Meditation: June 10, 2007

" ...and he said, young man, I say unto you, Arise. " Luke 7:14b    

Reflection: Boris Yeltsin's funeral was going on the day I wrote this. The Russian Orthodox Cathedral in which he lay in state had been destroyed by Stalin but was restored after the Soviet Union dissolved. Even on our 19" TV screen, the building appeared opulent. Beautiful beyond description. Priests in full regalia milled about the casket. President Clinton and many other dignitaries mingled with them.

The former President of the first democratic government in Russia was in his seventies. The deceased in our text was a mere boy. Whenever I read this story in the Bible, I feel the mother's grief in my gut. My wife and I sometimes read the obituaries in the Register. If any young people or children have died, we say it must be very difficult for the parents to deal with their child's death.

Jesus thought along the same line, so he stopped a burial party in its tracks and brought back to life the one they'd intended to leave at the cemetary.

I wish I could do that. I mean, instead of just praying over a dead body and reciting the words of our Commital Service at a grave site, I wish I could say, "Here's your loved one, back from the grave" I can't do that. I've never tried it. I just know I can't.

I can, however, remind folks that the Christ who himself rose from the dead will also raise their loved one. And them, too. In our time-bound existence, we say "When? When will resurrection occur for our loved ones and for us, too?"

 From the vantage-point of timelessness, out of the Holy Temple of eternal dimensions, God says, "Now. It's as good as done."

Prayer: Heal the pain, O Lord, of our remembering the death of our dear ones, and comfort all who mourn with your promise life restored. Amen         

Question of
the Week: To whom may I take a word of comfort and cheer, as he or she grapples with grief?  

Meditation written by Pastor Edward Brown of the St. John's Writing Team.