her,
“Do not weep.”
Then he came forward and touched the bier, or coffin, and
the bearers stood still.
And he said, “Young man, I say to you, rise!”
The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him
to his mother.
Fear seized all of them; and they glorified God,
saying,
“A great prophet has risen among us!”
and “God has looked favorably on his people!”
This word about him spread throughout Judea
and all the surrounding country.
***
I tried to imagine two crowds, one of disciples and
followers and the other of funeral procession mourners coming together at the
narrow gate of the town, Nain. I imagined the mix of emotion sorting and
blending through that gate. Would the followers become solemn, would the
mourners become lighter? What might have been the feeling in that narrow
passageway and how does that feeling tell us about this text?
I tried to imagine it, but Deb Trapp had seen it. In grad
school she worshiped at a church which shared the same large city block. One
particular Saturday the church had two funerals, one at eleven, the other at
one, and the football started in-between. Deb was helping with arrangements for
the first funeral and felt the buzz around downtown with parishioners hoping
the funeral would get out in time to catch the bus to the game. There was a way
that the exuberance of the oncoming game was creeping into present funeral, and
I wonder if these two Biblical crowds were much different.
I imagine the hired mourners and the pall bearers all
dressed regally with their slow deliberate procession toward the burial site. I
imagine the routine of it, and for the mother and those who knew her, and her son,
I imagine the grief of it. I imagine Jesus’ followers in a mostly true
wandering along in he clothes they were wearing when they met Jesus. I imagine
and their excitement and hope as like rooting for a team. It is hard to imagine
how those mix. What do you wear to funeral that you can also wear to football
game? What fight song mixes with Amazing Grace? The closest I can imagine is
how we sing the Star Spangled Banner and then yell, “Play Ball!” I think Jesus
wanted everyone to play ball.
When the Lord saw the woman, he had compassion for her and
said to her,
“Do not weep.” Then he came forward and touched the bier, or
coffin, and the bearers stood still, as if their funeral procession had walked
right on the field without knowing it and Jesus ball in hand was watching the
coin toss and calling it, “Young man, I say to you, rise!” He picked heads and
it was heads. The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his
mother. Fear seized them all, because funerals and game day don’t mix. The Hail
Mary Pass is just supposed to get the ball into the end zone, not raise the
dead. These are two very things and to compare them is almost insult to those
who suffer and those grieve. But I think with Jesus what we have to do is to
compare them, because with Jesus nothing is outside the realm of possibility.
There will be great upsets, there will be unexpected miracles, and common
people will do extraordinary things. I think this is part of why we Americans
love and watch sports, because in them lie great stories, stories which give us
hope for something different than common. But here too, in this little play
book of the Bible, are also great stories, of overcoming the odds, of the
little guy coming out on top, or the unexpected winning, of hard work and
perseverance and achievement, and perhaps like this mother and her son, being
in the exact right place at the right time, all squished in at the nave of the
town gate, the mourners and the followers.
What I love about this game, and the best games in the New
Testament, is that everyone goes home having won. Even people like Zaccheaus,
who is so short he has to climb a tree just to see Jesus, goes home having won
the chance to host Jesus. Even the woman who is about to be stoned for being
caught in the act of adultery goes home having won her life and her persecutors
having won their dignity by not having to stone her. With the workers who are
all paid the same wage at the end of the day of various work, they have each
won. With the prodigal son, if the other son can accept the grace, the whole
family has a chance of winning. Can you tell I am a lifelong Boston Red Sox
fan, I was taught from a young age, before they won anything significant, to always root for the underdog, and especially against the Yankees. And I
think Jesus does the same. Here they all go home telling the same story, “A
great prophet has risen among us!” and “God has looked favorably on his
people!” This word about him spread throughout Judea
and all the surrounding country.
So today, I invite you to try to find the overarching
narrative where the unexpected, the underdog, the miracle is alive, where Jesus
is at work. Who will cross that field at graduation that you never expected?
Who will see justice that you thought would never be brought to light? Who will
reconcile when reconciliation seemed impossible? What did you think had died
that might be coming alive again? Our music ministry, our youth program, a
friendship? Where will healing take place? Where will a funeral feel like game
day?