Tuesday
Twenty-fourth Week
Ordinary Time
After Luke's version of a "Sermon on the Mount," he presents to us a moving scene that surely touches the hearts of all who have sympathy and compassion as a part of their makeup. The story is a miracle moment for the community of Jesus followers. It is a moment that is both deeply stirring as well as stunningly powerful.
The story: a widow is confronted by a second loss in the death of her only son. Apparently the death was much too early in the son's life. Jesus comes upon the scene. Being the man who knows in his heart that his own mother would shortly experience a similar moment, his heart must have been moved with great pity for this widow woman. She is experiencing what Mary would face in her lifetime: Joseph deceased and then her only son tortured and crucified at an early age. Jesus' compassion and pity were so strong that he raised the dead young man from his bed of death to a new life. Only if a parent has buried a child, can the impact of Jesus' action have its fullest impact.
What do we see besides Jesus' humanity at this most tender moment? We can gather from these few moments in Jesus life that God is reaching out to a woman in great need and pain through the actions of his only Son. It well may be the beginning of the communities realization that Jesus is not only very intimate with God the Father but that he is one and the same God with the Father.
Today as we confront challenges to our life and take the time to call upon Jesus to come to our aid, we are acknowledging the healing power that the earthly Jesus shared with his heavenly Father. We call upon Jesus to be our strength, to be our help.
From the pool of life, if we look carefully, we will find that Jesus' compassion and help rise up for us to confront the world around us.
