From 1 Kings 17 - 21Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried out to the LORD, "O LORD my God, let this child's life come into him again."
From Psalm 30 - 11You have turned my wailing into dancing;
you have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.
From Luke 7 - 12As he approached the gate of the town, a man who had died was being carried out.
This Sunday we have scripture that has to do with "convergence," when two substances, or two sources, meet up. Each source has power. Each source has intention. Each wants prime position. Each wants the other to not exist.
The word "convergence" came to me when in my minds eye I saw Jesus coming up to the gate of the little town called Nain. The Lord was approaching a funeral procession. Eternal life was converging with a sense of utter hopelessness. Gladness converged with sadness. Wholeness met emptiness. Jesus met a grieving mother. His disciples mingled with mourners.
This idea echoes through the Elijah story too, and the Psalm is a celebration of the Great Convergence. Can you sense the convergence of desperate life and despair?
The Gospel, the Good News with all His promises has an effect on us. He does something to us. He washes death away with life, eroding the hardest things so that the way is made smooth for the working of his Spirit.
Get caught up in it. Like the onlookers in Luke 7, "A great prophet has risen among us!"
Photo credit: Jackson Pollack, "Convergence" from arthistory.about.com
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