There was a single mother who had a son, her only child. The boy was very sick, and stopped breathing. The Prophet Elijah took the boy, three times he prayed for the boy, �gO Lord my God, let this child�fs life come into him again.�h Three times he stretched out his body on the boy; and then the boy began to breathe! Then the woman knew for sure that the prophet was a �gman of God�h and that he spoke the true word of the Lord God.

There was another single mother who had an only son. This son too had died. As the funeral procession came out of the town toward the cemetery, a traveling preacher came by. Perhaps he would give a comforting sermon at the funeral. He could talk about the love of God and the resurrection at the end of the world and eternal life. He could give comfort and hope. He told the woman not to cry any more, but the widow could not stop grieving. He saw the widow, the young man being carried on the funeral bier, and the preacher was filled with compassion. He understood her feelings, and in his heart he felt the same sadness, perhaps his eyes were beginning to fill with tears, too. Then he spoke words that are never spoken at a funeral. He said, "Young man, I say to you, arise.�h And the dead man sat up and was so fully recovered that he began to speak. Soon everyone one began to speak, and they glorified God, saying, �gA great prophet has arisen among us!�h and �gGod has visited his people!�h And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

In this Gospel reading, we see the resurrection power of Jesus, and we see the reason that Jesus reveals that power. In this story we see the power of the compassion of Jesus. It makes no difference to me if Jesus is almighty God, if he has no love and compassion. Because of the love and compassion of Jesus, there is hope and comfort in the time of death, and in the time of trouble, and even in the time of happiness and joy.

There are times in our lives when it seems that life is one big funeral. If someone is not dead, then someone is dying. Sometimes it seems that we are the ones who are dying. The Psalmist called this �gwalking through the valley of the shadow of death.�h The hymnist called it �gtrials and temptations.�h ("What a Friend we have in Jesus")

Jesus comes to us at times like this. He sees our tears and he knows our fears. He has compassion, he feels our sorrow and pain, and our pain leads him to tears. It may be hard to imagine Jesus in Heaven, sitting at the Right Hand of God with tears in his eyes, but he does sorrow for this world. Those are the tears he shed in the garden of Gethsemane. They are the same tears that were shed when his good friend Lazarus died. It is the same love and compassion that he had when the widow�fs son died.

What would have happened if the widow had sent Jesus away? �gDon�ft speak to me! Don�ft touch my son!�h That is what unbelief does. Unbelief refuses to let Jesus into our lives. Unbelief refuses the comfort and hope of God. Unbelief only believes in the power of death and the devil, because death and the devil seem to be in control in the world. That is why it is so important to believe in God. Not only to believe in his almighty power, but to believe in his almighty love and compassion. We believe that in his almighty love and compassion, Jesus gave up his almighty power to die on the cross to forgive our sin, and in this way to overcome the power of the death and the devil.

Jesus touched the bier (the open coffin) and said, �gYoung man, I say to you, arise.�h Jesus touches our places of death and sin. He says to us, "I say to you, arise.�h And this is the power given us to rise. This is to be born again. It is to repent and believe. It is to rise and follow Jesus in our lives. It is to rise and to live a life that is really alive. We are alive in Christ Jesus. In this faith we daily arise from the baptismal water and live in the power of the Holy Spirit.

And we join with the Psalmist David, who praised God for deliverance,

Amen.