Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity (2025)

Luke 7:11-17

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, in our Gospel Lesson today we see the wonderful blessing that God brings to a widow who was mourning the loss of her son, we saw this same compassion showed to a few widows in the Old Testament as the Prophets beseeched God to raise the widow’s son from the dead, but Christ shows himself in our passage to be greater than the prophets. For as Jesus tells us that he came that we might have life and have it to its fullest. Jn 10.10

The Sonless Widow

The death of a child is awful.

No matter the age, death as the consequence for sin is already painful enough but to see one that you raised and love perish tears out the heart, and especially for this widow who had already lost her husband and now has lost her son. For

Who would provide for her?

They didn’t have the programs that we have today, and she would have to rely on the mercy of friends, she may have to leave her home, and in the context of the Roman world she was vulnerable to all manner of evil men who could take advantage of a widow who is on her own, but we see in our passage today how

God upholds the fatherless and widow. (Ps 146:9)

We see that in both our Old Testament lesson as well, that God does care about those who are in the world and especially those in need. Those who the world would turn their back on and not think much of, but the Lord comes to their rescue. Now why do these things happen?

The Wages of Sin

Because of sin, we deserve death.

We confess that we have merited all temporal and eternal punishment. The difficult thing about sin is that isn’t just the sins that we have committed, but this sinful condition originates in Adam. So

This sin has been inherited.

It continues to be passed down from us to our children, and to our grand children, and it will continue until the end of this age. So the heartache, the pain, and the challenges that faced mankind centuries ago are the same problems that afflict us today, for even with all our advancements in technology we have not been able to overcome the fundamental problem of mankind, that we are sinners. This is why we still look to God for help.

God has no joy in the death of sinners.

We are his creation that was made in his image, and when that image was broken it brought death to the human race. So when He sees these effects on His people it grieves his heart, we are reading in Ezekiel at the point that God is finally fed up with their sin, but even as He is preparing to deal with Jerusalem in their wickedness he desires their repentance. God doesn’t want His creation to perish, and we see that beautifully as Jesus, The Word that became flesh approaches the bier of this man. That he has

Compassion for the Widow

Compassion means to suffer with.

Sympathy is another word for this, is that the pain, the anguish, the sorrow is shared with someone else. We see someone else who is suffering that our hearts grieve with them for they are like us, God’s creatures, broken in this world and suffering through the consequence of sin as we await death. It’s tragic, but Compassion

This comes from love.

It is to look at your neighbor who is sorrowful and to care for them, to have love for them, and to desire their good. Even if we don’t have the words to say, to sit beside them and be with them in their grief to let them know they are not alone. Now Jesus is able to do far more than you and I can, and

To comfort her, Jesus said, arise.

JEsus restored this son to his mother and provided a blessing that all of us long for in this life when lose someone. To see them, and have them back with us again, and Jesus the Son of God showed that He has power over life and death by restoring this family. This shows

Jesus’ Compassion for You

Jesus joined our sufferings.

He laid aside his heavenly crown to come down and be with us in the mock and the mire. He came alongside mankind in our pains, our poverty, our diseases, and in our loss. This is part of the incarnation that He became flesh and dwelt among us, and it wasn’t a life that was free from trials and troubles, now Jesus

He knows our pain and sorrows.

He didn’t hide his face from our misery, He didn’t hide himself away from our hurts. So you can’t say that God doesn’t care, God doesn’t know my pain, he doesn’t know my suffering, his compassion and sympathy is shown by His incarnation and in moments like these. For how many of us would have gladly given ourselves for our families or dear friends that they might live, but we can’t, we don’t have that power, but that is what Jesus did there on Calvary. As the hymn says, Heaven was his home, but mine the tomb wherein he lay.

That’s why we celebrate His victory.

For He didn’t just take our death upon Himself, He also gave to us His eternal life. For Jesus didn’t just die for himself there on Calvary. You and I are at a loss when it comes to grief, for what can we say that will solve that sadness, or alleviate the heartache that worms its way inside of our soul, but there’s Jesus who was that Word through which all things were made and life given to the creation. That’s why even the dead must heed his voice and He is able to restore that which has been lost. Just as He restored Creation to its Creator. This is

The Comfort of the Resurrection

It is a comfort for you.

We still grieve when it comes to death, and when we reflect on the birthdays, anniversaries, and see the photos that remind us of those who are no longer with us, and while it gets easier, it still leaves a hole in our hearts, but those who believe and are baptized shall be saved. So when we lay them to rest, they aren’t gone forever, but we will see them again in Christ’s Kingdom, and they won’t be like they were at death, they will be restored to good health which means any pain or anguish we saw them in is gone, but it’s also

It is a comfort when you die.

I know the hesitation to think about death and to have your funeral planned in advance and some even wonder why have a funeral? Well first off remember that the funeral isn’t about you, dear saint, it is about what Christ did for you and the promises that God made to you, to encourage those who are left that they might not lose heart, but believe God’s word.

To believe, they need to hear.

There’s no better time for that to happen than at a funeral. I was visiting with some pastors this past week, and we talked about funerals, and Lutheran Funerals are not depressing. We don’t do memorials or Celebrations of Life for those focus on the memories that people have, that will fade away and eventually be lost. That is all that the unbelieving world has, and that is not what Jesus promised believers. If we do a celebration of life or a memorial, we are no different from the World, but a Funeral is not a sad affair, but a reminder that Christ had compassion on this dear soul, and has gathered them up in His loving arms, and will one day say to them Arise, and they will live again. That encouragement is meant not for the deceased, but for those who are alive, that they might believe, for we want them to believe and be saved, lest they perish and be lost to hell.

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, may we never think that Jesus does not care about us in our afflictions, in our hardships, and especially in our losses. He knows the pain of death, and loss, and came that we might have life, and have it to the fullest. For He is the resurrection and the life, and our hope in the face of tragedy. So whenever we grieve, remember the hope we have, for God has not abandoned His children to the grave, and when we have to go there too, we know that Jesus will say to us and all the dead, Arise. Then all believers shall go with Christ to live in His Kingdom, but all those who do not believe will be lost. So have a funeral that at the end of your life all of those who consider you a friend, who grieve your loss may hear of what Jesus has done for you. In Jesus name. Amen.