A sermon on 'Reaching out'

Soon afterwards Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. As he approached the gate of the town, a man who had died was being carried out. He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow; and with her was a large crowd from the town. When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, ‘Do not weep.’ Then he came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, ‘Young man, I say to you, rise!’ The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized all of them; and they glorified God, saying, ‘A great prophet has risen among us!’ and ‘God has looked favourably on his people!’ This word about him spread throughout Judea and all the surrounding country. Lk. 7.11-17

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. When I was at school we went on a walking trip to Dartmoor. We had to carry all our camping equipment on our backs and cover thirty miles in three days. At the time I came up to about here. My rucksack came up to about here.

Now one of the problems with Dartmoor is that it is boggy. Huge deep puddles of mud that look this deep but continue down for several feet. Day one we set out, to the hills not long after starting I tried to jump across just such a puddle only to find myself waist deep and heading down under the weight of my rucksack.

My so called school friends stood back and laughed. Once they had wiped the tears of laughter from their eyes however, they did reach out to pull me out. So I am a great believer in reaching out to others and we have an example of this in our Gospel reading today.

The widow of Nain
Our story from Luke this morning starts as a tragedy. Jesus and his disciples are on their way to a small village and coming in the opposite direction is a funeral procession (look). A child has died and his mother, who has already lost her husband, will be left alone. A pretty desperate situation for a woman in 1st. century Palestine.

What do you feel when you hear this story?
Is it a happy story or a sad one?
What is the turning point?

I wonder where Jesus was going? I wonder what he had on his mind? Whatever the answers he takes the time to stop, to see what is going on and…

His heart goes out to the woman…
He has compassion…
His heart broke…

So he goes over, touches the boy and in a miraculous moment, the child is raised from the dead. A potentially tragic situation becomes a cause for celebration and hope.

A Vocation to Compassion
This is just one example of Jesus reaching out to lepers, adulterers, tax collectors, the disabled. People in need, People on the margins. Now, if you think back to our readings over the last few weeks, you will remember that we have heard about the Church continuing Jesus’ work, through the power of the Spirit.

So, if Jesus allowed his heart to go out to others, so should we. If he was called to be compassionate so are we. And if that led him to reach out to others, then we should reach out too. Because, brothers and sisters we are God’s hands and feet in this world to do his will and show his love.

So, as we share the peace today, let us reach out to others with the love of Christ. As we pray our intercessions, let us also listen for what is on God’s heart. And as we go out from here, I invite you to chose someone particular this week to whom you will reach out.

Amen.