10^TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME-C

I Reading: 1Kings 17:17-24: Elijah, the prophet of God, prays and a child is restored to life. Look, your son is alive.

II Reading: Galatians 1:11-19: God revealed his Son in me so that I might preach the Good News about him to the pagans.

Gospel: Luke 7:11-17: A funeral procession is transformed into a celebration of life. Young man, I tell you to get up.

Jesus Raises a Widow’s son: Great Compassion and Power, 7:11-17

The most phenomenal event in all history is the resurrection of the dead. Today the church wants us to reflect on a problem that has worried humankind from the beginning of the world: death. Death is a true mystery, and only Jesus can help us to solve it. The first reading and the Gospel of today speak about it. The prophet Elijah raises a boy back to life. Jesus brings back to life the son of the widow of Nain. Jesus completed his victory over death as he died on the cross. The whole life of a Christian is a battle against sin and death; he obtains the final victory over both when he or she dies in the Lord. We shall be raised back to life as soon as we die. The meaning of the so-called “final resurrection” is that we confess in Credo: “I believe in the resurrection of the dead.”

It maybe the fact of Jesus himself being resurrected or the promise  of believers’ being raised somebody, or of Jesus raising the dead some men just have enormous difficulty believing such claims. Luke knew this, so he wanted to help unbelieving minds. In this event Luke shared the great compassion and power of Jesus to raise the dead.

1. Jesus entered Nain-many were present to witness the conquest of death (v. 11)

2. The great compassion of Jesus: He was touched (v.12-13)

a. By death: a dead man

b. By a broken heart

c. By a loving, caring, and beloved woman/widow

c. The Lord saw/Jesus saw: had compassion and spoke, giving assurance

3. The great power of Jesus (v.14-15)

a. To bypass traditional beliefs

b. To stop the death processional

c. To raise the dead

4. The great awe of the people (v.16-17)

a. They glorified God

b. They believed him to be a prophet

c. They acknowledged God’s dealing with them again

d. They bore witness

Thought: Willingness and obedience on the part of the pallbearers and the mother were essential for Jesus to raise the dead son. We, too, must be willing and obedient if we wish to be raised from the dead (Phil 3:11, 3:7-11).

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