Widow of Nain - Luke 7 11-17
I met Jesus on the worst day of my life - and he turned it into the best day of my life.
I live in Nain - The Beautiful Place. It is called that because it is a small pretty town sitting in the foothills of Mount Tabor, green and pleasant. But to me it was a place of pain and sorrow.
I had married my husband when I was seventeen and come to live in Nain as that was where he was from and where his family owned a vineyard. Although our marriage had been arranged by our families, we were very well suited and we got on really well right from the start. By the time our son was born we were very much in love and truly happy together. The birth of our son Daniel was the greatest joy to us and we settled into a peaceful family life of contentment. I had always got on well with my husband's family and I enjoyed helping in the vineyard with Daniel strapped on my back when he was a baby and then running around at my feet as he got older.
God did not see fit to bless us with more children, which was a small sadness to us. But we loved the company of the extended family and Daniel grew up with many cousins and friends to play with. Life was good and the wine business was booming. We could not have imagined that anything could have spoiled our blessed lives.
But when Daniel was 14 the unimaginable happened.
My husband had decided to take the boy with him on a business trip up to Jerusalem. It was a three day walk and they had arranged to stay with family members en route. Daniel was so excited because it was his first visit to the capital and the first time his father had treated him as a business partner and included him in all the details of the commercial side of the trip. They were going to look for new opportunities to sell our grapes and our wines and we were hopeful that in Jerusalem there would be some new clients to engage. The men set out at dawn and I waved them off without a second thought.
It was four days later that I received the news. A messenger had ridden on horseback to tell me that the previous day, when they were almost at the city gates, Daniel and his father had been set upon by thieves. They had been viciously attacked and my wonderful husband had fought as hard as he could to protect our son. He was no match for the five or six men who came at him with clubs and knives. He gave his life trying to protect Daniel and Dan himself only survived because a group of passers by came upon the assault and chased off the attackers and gave Daniel immediate first aid. They were unable to do anything for his father who died moments later. Daniel had been taken into Jerusalem to recuperate until he was well enough to travel home. Someone had dispatched a messenger to tell me the dreadful news that same evening. I was devastated. His parents and siblings were devastated. The whole town came out to mourn and to offer their condolences.
That was six years ago. Daniel came home from that trip profoundly changed. He had left the house as a boy and returned as a man. He didnt want to talk about what had happened and he became quiet and serious, but he stepped into his father's place in the family business and worked hard to learn everything he needed to know in order to do a good job. Life at home was sad and subdued. But eventually we both started to remember how to smile occasionally. Daniel was very caring and thoughtful towards me, always making sure that I had everything I needed and never staying out too late at night or away on business for too long. He knew that I worried about him and that I relied on him a great deal.
Life had assumed a routine and a sort of peace and contentment again when the sickness came to Nain. It started when some travellers came to help pick the grapes and some of them must have been ill when they arrived. Within a couple of weeks of their arrival several of them had become sick with a fever and two of them died. Then the women who had been looking after the migrant workers in the hostel also became sick. Then some of the market stall holders caught the flu-like disease and within the space of a week or so people were dropping like flies. It was terrifying. Nobody knew who was going to catch it next or how it was spreading so quickly. We shut ourselves inside our homes as much as possible and prayed that the fever would leave us alone. The vineyard suffered greatly with many of our regular workers getting sick. Some of them recovered but sadly many of the older workers and the children died. And then, on the sabbath eve of the third week of the outbreak Daniel came home looking pale and sweaty. I asked him if he was feeling ill but he just said he was tired after a busy day at work and that he would feel better after a good nights sleep. But during the night I heard him groaning and when I got up to see how he was I found him burning up with the fever and delirious in his bed. For three days he got worse and worse and then on the morning of the fourth day his breathing got shallow and I could see that he was struggling to gasp for every breath. I sat beside his bed praying and praying that God would spare him, listening to his rasping and waiting for every intake of air. At three in the afternoon he took one final breath and then stopped. The silence was terrifying. I waited for him to take another breath but he didnt. I looked at his grey sunken face and knew that he had gone. I sat there for a long time just looking at him, numb. My boy.
