Raul Garcia III

Family of God

Sunday, June 5, 2016

Luke 7: 11-17

Belief in the Unknown

Let us Pray.

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Amen.

Let me give you kind of a cliffnotes version of what has happened so far in the Gospel of Luke.

Jesus called his disciples, then he spoke on the plain (It’s Luke’s equivalent to Matthew’s, Sermon on the Mount), told the people about the Beatitudes, asked us to love our enemies, told us to worry about the log in our own eye before worrying about the speck in someone else’s. Then he healed the Centurion’s servant, and now he is approaching this funeral procession...

Jesus’ popularity was growing. People around the region are hearing about this Jesus guy performing miracles and healings and that they want to see it for themselves. They want to see so they can believe.

This funeral procession bumps into Jesus and Jesus sees the widow women weeping about her son. This woman lost her husband and now her son. Back in the first century that meant everything for a women. Her whole social and financial status would be ruined and she would have nothing. In verse 13, it says, Jesus saw her and had compassion for her. The God that we pray to, the God that gives us Grace and Hope, felt what she was feeling. He felt her hurt. Isn't that amazing to know that we have a God that knows how we feel. He weeps when we weep and cheers and when we cheer. Jesus knew what he was going to do and told her not to weep anymore because he was going to give her something back. Her son.

What a great story of healing and Jesus raising someone from death. There are three raising from the dead stories in all the Gospels where Jesus raised a person from the dead:

1. The widow’s son in Nain
2. Jairus’ Daughter
3. Lazarus

But you know it's not all like that. We all know someone in our life or another person’s life where they were not healed. For as much as we prayed for them there was nothing we can do. As much hurt or brokenheartedness we have, we think that our God is so far away and disconnected from us. It's those times when God is holding onto us. This Gospel story in Luke is proof that our God isn’t a calloused God, distant and disconnected. God is the God of hope, love, grace, and compassion. God is right there weeping with us. Hurting with us. He feels our pain.  

When I was in Africa I was having Bfast and I got a phone call on my cell phone from Pastor Peter (Pastor Peter was the pastor in Uganda that was our contact) that he needed Kent (Was an adult whom I traveled with to Africa) and I to take a taxi to his house. He sounded very urgent on the phone. We got up immediately and left. We got to Pastor Peters house and drove another 15 or so miles to a village. Pastor Peter gets out of the car and goes to a hut and he comes out with a mom that is weeping and has a boy in his arms limp as if this little boy was dead. The mom gets in the taxi and Pastor Peter sits next to me with this boy who has his head on my lap motionless. I asked Peter what is going on and he said that this young man is dying. We need to get him to a clinic soon. It seemed forever before we got to the clinic. I prayed the whole way for this mom and this little boy. I asked Peter if there was anything I can help with. I pulled out a $20,000 shilling bill and told him to use this as he needed for the little boy. It may seem a lot but $20,000 shillings is about $10 in American money. It's about $2,000 shillings per American Dollar. They rush the boy in the clinic with the mom and the mom was so grateful for Kent and I to be there and help transport the boy. We went back to the hotel to get ready for what lied ahead for our adventure for the day. As if what we went through wasn’t enough already. That was the last time that we saw Pastor Peter the whole day until we had supper together. I thought of that boy and the weeping mom all day. All day I was praying for him and his mom. Finally, we saw Pastor Peter and asked him about the boy. He told me the boy lived and he was going to be okay. All he needed was a malaria shot. It cost $5,000 shillings for the shot that saved his life. I never saw that boy again but I am hoping that when he got up and saw his mom praying and weeping for him that he gave her a big hug and said I love you mom.
We sometimes wait for miracles to happen. To be healed to be made well to be happy.  

True faith in Christ happens before the miracle and not as a result of a miracle.

When we are with our loved ones and we fear the unknown being there in their presence is important. Sometimes we just don’t have the right words at that moment but your presence is enough.

Now for our graduating seniors: Let's see how this connects for our seniors that are graduating and trying to figure out life and figure out the unknown.                                                                  

I want you seniors to stand up please as I have a gift for you. It’s a rock and a cross etched. I want you to remember these few things that I read from a colleague Pastor Lia Scholl:                                                                                                                                                                                                                

#1. Pay Attention

We have to pay attention to what is around us. We have family and friends who love us, surround us and cheer for us and sometimes guide us and want the best for you. Jesus sees the funeral procession and notices the woman weeping. So Jesus shows her compassion.

                               
#2. Give a crap

How easy it would have been for Jesus to just walk on by the funeral procession but He didn’t. He showed us that God is love. Please give a crap!    

#3 Have a heart

Be willing to feel, be willing to hurt, be willing to have empathy. Having a heart doesn’t make you weak it makes you stronger as a person and as a Christian.                                                                                                                               #4 Healing can happen

Whatever the circumstance healing can happen. Healing can happen the way God wants it to happen. It takes time and may not go away right away or ever but we get better when we are surrounded by the people we love and love us.

This stone is to remind you that you are loved by everyone here and that your church, your faith and family is your foundation and no matter where you go, or where your journey will end up, where life takes you, ups and downs you will always have this Family of God.

Amen.