Luke 8:54
But taking her by the hand he called, saying, “Child, arise.”
Today’s verse is taken from Luke’s account of the raising of Jairus’ daughter from the dead. It is a haunting fact that Luke tells us Jesus “called” to the girl after her death. How many grieving mothers or father, or widows, or children have called in anguish for their beloved to return at the moment of death? It is one of the primal agonies of human existence to call for that return — and to know that call cannot be answered. And yet, against all hope, today’s gospel tells us the call can and will be answered! And that God himself stands beside us, calling all those we have loved to life! It is like the end of a fairy tale, only this fairy tale actually happened. “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26).
