Tuesday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
He stepped forward and touched the coffin; at this the bearers halted, and he said, “Young man, I tell you, arise!” The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Luke 7:14-15
Piety
Father, we know you hear all of our prayers. Help us move you to compassion for our petitions, no matter whether we are praying for people in Dumfries or
Study
http://www.usccb.org/nab/091807.shtml
Today, the plan was to meditate upon and study the First Letter of Timothy. Wouldn’t that passage about the bishop having only one wife be a great launching pad to think about the tradition/gift of celibacy? However, along the way, I encountered the same widow whose situation touched Jesus.
Luke’s story today is another example where Jesus was moved to tears in his compassion for a person he met along his journey. In one way, this recalls the scene outside the tomb where Lazarus laid dead for four days. There, we witnessed Jesus weeping as well. According to Luke, Jesus seems especially affected by the situation of this widow now also losing her son even though we have no indication that there was any particular relationship between them before Jesus encountered the funeral procession.
In addition, the scene strengthens the connection between Jesus and Elijah and Elisha who raised a widow’s son as well. The Old Testament background for the story of Jesus raising the widow's son is miracles wrought by Elijah (1 Kings 17:10-24) and Elisha (2 Kings 4:18-37). Most Jews (and possibly Gentile Christians) of Jesus' day would know the stories of Elijah and Elisha in detail and would quickly understand how they relate to the story of Jesus raising the widow's son.[1]
Throughout ancient culture, providing aid for the “anawin” (the poor, widows and orphans) took a special part in the social contract of kings and their subjects. So, on that account, Jesus’ reaction is not surprising.
Furthermore, we know that we worship a God who wants life, not death.
As for you, son of man, speak to the house of
We have the “perfect storm” for compassion that capitalizes on the means, motives and opportunity to help. First, Jesus has the motive: compassion. Jesus has the motivation: social contract to protect the most vulnerable as restated by Luke in the Sermon on the Mount. Finally, Jesus had the means: By virtue of his divine nature, he knew that he could make a real difference here with the touch of his finger.
Jesus not only weeps…he acts. The result is just like Zechariah at the beginning of Luke’s narrative, when he was faced with the awesome power of God, his mouth was opened and he spoke of God’s mission. He sang of what is witnessed today: “the tender mercy of our God by which the daybreak from on high will visit us to shine on those who sit in darkness and death's shadow, to guide our feet into the path of peace." Luke 1:78-79
Here, the young man sat up and began proclaiming the Good News.
Action
What do we do when we encounter people who are suffering or who are in anguish? What will wake us out of our sub-consciousness? What do we do when our life is touched by Jesus? How do we “gain good standing and much confidence” in our faith in Jesus?
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