20th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
A great battle: Life versus death (Luke 7:11-16)
In the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit !
My dear Orthodox brothers and sisters,
Have you ever heard of a town called Nain? It is in the Holy Land. We would never have heard nor cared about that ancient village, except for one incident that happened all most 2,000 years ago. Our blessed Lord Jesus Christ, came to the gates of that town one day, and an amazing and wonderful think happened there, something which makes us remember and love that town.
Today’s Gospel tells us in a beautiful way what is was that happened.
Christ was traveling with His Apostles and followers along a dusty road. Near the town of Nain they met a procession coming in the opposite direction.
It was a funeral procession. A young man had died, the only son of his mother, and she followed the open casket and wept bitterly for her son. All the town came out to console the mother and bury the son.
A great battle was fought on that dusty road of Nain that day. Along one way came the force of Life, represented by Jesus Christ; along the other way came the force of Death, represented by the dead son. And there these two powers met.
Jesus had pity on the mother, He turned to the body of the son and said: “Young man, I say to you, arise!” The dead son got up and Jesus gave him back to his widowed mother.
There are at least three things for us to remember from this wonderful miracle.
1) Some day, soon or late, we will meet a funeral procession. That is, it will come our turn to bury a loved one. When that time comes, let us remember Nain; let us remember the Figure of the Lord there. The Gospel says that when Jesus saw the mother, He “had compassion on her”, and said to her; “do not weep”. This is a picture of our loving Lord. He is not a God of lifeless stone; He is not a God of cold force. He is a God with a heart of love and compassion, a God who knows what tears of human sorrow are.
2) We record many of the “Firsts” in life: the first day of life, the first time we walk, the first time we talk; the first day of school, the first day of church, the first day of work … and on down the line. But let us remember that life is full of many “Lasts”, too. There is the last day in church, the last confession, the last Holy Communion, the last day of life and the last breath. Let us prepare and be ready for that day. We take out many forms of insurance just in case something happens; here is something that must happen to all, and we have to be prepared for that.
“Store up treasure for yourself ” Jesus warned His Apostles and followers as He talked about the Kingdom of Heaven.
Finaly, let us remember that we shall also hear, one day, that glorius commanding voice of Christ, saying: “Arise!”
Brothers and sisters in Christ. We have one life to live. Day by day, year by year, we must live it for God.
Remember what Jesus once said when He was 12 years old and His mother, the Virgin Mary, found Him in the temple? She asked Him what had happened, and He answered: “Don’t you know that I must be about my My Father’s business”? That’s it. We must be about our Father’s business.
“The Father’s work” is not only the concern of the clergy, but it is the concern of every child of God to live and work for Christ.
A M E N !!!