It was too late in the day to hold a funeral and so I sat beside his bed that night and early in the morning made the arrangements to take him to our family plot on the outskirts of town. By that time everyone had heard the news and the crowds were gathering outside the house from sunrise. The professional mourners were there too, but they really werent needed as Daniel was so well regarded in the community and had many friends who were all devastated at his death. The wailing and crying could be heard across the valley as we processed from our house down the main street and to the gate out of town. My boy was being carried on a bier surrounded by a crowd of his young friends, I was walking with my husband's parents and siblings, some of the cousins and some of our business associates. When we reached the gate the whole procession came to a standstill as there was a large crowd coming into town as we were trying to get out. In the awkward moments when the two large groups of people met a youngish chap stepped forward and asked one of the pallbearers something. There was a short conversation and then the man, who seemed to be the leader of the incoming crowd, came towards me with tears in his eyes and with genuine compassion in his voice said ' I am so terribly sorry. Please don't cry. Everything is going to be fine. ' He reached out and touched my hand and something in the way he spoke and looked at me reminded me of Daniel and the way he had loved me. It was odd. This was a complete stranger. How could he possibly love me when he didnt even know me?
And then..... and then the most extraordinary, amazing, brilliant, wonderful thing happened. The young man turned to my dead son and spoke to him as if he were alive. He said ' Young man, I am taking your death. Have my life. Arise! Live! ' and even as he was speaking the words Daniel was moving and sitting up and looking around him. People started screaming. Several women in the crowd fainted and I just stood there with my mouth open barely able to take it in. The crowd was in uproar - both the funeral crowd and the one which was accompanying the young Rabbi. Daniel jumped down from the bier just in time as the four guys carrying it dropped it in their excitement. He came running over to me and threw his arms round me picking me completely off the ground and swinging me round in a most unseemly manner. I laughed and hugged him so hard - I needed to make sure that he was real and not a ghost or a figment of my imagination. Jesus said to me ' Madam, here is your son returned to you.' and I grasped his hand and kissed it and said ' Truly sir, you are a great prophet and through you God has visited his people this day and blessed us with a miracle' Jesus smiled and then signalled to his followers that they were to move on past us and continue on their way.
Since that day I look at Daniel so very often and thank God for returning him to me. Daniel himself has become a follower of Jesus and is often out and about in the countryside with him listening to his teaching and watching him do many amazing things. We both tell everyone we meet about what happened that day and most of Nain believes that Jesus has been sent by God to usher in a new kingdom. These are exciting days. When Im out in the vineyard planting and pruning the vines Im often thinking about the fact that my boy was raised up to life when he was dead. Perhaps death is no longer to be feared. Maybe that is what this new kingdom is about.
I live in Nain - The Beautiful Place. It is called that because it is a small pretty town sitting in the foothills of Mount Tabor, green and pleasant. But to me it was a place of pain and sorrow.
I had married my husband when I was seventeen and come to live in Nain as that was where he was from and where his family owned a vineyard. Although our marriage had been arranged by our families, we were very well suited and we got on really well right from the start. By the time our son was born we were very much in love and truly happy together. The birth of our son Daniel was the greatest joy to us and we settled into a peaceful family life of contentment. I had always got on well with my husband's family and I enjoyed helping in the vineyard with Daniel strapped on my back when he was a baby and then running around at my feet as he got older.
God did not see fit to bless us with more children, which was a small sadness to us. But we loved the company of the extended family and Daniel grew up with many cousins and friends to play with. Life was good and the wine business was booming. We could not have imagined that anything could have spoiled our blessed lives.
But when Daniel was 14 the unimaginable happened.
My husband had decided to take the boy with him on a business trip up to Jerusalem. It was a three day walk and they had arranged to stay with family members en route. Daniel was so excited because it was his first visit to the capital and the first time his father had treated him as a business partner and included him in all the details of the commercial side of the trip. They were going to look for new opportunities to sell our grapes and our wines and we were hopeful that in Jerusalem there would be some new clients to engage. The men set out at dawn and I waved them off without a second thought.
It was four days later that I received the news. A messenger had ridden on horseback to tell me that the previous day, when they were almost at the city gates, Daniel and his father had been set upon by thieves. They had been viciously attacked and my wonderful husband had fought as hard as he could to protect our son. He was no match for the five or six men who came at him with clubs and knives. He gave his life trying to protect Daniel and Dan himself only survived because a group of passers by came upon the assault and chased off the attackers and gave Daniel immediate first aid. They were unable to do anything for his father who died moments later. Daniel had been taken into Jerusalem to recuperate until he was well enough to travel home. Someone had dispatched a messenger to tell me the dreadful news that same evening. I was devastated. His parents and siblings were devastated. The whole town came out to mourn and to offer their condolences.
