Bible
Study: 1st Corinthians 12, 12 to 31 and Luke 7, 11 to 17.
Today’s
Gospel passage presents us with the compassionate Jesus; the Jesus who feels
our human emotions. There were moments Jesus shed tears, there were moments
Jesus was angry, there were moments Jesus fell in love with different persons,
there were moments Jesus was touched by people’s display of faith, there were
moments Jesus felt pity and this is what we see in today’s Gospel passage.
As Jesus
journeyed to a city called Nain, his disciples and a large crowd accompanied
him. Just at the entrance of the city, he saw a man who had died and was being
carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. A large crowd
from the city was with her. When the Lord saw her, HE WAS MOVED WITH PITY for
her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 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.
Jesus,
being the only child of Mary himself knew what the widow of Nain was going
through when her only hope was being carried for burial. This was one miracle
Jesus worked without demanding faith from the either the woman or the dead boy.
The woman did not even make a statement to Jesus. I want you to see what
happens here, she got answers to her prayers even without praying! When Jesus
handed the boy to his mother, Jesus was indirectly replaying his own story,
that is, how he too would die and his mother would weep but later on, be handed
over to her again in the resurrection.
This story
tells us something about the compassion of Jesus. Jesus cares, he understands
what you are going through. Jesus feels your pain. He knows what you need even
before you open your mouth to pray, he sees your tears, his eyes are not too
small that he cannot see and his ears are not too tiny that he cannot hear neither
are his hands too small that he cannot give you what is best for you. This should
be our confidence as we go down on our knees to pray.
The
compassion of Jesus for us his children arises from the fact that there is an
intricate bond that connects us all together. As St. Paul explains in our first
reading this morning, we all are one. All of us, all humans all over the world.
We are all creatures of one God, descendants of Adam, we are carry the life
breathe of God which transformed the piece of clay into a living being. We are
all brothers and sisters and by entering into our human family at the
incarnation, Jesus is also one of us. This is why he can feel our pain. He
knows when we are hungry, sad or depressed even before we pray.
Because we
are one, St. Paul says there is no reason for us to boast or see ourselves
superior to one another. As members of one body, no one is more important than
the other. We cannot all be gifted in the same way neither can we all do the
same functions. Just as no part of the body can claim superiority over another,
we must never look down on anybody, we must never consider anyone as
unimportant.
Dear friend,
what is your gift? How are you helping others with it like Jesus did for this
widow? Do you push people aside as unimportant to you simply because of your gifts
and talents? Do you sometimes try to put yourself in the shoes of other people
so as to feel their pain like Jesus did? I tell you a secret: THE KEY TO
HAPPINESS IS TO HELP OTHERS FIND HAPPINESS. We are more connected as humans
than we think. There is no such thing as a stranger because the person you
think is not important to you today may just be your only chance of survival tomorrow.
Let Us
Pray:
Lord
Jesus, fill our hearts with compassion and love for one another. Amen.
St. John Chrysostom,
Pray for us.
Good morning.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you.
Fr. Abu
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