TENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
(Green) Cycle C/ Year I (June 5, 2016)
1Kgs 17:17-24/Gal 1:11-19/Lk 7:11-17
As Jesus was entering the city of Nain, He saw a funeral procession in which the widow was mourning the death of her only son. Jesus was moved with pity for her and said to her: “Do not weep” (Lk 7:13c). He then touched the coffin and commanded the dead man to rise. The dead man became alive and he sat down and began to speak.
It is noticeable in the gospel how Jesus could not bear the sorrow of the little ones. During the time of Jesus, the women were not given the same rights and privileges of the men. They were considered second class citizens and in fact they were even treated as mere properties of their husbands. They could not work and they were totally dependent on their husbands or sons. This woman in the gospel was a widow and had only one son who was dead. She was then all alone in her life. She had nobody to go to or to depend on. She would be a poor widow, consequently a beggar. Maybe she was not grieving only the loss of her son; she was also grieving her future condition. Jesus understood her situation and could not bear the pain in her heart. He helped the woman by bringing back the life of her son. With the life of the son restored, the life of the widow was also restored. She would not anymore lose her dignity; she would have a son to depend on.
In the attitude of Jesus towards the poor widow, we can see the heart of God. God is love and He loves all of us especially the weak. He is concerned to all of us and He cares for us. He never wants us to weep, that is, to be sad. God wants our happiness; He wants that we are fully alive. To be fully alive means that we are in communion with God who is the source of life and who is life. It means that we fulfill His will and commandments, His plans and teachings. It further means that we are submissive to God and that we live in accordance to our dignity as children of God. This means that we live as innocent, meek and humble persons.
Because of God’s great love and concern for us, we must live in accordance to our dignity and plan of God; we must be fully alive. This means that we must respond to the love of God with love. We have to love God and to love Him with all our heart, mind and being. If we love God wholeheartedly and submit ourselves to His hands, God will restore us to life and shower us with a lot of blessings.
Loving God means loving our neighbor and neighbor does not simply mean the people next door or the people close to us, it especially means those who are in need, that is, the least, the last and the lost. Jesus loves His neighbor and He helps the poor widow in the gospel. If we love God, we must demonstrate it by helping those who are in need. We must never forget the words of Jesus: Whatever you do to the least, you do it to me.
