When we are faced with struggles we wonder sometimes where is God? This is especially difficult in times of disaster or tragedy. The Gospel tells the story of the burial of the only son of a widow from Nain. She was not alone. God had compassion on her. We are never alone. God is always with us.
My brothers and sisters, in this morning’s gospel about the burial of the only son of the widow of Nain. We learn of God’s deep love. I have seen many things over my years as a priest. I have never seen pain like I see when a woman buries a child. There is nothing like it on the face of the earth. And some of you have experienced that pain. But this morning’s gospel is reminding us that even in those days, even with that pain, God doesn’t stop loving us, and he doesn’t stop watching over us. Sure, in this morning’s gospel, everything ended up okay.
Christ interrupted the funeral. He says, “Do not weep.” And he came and touched the coffin. He says, “Young man, I say to arise,” and then he gave him back to his mother. In this morning’s gospel, everything ended up okay. I am here to tell you something that you might not want to hear, but you have to hear it. Everything is going to be okay. No matter how bad the storms are. Driving through our city breaks your heart. Entire lives out on the curb for the garbage man to just throw away. And if that weren’t bad enough, another storm is coming this week. It’s going to be okay. Because God loves us.
It doesn’t mean the water might not come. It doesn’t mean the storm is not… The storm is coming. This is one of those storms that we are absolutely going to get the storm, even if it turns a little left and it turns a little right, it’s coming to Tampa Bay, but it’s going to be okay because God loves us. And the woman in this morning’s gospel wasn’t alone. Even though she had no children and she had no husband left, the woman was surrounded by the city. We are not alone.
Some of us literally are not alone because we have 75 first cousins. Some of us live, just one family, two or three people, and no blood relatives as we say. But we’re not alone. Because what joins us together is greater than blood. What joins us together is our baptism and our love for God and his love for us. So where do we, as a community, go from this day forward while we are still digging out ourselves, and we will be preparing for the next. Don’t let this storm define who we are as a people. Let our love for God and his love for us define who we are as a people.
And I can tell you… I haven’t spoken with all of you, but have spoken with several of our families, some families who have lost everything. And I am touched by what I hear every day. “Thank God, father, it was just stuff.” We were very blessed to not have any loss of life in our community. Up north there are still people missing in the rivers. We were very blessed. Don’t ever lose sight of the blessings of God in our life. That’s what this lesson teaches us this morning in the Gospel. Even when we think we are alone, we are not alone because God is with us.
And so let’s prepare these next few days to walk together as a family like the crowd walked with the woman, supporting each other, helping each other, loving each other, looking out for each other, and knowing that everything is going to be okay because God loves us. Saint Nicholas is watching over us. But that doesn’t mean we won’t suffer. It just means that in the end, everything is going to be okay. In just a few moments as we begin the great entrance and the choir will be singing the Cherubic Hymn, I want you to look in the books if you don’t understand the Greek, and I want you to read the text, and I want you to pay attention to the words, “Let us leave all worldly things behind so that we may receive the king of all.” Every divine liturgy, every time we sing the Cherubic Hymn is our opportunity to remind ourselves it’s just stuff. Furniture and clothes can be remade, but our love for God is what will make us through no matter what life throws at us. Glory to God.
