The Lord of Life Draws Near

The Lord of Life Draws NearThe Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity – 10/5/2025

Luke 7:11-17

Rev. Dr. Christopher W. Brademeyer

That portion from God’s holy Word for consideration this morning is our reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke in the seventh chapter with special emphasis on verses fourteen and fifteen which read as follows:

“Then [Jesus] went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.”[1]

Thus far the Scriptures.

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Every one of our funerals begin with the same words: “In Holy Baptism [Name] was clothed with the robe of Christ’s righteousness that covered all his sin. St. Paul says, ‘Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live a new life.’”

Those words set the tone: we do not face death alone. We face it as those joined to Christ’s own death and resurrection by holy Baptism. Our Gospel reading today gives us a picture of that truth. In Luke chapter seven, death is on parade. A widow walks behind the bier carrying her only son. She has had no husband for a certain amount of time. Now she doesn’t have a son. In his place she is left with only grief. But into this funeral procession enters Jesus, the Lord of Life. When He draws near, death retreats. Indeed, it can do nothing else.

The Grief of the Widow and Our Own

Luke’s record of this amazing encounter emphasizes the plight of this poor woman. She is a widow; she has no husband to comfort her in this difficult time. Her only son is dead; she has no one left to take care of her in her old age. It is understandable that the crowd grieves with her. But, it is tragically the case that  no amount of sympathy can fill the hole left behind by a death.

We know this too well, this grief. In the funeral liturgy we pray: “Help us, we pray, in the midst of things we cannot understand, to believe and find comfort in the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.” We pray these words because the reality of death is too great for us to fix. We can try and comfort each other, but we cannot stop the casket from closing, it being carried to the cemetery, or it being lowered into the dark earth. We cannot even stop the sorrow of those who are left to mourn.

This encounter at Nain shows us what sin’s wages look like. Here there is despair, loss, and helplessness. And if we are honest, we will see that this encounter is the story of our own lives. Death is inescapable. We too will walk in that same procession, carrying with us both the memory of those who have died and the certainty of our own mortality. We too will meet a day when we are the ones who are being carried on the bier. We too will meet the grave.

The Compassion of Christ

And into this hopeless state of affairs comes Jesus. And notice what happens, “When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her.” That same compassion flows into our worship life. Every Sunday, in the Divine Service, we pray, “Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord, have mercy.” And He most certainly does have mercy. His compassion moves Him to act, not just in Nain for this widow, but here for us.

Jesus stepped into the funeral procession. He touched the bier, an act that should make Him ceremonially unclean. But the Lord of Life cannot be defiled by death. Instead, His holiness swallows it up. And with the same authority by which He once said, “Let there be light,” He now commands: “Young man, I say to you, arise!” And the dead man obeys. Life conquers death; death is undone. Jesus gives the young man back to his mother.

The Power of Christ’s Word

This is why at every Christian funeral we hear the words of Christ: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live.” His Word is not wishful thinking. It is not a powerless expression of impotent desire. His Word does what it says.

At the grave, the pastor commends the body of a departed Christian “in sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ.” That hope is not rooted in vague optimism but in the same Word that spoke to the young man at Nain. It is the same Word that called Lazarus out of the tomb. It is the same Word proclaimed that Jesus Himself was raised on the third day.

And that Word has already been spoken to you in Baptism. There Christ said, “I baptize you in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” And with those words you were buried with Christ into death and raised with Him into newness of life. Already now, the grave has lost its final say over you. You belong not to the prince of death, but to the Lord of Life.

The Hope We Carry to the Altar

And still today, Christ’s Word of life is joined to His Supper. What do we sing right before receiving the body and blood? “Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us; grant us peace.” At the altar, in the Lord’s Supper, heaven and earth meet. There we join in the song of angels and archangels and all the company of heaven, even those saints who now rest from their labors join in the hymn. The same Jesus who touched the coffin at Nain now touches our lips with His risen body and blood. And where He comes, there is forgiveness, life, and salvation. How can there be anything else when the Supper is nothing other than Jesus, the living Lord, Himself given to you?

The widow of Nain was given her son back for a time. But you are given something even greater. You are given Christ Himself, who promises to raise you, and all your loved ones who rest in Him, unto eternal life where death cannot touch you ever again.

Conclusion

At Nain the crowd marveled and said, “God has visited His people.” And indeed, He had. But we can say it even more boldly: God still visits His people—here, now, in His Word, in His Baptism, in His Supper.

When your own funeral procession comes, Christ will be there too. The pastor will speak the certain promise of resurrection made to you by your Lord. The Church will sing her hymns of hope and praise. And at the last, your Lord will say to you what He once said to the widow’s son: “I say to you, arise.”

And you will rise. Death will be no more. The compassion of Christ, which has been granted to you even now, will be your eternal joy.

In the holy Name of + Jesus. Amen.

 The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

[1] Luke 7:14-15 English Standard Version. All further citations from the Scriptures are from the ESV.