C, Proper 5
Luke 7:11-17 The Rev.
O’ Lord to see you is the end and the beginning. You carry us and you go before us. You are the journey and the journey’s end. Amen.
At the beginning of this morning’s Gospel, we find a very tragic circumstance. The scripture introduces us to a woman who has lost her spouse and now this woman is in the process of burying her only child. In the midst of the funeral procession, the scripture gives us a glimpse into the grief this woman is experiencing.
Unfortunately, at some point in our lives we have all lost a loved one and to some extent can identify with the sense of grief this woman was feeling. Not only was she grieving the loss of her son, but she was experiencing fear…the fear of being completely alone.
But the encouraging part of the text comes as we read further. This woman, who had lost both her spouse and her only son, is surrounded and supported. She is surrounded by a community in the midst of her grief. Every person in the funeral procession was playing a role in honoring her son and also supporting her through this transition of loss.
The best part of the text is that Jesus sees this procession; he stops what he is doing and approaches the grieving woman as those in the procession carry her son out of the city.
This morning’s Gospel provides a glimpse into 1st
century Jewish funeral traditions. Every
culture and society has different traditions around how they grieve and mourn,
different ways they remember, honor & celebrate the lives of those who have
passed before us.
For first century Jews, the procession had a different purpose and function than funeral processions in our day. We can have a funeral without a procession; but in their tradition, at least in the first century, the procession was part of the funeral itself.
According to Ruth
Langer, Associate Professor of Jewish Studies at
In her Essay, Jewish
Funerals: A Ritual Description, Langer writes: In the Jewish culture, from
the point that a person dies, the immediate family and the collective
community, had a responsibility to ensure that the person was buried properly. They
showed great respect to the deceased.
Maintaining modesty, they would wash and ritually purify the departed by
pouring water over and dressing the deceased in white shrouds. The family and community also supply
watchers, who sit with the deceased from the time of death until the funeral began,
quietly reciting Psalms. If the mourners
were present at the time of death, they may have already torn their garments,
before the procession. The tearing of
clothes was a physical symbol of grief and visibly marked relatives as mourners
and served as an outlet for their feelings, reinforcing their loss.
According to Dr. Langer, in Jesus’ day, the funeral procession left from the house of the deceased, accompanied by professional wailers, eulogizers, and flute players, with family members or friends of the deceased being the preferred pallbearers. The procession paused in a public area designated for eulogizing the dead outside the burial site. Then the community participated in the eulogy for the dead. As a whole, the entire community was expected to join in this procession. They were expected to drop everything they were doing and to comfort those who mourned and accompanying the dead to the grave. These needs were considered to be a priority of the community.[1]
All of this had just occurred with the departed son and now they were on
their way to the burial site.
Jesus and his disciples met the professional wailers, eulogizers, and flute players playing music; they saw people with their clothes torn in grief and family members and friends walking behind the pall bearers who were carrying the dead man on a wooden frame.
This procession must have been quite a sight. But, if you think about it, Jesus must have seen these processions before; he must have even been a part of them from time to time. After all, this was their common funeral practice. But, with all of the funeral processions he had seen before, this particular funeral procession was different. Jesus must have been particularly moved to have intervened the way he did.
What was it that moved Jesus?
This lady had not only
experienced the emotional loss of her husband, but now she was burying her only
son. As a widow, Jesus knew the difficult state of
life she was already in. But now, she
was completely alone. With the loss of her son, she would have no means of financial
support. So, the woman is deprived not only of a son, but of any means to
sustain her own life.
It could be that as he saw this grieving mother, maybe Jesus’ mind flashed forward. Maybe he thought of his own mother and his own death; perhaps he thought of how one day his mother would be part of a scene like this. Maybe the thought of his mother walking in procession, weeping for him, moved him to intervene and restore life.
As he approached this large group of people walking in procession, Jesus’ heart went out to this woman. We read that he ‘had compassion for her’ (vs. 13). He stopped the funeral; he stopped the procession and we are told he restored the young man’s life. In so doing, he restored the widow’s life as well.
As Christians, this morning, we are reminded that like our Jewish brothers and sisters when it comes to funerals, we walk with the deceased in our own way, and we accompany them to their final resting place.
In our Christian tradition, we also walk with those who grieve and we do our best to comfort them. When a family in our community has a funeral or goes through a difficult circumstance, all of us have a role to play, a way that we can offer help and support. In the first century Jewish tradition, there were those who washed and dressed the deceased, the flute players, those who tore their clothes, the eulogizers, the mourners, the pall bearers. Even Jesus himself was present and had a role to play as the healer/the one who restored life.
In our day, we also have groups with different roles. We have a Prayer Shawl ministry, Condolence writer’s ministry who write letters of encouragement. At the service itself, we have the Altar Guild, the Organist and Musicians and friends and family who gather to attend. After the service, members of our Church Mice ministry help with a funeral Reception. Sometimes, just simply being present can comfort those who mourn.
All of us have a role to play in comforting those who grieve. These are some of the ways that we as a community walk with those who mourn.
Finally, the most amazing part of the text is that Jesus noticed and approached the grieving woman. The larger message is this: God meets us in our grief. God meets us in our suffering, fear and pain.
God’s role is to work to bring healing and to restore life. We find this often happens as we walk with each other. Think back over your life. Who has walked with you? Who has brought healing, comfort and love into your life when you needed it? And conversely, who have you walked with? How have you been a source of love, comfort and healing in someone’s life?
We find that loved ones walk with us when we need it, the community walks with us and supports us in the hardest times of our lives; ultimately the Good News is that in these ways, the Spirit of God meets us and works to heal, to mend and to restore that which needs to be healed in our lives.
Though the topics of loss and funerals are not the most popular subjects to address, they are inevitable. We as individuals will all face this at some point in our lives.
I encourage you today to look for the opportunity to support people through their grief, to participate in different ways in the events of a funeral. Contribute your talents, your support and encouragement as people face the hardest time of their lives. Play your music, write your cards, make your casseroles, and be sensitive to the needs of families and individuals dealing with loss.
And one more word of encouragement for those of us dealing
with loss: Remember that just as Jesus approached this grieving woman, remember
that God will meet you in your grief, your pain and your fear. You
aren’t walking alone. Loved ones are
with you. This community is behind
you. The Spirit of God is there to meet
you. Amen.