The Widow’s Son

Luke 7:11-17

“11 Soon afterwards he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. 12 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. 13 When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then he came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, rise!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. 16 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!” 17 This word about him spread throughout Judea and all the surrounding country.”

Jesus saw a funeral procession going by and had compassion for the weeping mother.  The Greek word used for compassion means deeply moved, down to one’s very soul; to the depths of one’s heart.

It is not the dead son that triggers such compassion in Jesus’ but the emotions of the mother.  It is also important to note that the woman did not seek Jesus out or ask Jesus for his help.  Her faith or lack of faith is never mentioned by Jesus.

Why did Jesus offer His help?  The woman was a widow.  Her son had just died.  A widow in the time of Jesus had no other means of support other than a husband or a son. A widow in such a situation had to rely on the charity of her neighbors. The son’s death meant a life of uncertainty and suffering for the widow.

The resurrection of the young man from the dead represented healing and life for both the man and his widowed mother.  It also caused a great hope and consciousness of God among the people of the community.

In the same way, the resurrection of Jesus gives Christians today the hope and assurance of eternal life, and fills our current lives with joy and abundance. 

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” (1 Peter 1:3)

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Centurion

Luke 7:1-10

“7 When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people who were listening, he entered Capernaum. 2 There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. 3 The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this, 5 because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” 6 So Jesus went with them.He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. 7 That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” 10 Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.”

Centurions were Roman Army officers who generally commanded 100 soldiers.

They occupied their positions not because of family connection, but from military prowess alone.  They were the backbone of the army.  They were steady in action, reliable, and ready at a moment’s notice to fight.  They were men who had earned the respect of their men.

The centurion in the scripture above was unusual in his love for his servant (or slave in some translations).  Servants/slaves were no more than objects or tools in ancient times.  They had no rights and were completely at the mercy of their owners.  Normally when a slave could not work, they were simply replaced.

He was unusual because he was humble, and considered himself unworthy to have someone like Christ in his home.  Needless to say, centurions were not known for their humility.

The centurion was also unusual because his religious beliefs were more than just practical aspects of his position that he used to placate the people that he subjugated. His beliefs affected the way he lived and the way he treated others.

Christ was amazed by the Centurion; not by his achievements, his title, his position, or his authority…

but by his faith, 

by his love, 

by his heart.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

A New Way

Luke 5: 36-39

“36 He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and sews it on an old garment; otherwise the new will be torn, and the piece from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. 38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine desires new wine, but says, ‘The old is good.’”

In the life of Jesus, in His teachings, in His actions, in His love, we see that God was making all things new; a new way of understanding Him; a new way of seeing and  relating to others; a new covenant.

The Pharisees and the Sadducees, still very much rooted in the old way, were drinking “the old wine” and saying “the old is good”.  But the new wine that was being offered by God was being poured and people were drinking.

Jesus' message to the religious authorities was that God’s new covenant would not be  a sub paragraph of the old covenant, but would be an entirely different, entirely new way of God.

This way would not be known by ritual but by love; would not be exclusive, but inclusive; would not be written on stone but in the hearts of all believers.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Rituals

Luke 5:33-35

“33 Then they said to him, “John’s disciples, like the disciples of the Pharisees, frequently fast and pray, but your disciples eat and drink.” 34 Jesus said to them, “You cannot make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you? 35 The days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.”

The lives of the orthodox Jews were totally ritualized.  Ritual was religion to them.  They fasted on Mondays and Thursdays and whitened their faces so that people would know that they were in fast (the feast with Levi may have been one of thes fast days).  They offered prayers two or three times a day in the morning, at noon and in the evening.  

Jesus fasted and prayed and he taught his disciples these things, but he did not strictly observe the rituals associated with fasting and prayer.  To the Pharisees, this proved that they were not religious.  

Jesus taught that religion was more than rituals and that rituals themselves were useless if performed with a corrupted heart.

For Jesus, the most important aspect of religion was not rituals but the condition of one’s heart.  Praying, fasting, and all the other disciplines and rituals should flow from our love; our love for God, and our neighbor. 

There is a time and place for all disciples to pray, and to fast.  When these are practiced, they should not be done to reveal how holy and obedient we are, but practiced in a spirit of love, and humility.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Tax Collector’s Heart

Luke 5: 27-30

“27 After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” 28 And he got up, left everything, and followed him.

29 Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house; and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others sitting at the table with them. 30 The Pharisees and their scribes were complaining to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 

The tax collectors were the most hated people in Roman dominated Palestine.  The tax collector collected the money that the Romans needed to resupply and feed the very armies that oppressed them and because of this the tax collectors were regarded as traitors.

Not only this, but the tax collector was given a lot of leeway by Rome in the collection of taxes.  As long as Rome was given its share, they did not care how much over this amount the tax collector kept for himself.  And so, the tax collectors were also regarded as thieves.

We are not told why Jesus selected Matthew, but it was a decision that raised eyebrows and the concerns of the religious and non-religious alike.  And, in looking upon Matthew, they saw only a sinner who should be shunned.

Jesus, on the other hand, saw Matthew’s heart.

“Jesus answered, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance.” 

(Luke 5:31-32)

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Forgiveness

Luke 5: 21-26

“21 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone? 22 Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? 23 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 25 Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. 26 Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”

Jesus forgave the sins of the man whose friends had lowered him through the ceiling to be healed.  Sin and suffering were closely linked in ancient Israel and Jews thought that suffering was caused by sin.  Often the person suffering felt a keen sense of sin weighing on them.

This may have been the case with this man.  Without the forgiveness of his sins, the man would not have believed he could be healed.  So, Jesus forgave him.

I have met people whose past sins weigh them down in such a way that they cannot move forward in their relationship with God.  They cannot believe that Christ can forgive them.

Christ came that all who believe and confess their sins can be forgiven.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John:1:9)

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Friends

Luke 5:17-20

“17 One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. 18 Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. 19 When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. 20 When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” 

Everyone needs a friend.  Nothing is better than knowing that if you needed help at two in the morning there would be someone you could call and count on.  Good friends are a blessing given to us from God.

The paralyzed man in the scripture above had good friends who were willing to go to great lengths for him.  They were willing to carry him on a mat to Jesus to be healed.  Arriving at the house where Christ was staying, they found that the crowds were so great that they could not get near Jesus.  

Instead of giving up, they regrouped and thought of a very unorthodox way of approaching Jesus.  They went up on the roof, moved some of the tiles,  and lowered their friend down inside the house to very the feet of Jesus.

We need friends on our spiritual journey; friends who will be there when we need them; friends we can talk to about our faith; friends who will keep us on the straight and narrow… 

friends who will keep us at the feet of Christ.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)