One day a city slicker was driving down an old country road, when he saw two men putting up a sign.  He thought that they must obviously be evangelical Christians, because the sign read:  “THE END IS NEAR.  TURN YOUR LIFE AROUND!”  Now this particular man was an atheist, so he rolled down his window to give them a piece of his mind.  “You know, you religious fanatics drive me up a wall.  Why can’t you leave the rest of us alone.  You have no right to push your religion on us, so just leave us be!”  And with that he drove off in a huff.  Pretty soon there was a loud screeching of breaks, followed by a large splash.  The two men looked at each other and said:  “Maybe we should just put – WARNING, BRIDGE OUT!”

In a cute way, that story reminds us that the end is coming – either the end of the world, at Jesus’ second coming, or the end of our own life in death.  That’s why we always need to be prepared, by putting our faith and trust in Him.  And yet, that’s easier said than done.  “For even when we know death is coming, we’re never completely prepared for it, especially when it’s the death of a loved one.  Take the case of the widow in our text.  Not only had she lost her husband, but now her only son was also dead.  She must’ve been devastated.  And perhaps you can relate to what she was feeling.  What devastating events have happened in your life?  A recent death or tragic illness?  The loss of a friend, the betrayal of a co-worker, divorce, financial failure, abuse?  These and countless other painful events remind us that the end is near and we need to be ready.

And yet, at times like that it’s not unusual to wonder if God really cares about us.  After all, if God is such a caring, compassionate God, then why does He allow us to go through such painful ordeals, including death?  Well, part of it is because death, as well as pain and problems, is the curse for sin. As a matter of fact, death is a very powerful visual reminder of what sin does to our soul.  It renders us spiritually dead – cut off from God’s favor and love.  This is brought out in our text by the fact that the first person whom Jesus met in this funeral procession was the dead man’s mother.  That’s because according to ancient Jewish custom, since it was a woman, Eve, who first brought sin and death into the world, women ought to lead the way in a funeral procession. 

            We, of course, no longer follow that custom.  Instead, the Pastor leads the way, as a reminder that all of us, no matter who we are, are equally guilty before God.  And if it had not been for Jesus Christ, the result of that guilt would have been not only physical death but also eternal death in hell, for all of us.  But the comforting message of our text is that Jesus cared enough to change all of that for you and me.  You’ll notice that in verse 13 St. Luke refers to Jesus as Lord. That means that He is the undisputed Master of all things, even death and grief and suffering.  And if He is the Master that means He controls those things.  He can command death to turn back into life; He can command our grief to disappear; and He can command suffering to be replaced with joy.  Which is exactly what He did for the widow of Nain, and also what He comes to do for you and me today. 

            You see, Jesus Christ came to this earth specifically to cure us of the curse of death, by raising us up from the grave of sin and giving us newness of life in Him.  And the reason He did it, is because He cares about you and me.  We see that caring so beautifully exemplified in our text.  Jesus and His disciples just happened to be passing by the gates of the city at the exact same time that the funeral procession was passing out of them.  This was no mere coincidence, but rather the gracious timing of our caring God.  For it is right at the very moment of our greatest distress that He comes to meet us face to face.  And notice what He does.  Our text says that:  “WHEN THE LORD SAW HER, HE FELT SORRY FOR HER!”  In fact, the Greek text literally says, His heart went out to her.

            What a beautiful expression of God’s care – His heart went out to her.  Every fear and ache and sorrow that she felt in her heart, He felt right along with her in His heart.  We might say that He traded hearts with her.  He took all of the pain in her heart unto Himself, and in exchange He gave her all the peace and joy in His own heart.  And my friends, that’s just what Jesus does for us too.  When we are in trouble, His heart goes out to us.  When somebody calls us a rotten name, when we feel useless or embarrassed, when we’re afraid of something, when we’re anxious about the future, when we’ve lost somebody or something, Jesus’ caring heart goes out to us.  He feels what we’re feeling.  He trades places with us and takes our sorrows and cares into His heart and in exchange gives us the peace and joy in His heart.  For when our hearts are weak and wounded and aching with sorrow, the good news is that Jesus’ heart is so strong that it keeps on beating with forgiveness and compassion for you and me, just like it did for the widow of Nain.

That’s why when Jesus confronted this funeral procession, He touched the casket and made them stop.  Now, in Jewish Law that was strictly forbidden.  To touch any dead thing made a person unclean.  But that didn’t bother Jesus any, because His love for this woman and her son was so great that it overcame the uncleanness!  In an even better way, that is what Jesus did for us on Calvary.  When He died on the cross He took all the impurity of our sin and disposed of it once and for all.  And His love for us is so great, that by His death and resurrection He did overcome our sin.  He conquered death and hell for us and put them in their place, so that they can no longer touch or defile us to make us unclean.  For by faith in Jesus Christ we have been made pure and holy once more, free of the curse and blessed with eternal life.

            You see, in a way we were like that young man lying in the coffin – we were cold and lifeless with the pallor of death.  We were dead in our trespasses and sins.  But then Jesus came up and touched our funeral bier.  He placed His hand on our coffin and said:  “Young man, young woman, arise!”  And we did!  We came back to life!  That’s what Jesus did for us through our Baptism.  And He continues to do it through Word and Sacrament, every time that confess our sins and receive His forgiveness, every time that we partake of the Lord’s Supper.  It’s as if He takes the shovel of His Gospel and digs up our grave.  He removes all our dirt and filth, the huge burden of guilt that we were buried under, and lifts us up out of the coffin of our sin.  And then He takes each and every iniquity of ours and places it in that coffin and buries it for good.  Jesus covers up our transgressions forever in His blood.  And that’s how we know that He cares for us!

            The story is told of a pastor, who was driving home, when he came upon a terrible accident.  This was years ago, before cars were equipped with air bags and child safety seats weren’t in use.  The first thing the pastor saw was a little girl, about five years old, covered in blood.  But it was not her own; it was her mother’s blood.  The little girl had hardly been scratched.  You see, the mother and daughter had been on a two-lane gravel road, when a drunk driver veered into their lane and hit them.  In the last moment before the cars collided, the mother threw herself across her daughter.  It was the mother’s body that slammed into the car’s dashboard.  It was the mother’s head that smashed into the windshield.  It was the mother’s instinctual love that made her willing to give her all, even her life, so that her daughter could be saved!

            Dear friends, what a beautiful glimpse that give us into the heart of Jesus’ love for you and me.  It was Jesus’ caring heart that drove Him to the cross, where He shed His blood to save us – His blood which covers us to cleanse us of all unrighteousness.  But thankfully He did not remain in the grave.  He rose triumphantly to give us victory over sin and Satan, hell and death itself – the promise that by faith in Him we too shall one day rise to live with Him forever in heaven.  And that’s why we can always be ready, because we know that no matter what we go through in this life, Jesus will take good care of us.  We can be ready by daily making use of the Word and Sacraments to strengthen our faith in Him.  We can be ready by putting our confidence in Jesus’ caring heart.  May God help us to do that for His name’s sake.  Amen.