The day after death [Trinity 24; St. Matthew 9:18-26]

LISTEN TO THE AUDIO HERE.

Who speaks to us in today’s Gospel saying:

“Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, ‘Take heart, daughter; your faith has saved you.’ And instantly the woman was saved.”

Following the wake of violence left by Halloween in death and darkness, is the breaking of the eternal dawn of All Saint’s Day, which is the hope of the believer: to be translated to the side of Christ for eternity as a saint.

This pattern is repeated throughout the Church year and even throughout the Bible. Death then resurrection. Suffering, then glory. Darkness, then light. Evening, then morning.

This is for a reason: repetition is the mother of memory. In the life of God’s child, this pattern should begin to inform your entire life. It should mold and blend itself into the fabric of drudgery and monotony that you bring with you here, from the rest of your week. For, as our soaps say, the sun also rises.

It should be no surprise then that All Saint’s Day follows the pattern. In the light of hope and mercy from God, for our loved ones that have died before us in the faith, the sun sets and rises on the next day. A day which feels emptier and grayer for our loss. Yet, a day that the Lord has made for us to trudge through, even so.

We have already discussed this March of the Christian through life, when we heard of another son that was close to death. For that son, Jesus simply spoke the Word from afar and the boy came back to life. Yet, his father still had to leave his son’s side, approach a man he never met, and hope that He could do something. A dark journey through sin and death to reach his son’s side, alive again.

Today, however, the young girl is dead. Where they may have been hope for recovery of the son, since he had not yet died when his father left him, today a father leaves the house of death with one more on her way to populate the cemetery.

To top it all off, there is a zombie following Jesus. Part of the living dead, a woman who cannot stop herself from bleeding out attempts to grab a hold of Jesus just in case that might save her. And she needs saving, not just a healer. She knows that if just a doctor looks at her, she might just open up again and be in trouble. She needs healing and rescue from this ever happening to her again.

Repent. You are the living dead. You are the Walking Dead. You may not be as bad off as some others, but your sin has left you with a festering, fatal wound. You may not have to march hundreds of miles amid criminals and the forces of nature with your children. You may not have to dive for cover at the sound of aircraft and hope its not coming for you. You may not even have to struggle as a person like some people in the political party that you oppose.

You may be the holiest person on earth, but you are dead to God. You may be following in the train of Jesus, but you are bleeding out, fatally so. Your sin has caused great corruption to your flesh and no amount of hypocrisy is going to cover it up, yet you must still offer your neighbor the benefit of the doubt saying, “Satan made him do it”.

Two things: 1) Jesus enters the House and 2) Jesus bleeds.

This week, Jesus does not hesitate to follow this father into death. Now there’s something. We always say how wonderful it is that I follow Jesus, when Jesus is doing the following today. Jesus follows in order to bring life in exchange for His death. He rose from where He was sitting and where He was buried in order to cause this girl to rise back to life.

In this same way, your Pastor comes to Christ in the Divine Service, calling to Him saying, “Savior, my church has just died, but come and lay your pierced hands upon her in Your sacraments and she will live.” And Jesus follows, processes to the Divine Service, even here, and raises all of you to new life in front of God.

Through His open wounds, Jesus has poured out everlasting life upon your heads and into your mouths. These same wounds were opened to bind up the woman with the flow of blood. Her blood stopped and Christ’s blood flowed. Her living death became His eternal life which He gives to her. Her condemnation became His salvation.

Jesus bleeds out instead of you. Jesus lowers His head to enter this church. He comes because here there are sinners to be rescued. He stays because here there are sinful wounds needing forgiveness. He presides because here there is bread from heaven to be eaten and the blood of God to be drunk.

As the Church turns towards the End of Her liturgical year, it is a turn towards death for before the Lord comes there will be Satan’s little season. Meaning, it will get worse before it gets better. And that is ok. It is how its supposed to be. We are not supposed to like it here. We are to despise the death we find at every corner.

Yet, we are not to despise the Life that Christ freely gives to us. We are not to despise preaching and His Word. Jesus preached and this woman ceased to bleed. Jesus called to the daughter and she awoke from her deathly slumber. The Word of God raises us and will raise us. We stand with boldness today at His Altar and we will stand on the Last Day, never to die again, seeing Him face to face.

In the midst of life, there is death. In the midst of death there stands the Crucified and Risen Lord. In the midst of death’s dark veil, the powers of hell overtake us. In the midst of hell is the Conqueror with His blood-red banner of victory. In the midst of utter woe, our sins oppress us. In the midst of sin stands Christ Crucified, Who takes away the sin of the World.

On these days which you must continue to press on in this shadowed valley, begrudging each step, you get to sing with all the saints in glory. You approach the Lord of Life in His Supper and commune with Him and all who have died in the faith before you. This day of sin and death, you are awakened to new life, life filled with the Body and Blood of Christ singing the songs of saints and angels.

You do not have to wait for the Last Day or even your own death to sing the Resurrection song. Because God communes with you this day, death and sorrow all belong to the former days. Though the shadows appear to be lengthening, they are growing shorter. The night is ending. Clouds of death are breaking. Storms of sin are ceasing. The Son of Peace rises. Baptism now saves you.

God has promised and Christ prepares the meal that seals the deal. Christ has passed the eternal gates, bringing back His Word and Sacraments to fool the wise and comfort the poor in spirit and heaven rejoices at the Church that produces such believing Christians with those gifts!