The Potential of Hope
Last weekend my sister and two of her friends came to spend the weekend with us. We had a great weekend visiting the Perot Museum in Dallas and going to the Rangers game on Saturday. I know that the weekend was a good time for them to relax and take their mind off of things. Taking their mind off of things was especially important because of the news that they had gotten before coming. I got a call from Kathryn Thursday morning while I was at the office. She wanted to let me know that they may have delayed coming down until Friday because the night before, one of her friends that she had graduated with from High School had committed suicide. I don’t know any of the details, but what I do know is this bright, caring, ambitious 20 year old young adult is now gone way before he needed to be. Last Sunday evening I got a text from a friend of mine who lives in an apartment complex. There were a lot of emergency vehicles in her area of the complex and she had found out that one of her neighbors had committed suicide. She didn’t know who it was, but had a feeling that I bet many of us have had. “I want to do something…I feel like I should do something, but I just don’t know what to do.” In a very short amount of time people who I am close to had to face death which, of course, means I had to confront it as well.
Then low and behold look at the gospel text that was given to us to look at this morning. This story of the widow’s son is unique to the gospel of Luke. You won’t find it in any other gospel. This story immediately follows the one that we heard last Sunday, the healing of the centurion’s servant. Jesus is traveling to a town called Nain. As he approaches the city gates he and his disciples encounter a funeral procession. There are pall bearers carrying a bier, which is a platform used to carry the body to where it would be buried outside of the city. Lying on this bier is a young man who is gone before he needed to be. It’s important to note that beside him is his mother who is a widow. During this time a woman had no way to earn a living except through her husband. If her husband had died and she was widowed her livelihood then came from her son. In the case of this widow in Luke she has lost her husband and her son, which will certainly lead to a life of poverty and misery. We’re not told, but I doubt she is thinking about those things the moment that Jesus is passing by.
The Bible often talks about the care that should be shown to widows and orphans. These are on the fringes on the outside of society. They are ones who can’t care for themselves. When people are depressed or have anxiety about the future they typically feel on the fringe and really have a hard time caring for themselves. This is what usually leads to suicide. Not being able to see the hope that is in the world. There is no more light. There is no more future. Now, we can debate about whether or not the things that are a stress to teenagers, young adults and even some adults are worth the stress or time spent dwelling on it, but that doesn’t change the fact that for people who are dealing with heavy things, it is very real for them. It doesn’t change the fact that in those circumstances if hope seems lost they might make a decision that will be a real loss. Typically, they won’t ask for help. They won’t ask for healing. They will just make a decision.
Let’s look closely at the story this morning because I want to point out something you may have missed. If you look at the widow or even the crowd from the town you’ll notice that they don’t speak at all. They don’t ask for healing. There is no great test of faith. They haven’t even done anything to exhibit faith. They’re just in the process or mourning someone they have lost. They don’t ask for Jesus’ help. They don’t ask for his healing. In all honesty, in that moment they may not have even known or cared who they are in the presence of. Everything that happens is because of what Jesus does. He sees the woman and has compassion for her. Then he says something that the rest of us can’t ever get away with. He says “Don’t weep.” Don’t ever say that to someone who is mourning. I can almost guarantee you will get slapped, punched, beat up or yelled at. If you want to be insensitive that’s what you say to people. That’s a sure way of becoming a jerk. We can’t say that to people, but Jesus could because he knows what he is going to do. He touches the bier and everything stops. I just imagine this great silence. Everyone looking at Jesus. Jesus looking at the man lying on the bier. And he says to the young man one simple word “Rise”.
At the Perot museum they have one exhibit where you turn a lever that hoists a ball up onto a track which it goes through and drops down through a piece of paper with the help of gravity. This is to help illustrate the physics of motion and energy. One form of energy that is fascinating to me is called potential energy. So here is our short, nerdy, science discussion for the day. It’s almost summertime which makes me think of theme parks. You can also think about energy transfer in terms of rollercoasters too. It’s an easier illustration. As the rollercoaster is pulled up the hill for the first big drop mechanical energy is transferred into potential energy. That moment right before gravity takes over potential energy is at its highest point. When you are sitting on top of the hill waiting to go down you are feeling potential energy. Essentially potential energy is the energy an object holds based on its position. It is energy that is there waiting to be transferred into another form. The potential energy gets transferred into kinetic energy as gravity takes over and pulls the train car down towards the earth. So what does this have to do with anything?
I believe that we, as followers of Christ, have a unique perspective when it comes to potential energy. We believe that because of Christ’s death and resurrection we have hope. As Paul so eloquently put it in 1 Corinthians, we have the ability to say “Where, o death, is your victory? Where, o death, is your sting?” It’s not there. Christ’s death and resurrection eliminated death’s power. It no longer holds the ability to cause us anxiety or fear. In the face of death we have confidence in the power of God. Through Christ, God has seen his creation and has compassion for it. Compassion for the things we experience like our brokenness, our fear, our anxiety. Compassion for us as a person…just as we are. Because of this, we have the ability to see the potential of hope in every situation. Every situation that we encounter in our lives is filled with the potential energy of hope. The hope is there just waiting to be released and transferred into kinetic energy. All it needs is a little push. Jesus knew that there was hope to be had in the situation outside of Nain and he did something about it. He stopped long enough to see this widow, was filled with compassion and acted. It was the little push to release that energy of hope in everyone that was gathered there.
There are people out there though that can’t see the potential of hope anymore. It’s there, but it seems lost. We can do something about that. We have the unique ability to see all kinds of potential hope that just requires a little push. We are called to follow in the steps of Jesus. To slow down and really see people for who they are. To have compassion for them. Then we are called to do what we can do. It’s probably not raising people from the dead. But it is finding ways to transfer some potential hope into kinetic hope for those who need it. To have the confidence in the death and resurrection of Christ, the power of God that we act in the lives of those who may be right in front of us. I’ll let you in on a little secret: they probably aren’t going to ask for help. We are called to see them, not the other way around. We are called to be present and active in the lives of those around us so that through us they can experience the hope that comes through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Then they might just begin to see the potential hope that is around them. May you remember that every situation is filled with the potential energy of hope. May you remember that God has seen you and has compassion on you. And may you remember that you are called to release some potential energy in the lives of those around you. It only takes a little push. Amen
