Homily for September 17, 2019

In the ancient world – and even in some parts of the world today - widows were the most financially and socially vulnerable group, where women had little personal means of self-support. When their spouses died, they were dependent on their children, particularly their sons, to provide for them. So, a widow who lost her only son through death was the most vulnerable of all. It was just such a woman who met Jesus in today’s gospel passage.

The passage tells us that Jesus was moved with compassion by this woman’s dilemma. His compassion toward the woman was followed by action on His part as He restored her son to life and gave him back to his mother. It is remarkable that the widow in this story did not take any initiative towards Jesus; she did not cry out to Him for help. Without waiting to be asked, Jesus simply responded with compassion to a situation of human grief and loss.

The same Risen LORD reaches out to us today in our experiences of grief and loss, without waiting to be asked. When we are at our lowest and most vulnerable, His compassion, often experienced through others acting as His ambassadors, is our support. We do not need to carry our grief on our own; Jesus carries it with us. Literally, He suffers with us; “to suffer with” is the literal meaning of compassion. The LORD who shows us compassionate love wants us to be ambassadors of His compassion to others in their time of need, to carry each other’s burdens just as He carries ours. +