…they praised God saying, “A mighty prophet has risen among us,” and “God has visited his people today.” — Luke 7:16b
You’ve left worship—or can leave worship—on a Sunday and you, too, will be saying what the people did here. “A mighty prophet is among us,” and “God has visited his people today.”
We meet to engage, celebrate and worship our three-in-one God who speaks to us through this mighty prophet, Jesus. God also speaks to us in and through the Holy Spirit.
This is why we go to church.
And this is good. Understatement! This is ALWAYS good!
One example of this good is in the story here in Luke 7. Jesus approaches a widow who is about to bury her one and only son. She must have been walking to her son’s burial site with heavy legs and grief blinding her eyes.
At some point or points along the way, we have also walked into worship with heavy legs. Grief is all we can see.
And God, through Jesus by way of the Holy Spirit, changes us just as he changed the widow’s son. The boy was dead, but after time with Jesus, he is alive again.
We can be dead to any number of things around, within, behind or in front of us. When we worship with Jesus, however, this most mighty prophet changes us. Jesus changes death to life for us in such way a that we say with the same certainty of the people then, “God has visited his people today.”
PRAYER: As we rise and visit you in worship, dear Jesus, do the same. Rise and visit us. Amen.