Grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Risen Lord Jesus Christ.

In our gospel today we see the people of Nain are just like everyone we meet even ourselves. In fact everyone since Adam has been groping in spiritual darkness but none could resolve their unrest on their own. They need the Son of God to approach them and to be opened up to His true identity and power.

When we think we have the answers sometimes events show us just how wrong we are. Imagine waking up to read your own obituary. One morning in 1888 Alfred Nobel, inventor of dynamite, awoke to read his own obituary. The obituary was printed as a result of a simple journalistic error. Alfred's brother had died and the reporter carelessly reported the death of the wrong brother. Any man would be disturbed under the circumstances, but to Alfred the shock was overwhelming because he saw himself as the world saw him. The "Dynamite King," the great industrialist who had made an immense fortune from explosives. This, as far as the general public was concerned, was the entire purpose of Alfred's life. None of his true intentions to break down the barriers that separated men and ideas for peace were recognized or given serious consideration. He was simply a merchant of death. And for that alone he would be remembered. As he read the obituary with horror, he resolved to make clear to the world the true meaning and purpose of his life. His last will and testament included an endowment of five annual prizes for outstanding contributions in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace. This would be the expression of his life's ideals and ultimately would be why we would remember him.

Alfred Nobel was given a second chance so to speak.

In the gospel reading we have two groups converging at the gates of Nain. One group is lead by the dead and the mourning. The other group is lead by the living and followed by joyful disciples. When these two opposing currents meet we see the true power of Christ at work. Like two rivers converging the mightier one wins out.

In truth the first current is lead by Satan and death. He has been allowed power over this world however he is on a collision course with one that is much greater than he Jesus Christ. Jesus stops the funeral procession because He has compassion on this widow who is now all alone. Jesus goes to the coffin and tells the young man to get up. The young man sits up and speaks. In that simple act by Jesus He has demonstrated His power over Satan and death.

This is not the only time we read about the Word of Jesus raising the dead. The daughter of Jairus (Luke 8:54) and Lazarus (John 11:43) are both raise by the Word of Jesus as well. All three heard His voice and were brought back to life.

These are not the only accounts of the Word of God raising the dead. The Old Testament reading for today tells of Elijah raising the widow's son. Elijah didn't do that of his own power but of the power of the Word as he prayed over the boy. Elisha (II Kings 4:36), Peter (Acts 9:41), and Paul (Acts 20:10- 12) all raised the dead through the power of the Word.

John records Jesus telling the world us of two resurrections (John 5:25-29). First Jesus raises the spiritually dead of this world by His Word. In our Epistle reading Saul undergoes the conversion from the spiritually dead to the spiritual life (Galatians 1:11-24). Saul underwent the conversion from spiritual death to life eternal by the Word of Jesus Christ. The second resurrection is on Judgment Day when all are raised by the one given power and authority to judge the living and the dead. That judgment will rest on our faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Jesus assures us He will judge with justice. He also shows He has compassion for us as He demonstrated to the widow by returning her son to life. Each instance of Jesus raising the dead was because of His compassion on those who weep in despair. But those events were only a small token of His compassion. His compassion for all mankind is so much more than these few times that we read about. His compassion for this fallen world required Him coming to Earth to die. To be a ransom to purchase us back from the dead.

Luke tells us that fear and awe took hold of the people at Nain. "A great prophet has appeared among us," they said. "God has come to help his people." Notice they didn't call Him the Messiah, although this is the first that Luke's gospel calls Jesus Lord. Even though a great miracle had occurred proving Jesus is God's Son they could not take that step to call Him Messiah. Miracles do not convert people. Miracles do prove the divine character of Jesus and they open up the opportunity to hear His Word. Many that day were open to what He had to say, and some were not. As we know most of the Pharisees never relented and listened despite the great signs Jesus demonstrated.

We have not seen these miracles but we have experienced times that we know someone has interceded for us in times of distress and despair. We do have God's Word, from His Word we learn that Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. Jesus seeks out each of us individually just like the poor widow and her dead son at Nain. He has great compassion for His people He wants to comfort us in times of trouble. He says to us: "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me shall never die."

To many a time will come when they stand before the Lord and ask for a second chance. That time will be too late for second chances. Like Alfred Nobel our second chance is here and now, in this world, when the Word can convert us from the spiritually dead to the spiritually living. That leaves us with two decisions to make. First is to be open to the Holy Spirit and allow the Word to work in us. The second is to make a decision to share the Word with others so they may join in the heavenly Kingdom.

In the name of our Risen Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.