First Reading - 1 Corinthians 12:12-14,27-31
Gospel - Luke 7:11-17
God's mercy is immeasurable. God's mercy is manifested in our lives in terms of our gifts and blessings. The readings of today invite us to trust in God's mercy.
The first reading speaks about the unity in diversity. Paul reminds the Christians in Corinth that they should rule out the divisive mentality on the basis of material possession or envy or jealousy. Furthermore, he instrusts the Christians that through the baptism and the sharing of the Eucharist we are all bound together to form a single body with Christ. Therefore, any discrimination or disparity is to be eliminated. However, Paul doesn't punctuate here but elaborates distinctive role of everyone as the member of the same body. He affirms the diversity of personalities and diversity of ministeries in the Church. He acknowledges that the distinctive roles in the Church as apostles, prophets, teachers, miracle workers, healers, and multilingual etc. are meant for the betterment or wellbeing of the Church. Hence, each one should aspire for higher gifts from God and avoid being envious of the gifts of others.
The gospel passage brings to us the scene of the raising of the son of a widow in the town called Nain. This episode apparently appears as a simple incident but is replete with the message of hope and compassion. Primarily, what catches the attention is the occurrence of the phrase "... it happened that a dead man was being carried out for burial, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow." I would prefer to pick two phrases from the sentence, such as, 'the only son' and 'she was a widow'. In a complete sentence it can be read as, 'the only son of the widow was dead'. The gospel specially mentions this. This incident must have caused a devastating experience for the widow because her only hope is gone with his only son (The biblical historical senario depicts a vulnerable situation of a widow; a married woman was greatly supported by her husband and after the death of her husband if there is a son. The lose of both would result in a desparate situation for her survival). Jesus observs this intense pain and frustration of the mother or widow. He is filled with pity and compassion for her. He raises the son of the widow to life and hands him to her. This leads people to believe in Jesus as a prophet; a sign of hope for the people, a person who is a voice of God and a voice of people to God.
Dear friends, our God is a merciful and compassionate God. Out of His mercy, He has blessed us with many gifts and blessings. Out of His mecy, He has given us hope to trust in Him. We are to remember today that our gifts and blessings must be geared to give praise to God by using them for the betterment of the Church. In the first reading, Paul reminds the Christians that they are all one body of Christ with different gifts to sustain the unity and richness of diversity as one body. Therefore, the gifts we have must be at the service of the unity and not at the service of one's pride.
The second thing that the gospel teaches us today is that we should not lose hope. God is indeed a merciful God who never leaves us in despair rather invites us to recognise a ray of hope in Him. Jesus, realising the painful and pitiful condition of the widow, comes to her help and gives her hope. People too realised a ray of hope in Jesus. Therefore, we too have to embolden ourselves that our God sees our pain and sorrows and will never leave us alone in the same. Let's trust in His mercy.
May God enable us to call upon Him in our trials and difficulties.
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