“Young man, I say to you, ‘Get up!’”

— Luke 7:14

I am not a morning person. I wish I were. I have learned to get up early out of necessity, but it takes some time and coffee to get me going.

In our reading from Luke 7 today, we see a remarkable awakening. A young man has died. Jesus sees the funeral procession, and his heart goes out to the young man’s mother, who is also a widow. He walks up to the funeral stretcher and says, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” Jesus uses a Greek word here that literally means “wake up.” Jesus treats the young man as if he is not dead but asleep. And when he wakes up, the young man starts to talk, which seems like a funny detail to include. Maybe he is a morning person!

Later in the passage, the same word is used again. The crowd that had seen this miracle declared with awe, “A great prophet has appeared among us.” More literally, this can be translated: “A great prophet has awoken among us!”—meaning that the people could see they were in the presence of someone specially sent by God. They didn’t know much about Jesus yet, but they would soon learn.

I don’t know if you are a morning person or not, but here is a helpful prayer we can offer anytime: “Jesus, please awaken me!” Ask the Lord to wake you up to see and care about the people around you.

Dear Jesus, as you worked your resurrection power in that young man, will you work the same power in my life and spirit today? Help me to serve you faithfully. Amen.