The Story Continues

This is my friend Jeff Bollman.
His earthly life came to an end this week. I look forward
to the day when we will meet again in eternity.  

Luke 7:11-17

I’m about to tell you a foolish story.  It’s a good story filled with good news but it will sound foolish to those who do not believe.  I’m going to give you the end first.  We are going to skip to the end and I am going to spoil the surprise for you.  Here it is: Jesus is the Lord of life!
Amen.
You know we say “amen,” At the end of prayers?  It seems that the word “amen” has become synonymous with “The end.”  Like, “okay, God, that’s it. I’m done talking now…the end.” Or perhaps it’s often like, “okay, I’m done asking for God’s blessing, we can start the potluck.
But the word “amen” means, verily, or truly.  You can say it anytime with anything that you agree with. Amen?
You can even start a sentence with the word amen. “Amen, truly I say to you that this is a loving congregation.” Or, “Amen, Jesus is the Lord of life.”
Amen is not a period.  It’s not the end word of a prayer.  It is a statement of ascent. When we pray the Lord’s Prayer and say Amen at the end we are saying that all that we prayed is truth.
I’m about to tell you a foolish story of faith.  It’s foolish because we say that the death of our bodies is not the end of us.  When we experience death in the flesh our story continues.  If our life were a movie there wouldn’t be a “The end” after our death.  Credits would not roll after our last breath. Because the foolish story that we tell, as Christians, is that because Jesus is the Lord of our life and we trust in him, the “The end” has been transformed into and Amen, because we will see in that moment the author of our salvation.  We will see the light of eternity and the light of truth. We will say “Truly, you are my Lord and my God.” “Amen, Amen death has lost its sting!”
You see it’s a foolish story that we tell because the story we tell has no ending.   The story continues.  No matter what the story continues.
In the two scripture reading this morning we read of two different widows from two different times in history from two different cities.  Both of them were facing the reality of death.  The widow fro Zarephath was collecting sticks to cook her last bit of food before she and her son would slowly starve to death.  The widow in the village of Nain was experiencing death in that she was going to bury her only son.  She no longer had anyone to take care of her.  Her future looked pretty bleak as well.  It looked like death.  But both women had an encounter with God.  The widow of Zarephath met the Prophet Elijah and the widow of Nain met Jesus.
What the two widows though was the end of their lives was not to be.  In fact the Story continued. The widow did not starve to death, but just when she thought things were going to be okay, her son got sick and died.  But that wasn’t the end of the story either, because the prophet Elijah prayed to God and God brought life back to her son.
Further down the road of history, in the village of Nain, Jesus also brought back life to a widow’s son. Jesus is the Lord of life.  Jesus is the embodiment of the God of creation; he can do that sort of thing.  But before Jesus was born in Bethlehem he was the Logos, the Word, and the Eternal Christ.  He was there at the dawn of creation.  And he was there when Elijah prayed for the restoration of the widow’s son.  You see Jesus is the Lord of Life, of all life.  Christ is eternal.  He was in Zarephath, He was in Nain he is in Scottville, he is in Ludington and he is in Pentwater.
There are things in our lives that seem like it’s the end.  Like it is a period, like there will be no more. It might be death or illness.  But the loss of a job can feel like an end.  Children moving out of the house can feel like an end.  Stagnation in your career or in a relationship can feel like the end.  But Jesus is the Lord of Life.  Where we think there is a “The End,” Jesus puts an “Amen” and says, truly, truly this story of yours is not done, and this story of yours, in fact has no end.
The two widows who though that life was coming to an end both had an encounter with God.  Did you notice where they first made contact?  The widow from Zarephath was collecting sticks at the gate of the town when Elijah met her.  When Jesus met the widow of Nain she was at the gate of the town and they were heading to bury her son. Both widows encountered God in some sense at the gate of their respective towns.
What is the purpose of Gates?  In a walled village…to keep people out.  A gate is for security.   If not for security, a gate is the main entrance into a village. It is sort of main street.  On one side of the gate you are in the village and on the other side you are outside the village.  It is a transition point, a boundary.  The widows were between their village and the wilderness.  They were at the gate. They were in a place between life and death in their lives. They were at a transition point which looked like the end and they encountered God.
Tabernacle: Gates: outer court, altar, holy place, curtain, most holy place
Sometimes it feels like there are too many barriers between us and God.  Sometimes it feels like God is distant.  You are not alone in feeling this way.
When Jesus was hanging on the cross Jesus cried out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And when some of the bystanders heard it, they said, “This man is calling of Elijah…Let’s see if Elijah will come to save him.” Then Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and gave up his spirit.
Period?
The end?
Nope. Just then the temple curtain was torn into, from top to bottom.
The temple curtain the barrier, the gate, that divided the holy place from the most holy place in the Temple was destroyed.  The gate was gone. At Jesus’ death the barrier to the Most Holy God was removed.
You see gates when they are closed keep people out.  But those same gates when they are open or even removed. They are a way of letting people in.   Jesus told a story about some sheep and a gate.
Parable of the sheep/I am the gate: John 10:1-10
The gate was the ungodliness of humanity that could not be joined to the holiness of God
The gate is now Jesus.  Not a gate to keep people out but to let people in. he has taken on our sin. He has taken on our unworthiness and has given us his righteousness.
The road is wide but narrow is the gate.  You have to choose to go through the gate.  It’s open for everybody but not everybody will use it.  Many will pass on by.
How about you?   How is it with you today?  Are you able to see past the period at the end of the sentence that is your life?  The story continues.  It continues because the Jesus is the Lord of Life and wants to give it abundantly.