1 Kings 17:17-24, Luke 7:11-17, Psalm 30, Galatians 1:11-24
In our readings this morning we have two powerful stories in which God literally brings life from death. In 1 Kings we read of the widow of Zarepheth’s son who has died and is raised to life by Elijah’s prayer. Then in Luke 7 we have a similar experience with a widow’s dead son, though this time it is Jesus who speaks life to him. In the two other readings the death to life is more metaphorical. In Psalm 30 David gives testimony to the powerful intervention of God in healing and sustaining; giving joy in place of grieving and dancing instead of wailing. In Galatians 1 Paul the apostle adds his testimony, focusing on the way that God brought him ‘new life’, that is, spiritual life from death, turning his life around from a zealous persecutor to a preacher of hope in Christ. If God can bring life from death, there is nothing that is too difficult for him!
As we consider these stories we are going to use ‘before and after’ imagery.For each of the readings, there is a ‘before and after’. And there probably is for us too.
Elijah, before and after the son came alive
Elijah met the widow at a time of famine. She was out of food and expecting to starve to death. He stayed with her and her son for the duration of the famine. They had all experienced the miraculous provision of God in giving them flour and oil continuously for the 3 years of the famine. And then the son got sick and died. That’s the ‘before’ of this story.
After the boy died, Elijah carried him upstairs. Then Elijah prayed and God brought the boy back to life. The widow praised God and regarded Elijah as a prophet.
Elijah and the woman saw first hand God’s power over life and death, and his gracious care in sorting out a hopeless situation. This widow could have written Psalm 30 for it describes her experience. The psalmist, David, rejoices that God has brought him ‘out of the pit’. He has been in a hopeless situation, but God has put it right. David says that God has ‘turned his mourning into dancing’ and ‘weeping remains for a night, but joy comes in the morning’.
Jesus, before and after the son came alive
The Gospel story in Luke 7:11-17 is about Jesus raising another widow’s son to life. Again, let’s consider the ‘before’ and ‘after‘.
When Jesus arrived on the edge of town the boy was already dead, in a coffin, on his way to be buried. His mother was a widow and probably dependent upon him, as he was her only son. That’s the way it was in those days. Jesus stopped the funeral procession in its tracks. That’s the ‘before’ of this story.
Jesus then spoke to the dead boy in his coffin. God restored the boy to life and Jesus gave the living son back to his mother. The whole village was there as well as those who had come with Jesus, quite a number, and they all saw what happened.
People were filled with awe; they recognised that God was at work and spread the word about Jesus.
In both stories a young man, son of a widow, died and came back to life. Elijah is seen by some as a type of Christ – that is, similar in important ways – and so, as Jesus carried out a similar miracle, it is highly likely that those around would have been reminded of the story of Elijah and been challenged to recognise that here also was a man of God who spoke God’s truth.
Before and after Jesus came alive
With the life of Jesus there is a very definite ‘before and after’ – before his death on the cross and after he came alive again. But there is also a ‘before and after’ in the life of all followers of Jesus.
Before and after the followers of Jesus come alive in Christ
In his letter to the Galatian church, Paul writes about his own ‘before and after’. Note verse 23: ‘The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the message.’ Paul met Jesus and his life was never the same.
What is your before and after experience?
What is mine? I grew up a fairly typical young man of my day. I had a fairly strong sense of right and wrong. I knew about God and Jesus and the Bible but I had may own theories on religion. Since I met Jesus I have swapped my theories for his truth and aligned my sense of what’s right and what’s wrong with his. For me, the biggest thing is being connected with my Maker, having a friendship with my God who loves me and wanting other people to have that too.
My encounter with God wasn’t the dramatic sort that Paul experienced, and I suspect that yours wasn’t either. And yet, I believe we each have our drama. When we realise that our situation is hopeless and there’s nothing we can do to fix ourselves we’re in a very low place. But when God reaches out to us, and we let him do what we can’t, we have an experience of going from death to life every bit as dramatic as the two young men in our stories as well as Paul and David. In the end it’s not the drama that matters it is that we know that we have been transformed and are being transformed.
Summary
In summary, let us say that God transforms our own hopeless situations. No matter how low we get, no matter how bad our situation, God can bring us back (to life).
God transforms who we are and makes us like Christ. This process has its ups and downs and can include some hopeless-looking situations. God keeps on working to bring us to life in Christ.
All this is possible because God himself, in the person of Jesus, was prepared to go through a hopeless situation and to transform it into the most hopeful day in history. The Easter story, God’s biggest ‘before and after’ moment, means that we can bring our own ‘before’ life to him, and ask that we too may be transformed.