Jesus has compassion – 7 June 2013

Soon afterwards he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him.  As he approached the gate of the town, a man who had died was being carried out.  He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow; and with her was a large crowd from the town.  When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then he came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, rise!”  The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.  Fear seized all of them; and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen among us!” and “God has looked favourably on his people!”  This word about him spread throughout Judea and all the surrounding country.  [Luke 7: 11-17]

The church remembered this story initially on the level of a literal historic event – Jesus raised to life a widow’s son, evidently an adult, who had died.  And as the story was transmitted in the oral tradition with which Luke was familiar, the point of it is to show Jesus as a “great prophet” who works wonders, and as God’s obvious favour towards Israel.  The story is recorded only in Luke. 

I think Luke himself saw more in it than that.  He mentions Jesus’s compassion.  He tells us that this widow had lost not only her husband but now also her only son.  So, as things were at that time she was now destitute.  Economically at any rate it was a catastrophe.   We approach this story as inhabitants of the 21^st century.  We are not familiar with dead being brought to life again, but we are very familiar with issues of personal tragedy, of irremediable sorrow, of poverty and destitution, and of some sections of society being specially vulnerable to hardship, and of loss of hope.   Jesus reacted with compassion.

Whenever you ask one of the principal teachers of Christian Meditation a question such as, What’s in it for me...?  How do I know if I’m doing it right...? ...the answer tends to be along the lines of, Are you becoming more loving and understanding...?  Are your attitudes coming up for review...?  Are you finding yourself more patient and insightful with needy people, less judgemental...?  Are prejudice and bigotry starting to irritate you more...?  

The Greek word, “have compassion”, used here – Jesus had compassion for the widow -- comes directly from the noun meaning the inner organs, heart, lungs and bowel.  I suppose the obligatory reaction if you are interviewed on TV, I’m absolutely gutted, is not so far off the mark.  Having compassion is a bit more than having pity or feeling sorry for someone.  Jesus felt her pain and understood her sorrow and predicament.  Our consent to God in prayer will call in question and steadily weaken our defences against being hurt, our self-protection mechanisms, and open us more to God’s real world.