1 Kings 17:19And he said to her, “Give me your son.” And he took him from her arms and carried him up into the upper chamber where he lodged, and laid him on his own bed. 20And he cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?” 21Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.” 22And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived.
Luke 7: 12As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. 13And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” 15And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.
Some of us here have been pallbearers.
It’s a humbling thing to be granted the opportunity to carry the dead body of somebody you love.
Death is a heavy emotional burden. And I think sometimes adding the physical burden of carrying the casket is actually somewhat healing. It gives physical touch to express the emotional weight.
It might even provide an opportunity for you to help in some way other people who are hurting more than you.
You know they are feeling heavy and weighed down and for that moment when you are carrying the casket of the body of the person they loved so dearly, you are bearing their burdens for them and with them, helping support them.
Our stories today have us picturing an amazing change in weight in every way we can imagine: emotional, spiritual, physical.
Our stories today show us people carrying dead bodies and all the weight that comes along with that and then that weight is lifted.
Elijah carries the dead body of a widows son upstairs. He took her from his mothers arms after he said “Give me your son” and carried him upstairs and laid him on his own bed, stretched himself over him and prayed.
And the child revives because the Lord listened to Elijah and Elijah can bring him back down and give him back to his mother.
In our Gospel text, bearers are carrying the dead body of the only son of his mother, and she was a widow.
Imagine that weight. Maybe these same men had recently carried the dead body of this woman’s husband.
The story gets heavier and heavier.
A man died.
Her only son.
And she was a widow.
And as these bearer are carrying all that weight that is this young man’s death in the midst of the large crowd, Jesus stops them, says “Do not weep,” touches the coffin that they are carrying and says, “Young man I say to you arise.”
The young man sits up and starts to talk.
Jesus gives the boy back to his mother.
For those carrying the coffin a weight has been lifted.
The coffin is now light.
Loss is replaced with gain.
Death is overcome with life.
Whatever burdens these men were carrying over the pain of death and sorrow, the weight they were carrying in themselves and for this woman they loved is lifted.
This mom has her son back.
Jesus gave her son back to her.
And that is the moment, the exact moment, when all things will be lifted away from you.
When Jesus gives them back to you.
When you get them back.
You don’t have them anymore , do you? And that is heavy. Sometimes the pain is easier to bear and sometimes it is overwhelming.
Sometimes someone else helps carry the weight with you. Sometimes you feel all alone.
Sometimes there are the lighter moments of joy and laughter and other times the weeping that is tarrying through the night seems endless.
But for all who die in Christ, you will get them back.
Jesus will give them back.
That burden will be lifted completely off you.
To live is Christ, to die is gain.
Jesus will give them back.
When can be so confident of this for them and so confident of this for you because Jesus has already gotten us back.
We were dead.
We were lost.
We were weighed down bearing sin that deserved God’s punishment and wrath.
But Jesus got us back.
He is the great pallbearer – carrying us in our death.
Jesus bore our illnesses and grief’s, carried our sorrows and was crushed for our iniquities.
Jesus step by step carried His own cross.
As Elijah stretched himself out over the child and prayed to God that the widow would get her son back, so Jesus stretched Himself out on the cross to get us back.
And He got us back.
And we will get them back.
Because nothing and no one can snatch our of the hands or tear us away from the strong shoulders that carrying us and bearing us all the way to life eternal.
And Jesus has carried us here.
We carry great burdens and here Jesus takes them.
Sin and guilt is lightened by His forgiveness.
Pain and hurt is lightened by His healing body and blood.
Sickness and death is lightened by His Words of eternal life.
To whom shall we go?
We are very tempted to take them back and live as if Jesus isn’t carrying us all the way. But Jesus knows what to do with them much better than we do.
Elijah said to the widow, Give me your son, and he brings her son back alive.
Jesus knows how to carry us – all the way to His death, all the way through His resurrection and up into His ascension.
We’ll get them back.
Because we’re all on the same shoulders that bore all the weight that got us back.