February 7, 2021
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11 Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. 12 As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”
– Luke 7:11-13
Tucked in the scripture after the Luke’s account of the Roman Centurion’s faith and the healing of his servant is another healing story. Jesus enters a small town called Nain, which is more of village, near his home town of Nazareth. His disciples are with him, amazed by the things that Jesus has already done, full of life, and having their faith in him increase each day, and with each new sign. A large crowd has gathered around Jesus, and what we see is an episode of life, of celebration and witness, and then coming from the opposite direction is a second procession, one that is an episode of mourning and of death.
Where we meet Jesus is in this collision of life and death.
The gospel tells us, Jesus sees the widow, mourning for her son, and has compassion on her. The word used for compassion, here, is only used 3 times in Luke’s gospel, and this is the first, (the other two are found in the parable of the good Samaritan, and the parable of the prodigal son).
For this woman, whom Jesus has compassion, this is at least the second death that she has experienced in her life, and is almost assured death for herself. In the first-century society, a woman would depend upon her husband, his brothers (if he had any), and her sons to provide for her, to sustain her life. She now not having a husband, nor a son, is doubly vulnerable and would live only by the alms that would be given out of mercy. Her very life, now depended on the mercy of others.
Jesus sees this woman, and has compassion on her. The word compassion, here, however is a little bit deeper than what we normally would think. “Com - passion” literally means to suffer with, the word here tells that Jesus felt her pain deep within his gut. Jesus, in his depth, and in his heart, is truly suffering with this woman who has endured one of the most difficult of all human experiences, and fully empathizes with her loss.
Perhaps, Jesus is thinking of his own mother, and the loss she will later experience?
Regardless, this compassion that Jesus feels motivates another miraculous sign. One greater than we have seen to this point. We might contrast this with the Centurion, who was a man of faith, but whose servants ask for a healing from Jesus. We might even point out that this miracle has very little if not nothing to do with faith, and is not even asked for, but Jesus is prompted simply because of his compassion for this woman.
Jesus feels deep in himself the despair of this woman. Much like Jesus feels the deep despair of sin with each of us, the despair of the separation between God and humankind. At this moment, Jesus, out of compassion raises the dead son back to life.
Jesus compassion alone brings the dead to life.
Faith and compassion grows in us as we grow as disciples of Jesus. We allow our hearts and minds to be filled with the good news of God’s love. We celebrate the great abundance of life we have been given through Christ; and then, when we are bombarded with mourning and death, we let Christ’s compassion rise to the occasion in us, to call out to death and offer life in Jesus name.
Grace & Peace,
Sam