Scripture scholars agree that Luke created
the story about the widow of Nain
in today's Gospel.
Fr. Reginald Fuller, for example, calls it
a “story
that has little historical basis.”
What Luke was doing was shaping
the
story of the widow of Zarephath
to show Jesus as surpassing Elijah in his
role as prophet
and in his compassion for the vulnerable and
oppressed.
Luke makes it clear in the response of the crowd:
"A great
prophet has arisen in our midst," he has them say.
"God has visited this
people," he has them say.
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This
story is really not about resuscitation.
The miracle is not raising someone
from the dead
but bringing life to those who are dead to the life they
have.
All three of today's readings point to rebirth and new life.
They
tell us clearly
that our God is the God of life, the God of the
living.
The widow in Zarephath was trapped
in the idea that her own
sin
was the reason her son was sick unto death.
Paul was trapped
in a
legalistic following of his ancestral traditions.
The widow in Nain was
trapped
in the social structures
that made her as good as dead without a
man to belong to.
__________________________________________
So these
stories are about metanoia, a turning around,
a change in perspective and
belief.
The widow of Nain, without a husband, without a son,
is weak and
defenseless
in the culture of that first century patriarchal
society.
Jesus' compassion turns her situation around,
and the crowd sees
his action clearly.
They see his compassion for her,
and they understand
the oppressive system
that would render her destitute.
They had taken for
granted
the oppression of their culture and its systems
to the point that
it was invisible to them,
but Jesus' action makes it visible.
Once they
see the systems that diminish their lives,
they also see the possibility of
change and choice.
__________________________________________
Like so many
of the scriptures,
this story gives us a vivid metaphor
for life-changing,
life-defining experiences.
The widow's son is dead,
and he is brought back
to life.
The widow faces the death of poverty and exclusion,
and she is
brought back to life.
The crowd recognizes
that they have been victimized
by a brutal government
that ruled with the cooperation of the rich and
powerful
of their own religion.
They been like the walking
dead.
__________________________________________
We've all been
there.
It can start with an assumption that turns out to be false.
Like
how much money we need.
So we stay in a job that stifles our
imagination
or puts terrible burdens on us.
Then one day we see,
and we
rise up from that dead-end job and move on.
Or we make a false assumption
about God,
like that widow in Zarephath
thinking that some guilt from her
past
is causing God to take her son's life.
Then we grow to
understand
that God is not judgmental but compassionate,
and we rise up to
live in joy.
Or like Paul in that second reading,
we make assumptions
about what's right and what's wrong
and set out to punish the wrong
ones.
Then something happens—an “ah-hah” moment—
and we turn our lives
around.
We've all experienced them—
life-defining moments,
the time
before and the time after distinctly
different.
__________________________________________
Not all of those
life-changing experiences are big ones.
The little daily ones are just as
important,
like deciding to go to a lecture,
or registering to vote,
or
cleaning the closet and donating the clothes,
or planting a tree,
or
smiling and waving at a stranger on the street.
Those little experiences are
possible
because we understand the systems that try to control us
and we
are free to act to change them.
We are free to act, according to Fr. John
Shea,
because Jesus gives us the possibility.
Shea calls Jesus a “peddler
of choices”
because he “revealed the mercy of God
and the oppression of
people,” allowing us
not only to see what keeps us among the walking
dead
but also to rise up and
live.
__________________________________________
In our freedom of the
reign of God,
we are called to take action.
Our model is Jesus as he
reaches out in compassion.
Sometimes the action is reaching out to refugees
in our midst.
Sometimes the action is phoning City Council about Lake
Erie.
Sometimes the action is talking with a
neighbor.
____________________________________________
Whatever action we
take, we have a choice.
The Gospel calls us to choose compassion.
And that
raises us up, out of our deadness, into new life.
Thanks be to God!
--
Holy Spirit Catholic Community
Saturdays at 4:30 p.m./Sundays at 5:30
p.m.
at 3925 West Central Avenue (Washington Church)
www.holyspirittoledo.org
Rev.
Dr. Bev Bingle, Pastor
Mailing address: 3156 Doyle Street, Toledo, OH
43608-2006
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