That was six years ago. Daniel came home from that trip profoundly changed. He had left the house as a boy and returned as a man. He didnt want to talk about what had happened and he became quiet and serious, but he stepped into his father's place in the family business and worked hard to learn everything he needed to know in order to do a good job. Life at home was sad and subdued. But eventually we both started to remember how to smile occasionally. Daniel was very caring and thoughtful towards me, always making sure that I had everything I needed and never staying out too late at night or away on business for too long. He knew that I worried about him and that I relied on him a great deal.
Life had assumed a routine and a sort of peace and contentment again when the sickness came to Nain. It started when some travellers came to help pick the grapes and some of them must have been ill when they arrived. Within a couple of weeks of their arrival several of them had become sick with a fever and two of them died. Then the women who had been looking after the migrant workers in the hostel also became sick. Then some of the market stall holders caught the flu-like disease and within the space of a week or so people were dropping like flies. It was terrifying. Nobody knew who was going to catch it next or how it was spreading so quickly. We shut ourselves inside our homes as much as possible and prayed that the fever would leave us alone. The vineyard suffered greatly with many of our regular workers getting sick. Some of them recovered but sadly many of the older workers and the children died. And then, on the sabbath eve of the third week of the outbreak Daniel came home looking pale and sweaty. I asked him if he was feeling ill but he just said he was tired after a busy day at work and that he would feel better after a good nights sleep. But during the night I heard him groaning and when I got up to see how he was I found him burning up with the fever and delirious in his bed. For three days he got worse and worse and then on the morning of the fourth day his breathing got shallow and I could see that he was struggling to gasp for every breath. I sat beside his bed praying and praying that God would spare him, listening to his rasping and waiting for every intake of air. At three in the afternoon he took one final breath and then stopped. The silence was terrifying. I waited for him to take another breath but he didnt. I looked at his grey sunken face and knew that he had gone. I sat there for a long time just looking at him, numb. My boy.
It was too late in the day to hold a funeral and so I sat beside his bed that night and early in the morning made the arrangements to take him to our family plot on the outskirts of town. By that time everyone had heard the news and the crowds were gathering outside the house from sunrise. The professional mourners were there too, but they really werent needed as Daniel was so well regarded in the community and had many friends who were all devastated at his death. The wailing and crying could be heard across the valley as we processed from our house down the main street and to the gate out of town. My boy was being carried on a bier surrounded by a crowd of his young friends, I was walking with my husband's parents and siblings, some of the cousins and some of our business associates. When we reached the gate the whole procession came to a standstill as there was a large crowd coming into town as we were trying to get out. In the awkward moments when the two large groups of people met a youngish chap stepped forward and asked one of the pallbearers something. There was a short conversation and then the man, who seemed to be the leader of the incoming crowd, came towards me with tears in his eyes and with genuine compassion in his voice said ' I am so terribly sorry. Please don't cry. Everything is going to be fine. ' He reached out and touched my hand and something in the way he spoke and looked at me reminded me of Daniel and the way he had loved me. It was odd. This was a complete stranger. How could he possibly love me when he didnt even know me?
And then..... and then the most extraordinary, amazing, brilliant, wonderful thing happened. The young man turned to my dead son and spoke to him as if he were alive. He said ' Young man, I am taking your death. Have my life. Arise! Live! ' and even as he was speaking the words Daniel was moving and sitting up and looking around him. People started screaming. Several women in the crowd fainted and I just stood there with my mouth open barely able to take it in. The crowd was in uproar - both the funeral crowd and the one which was accompanying the young Rabbi. Daniel jumped down from the bier just in time as the four guys carrying it dropped it in their excitement. He came running over to me and threw his arms round me picking me completely off the ground and swinging me round in a most unseemly manner. I laughed and hugged him so hard - I needed to make sure that he was real and not a ghost or a figment of my imagination. Jesus said to me ' Madam, here is your son returned to you.' and I grasped his hand and kissed it and said ' Truly sir, you are a great prophet and through you God has visited his people this day and blessed us with a miracle' Jesus smiled and then signalled to his followers that they were to move on past us and continue on their way.
Since that day I look at Daniel so very often and thank God for returning him to me. Daniel himself has become a follower of Jesus and is often out and about in the countryside with him listening to his teaching and watching him do many amazing things. We both tell everyone we meet about what happened that day and most of Nain believes that Jesus has been sent by God to usher in a new kingdom. These are exciting days. When Im out in the vineyard planting and pruning the vines Im often thinking about the fact that my boy was raised up to life when he was dead. Perhaps death is no longer to be feared. Maybe that is what this new kingdom is about.
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