It’s not surprising the woman featured in today’s Gospel was also from Nain, an out of the way and completely unimportant small town in the middle of nowhere. Such details found in the Scriptures are never insignificant. The woman was also a widow, and to make matters even much worse, she had just lost her only son. These details too are of great significance.
Of course, in those days and in that place there was nothing like Medicare, Social Security, or other types of government programs designed to help such needy or elderly people. Without a husband or a son to provide for her needs, the widow of Nain was likely destined to a life of extreme poverty and struggle; she would have been completely dependent on the charity of others in order even to survive. Her situation at the moment Jesus encountered her, as she was on the way to the cemetery to bury her only son, was not only heartbreaking, it was quite dire to say the least. Jesus was compelled by his compassionate heart to do something to change the probable fate of that poor widow.
There are many Gospel accounts in which we find it was for those who were most needy, often people who were in desperate situations, that Jesus seems to have had the most compassion and care. Today’s Gospel tells us that “when the Lord saw the widow of Nain, he was moved with pity for her and said to her, ‘Do not weep’” (see Luke 7:13). The Gospel goes on to tell us Jesus commanded her son to “arise” and he then sat up and began to speak (see verses 14 and 15). Not only did Jesus bring the young man back to life in order to quell the sadness of his mother at that moment, but also in order to spare her from a life of poverty and desolation.
In this case, the compassion of Jesus not only pointed to a future resurrection to new life promised for all, but it also underscored his determination to improve the lives of those who struggled and suffered within this life also! And I believe we are all called to do the same: our compassion for others will give testimony to the great and eternal love the Father in heaven has for each one of us, but it should also motivate and require us both to serve the needy in the here and now, and to work to change those things that keep them locked in situations of poverty and despair. For me, this is clearly one of the lessons of today’s Gospel, and it underscores our common Christian call to put our faith into action by the way we serve and champion the progress of others, especially those most in need.
Just as Jesus didn’t hesitate to come compassionately to the aid of the widow of Nain, so too must we serve the poor, the marginalized and those who are in any way needy. Let us encourage one another with the message of our faith, and putting that faith into action, may we always faithfully share the compassion of Jesus with others!
Praise God! Friar Timothy
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