Miraculous Mercy
As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a
man who had
died was being carried out, the only son
of his mother, and she was a
widow, and a considerable crowd from the
town was with her. And when the
Lord saw her, he had compassion on her
and said to her, "Do not weep."
Then he came up and touched the bier, and
the bearers stood still. And he
said, "Young man,
I say to you, arise." And the dead man sat up and began
to speak, and Jesus gave him to his
mother. Luke 7:12-15
The newspapers recently reported a tragedy where a
woman lost all 7 of her
foster children in a single deadly car accident. Just when she thought
things could get no worse, the news came that her father had died of heart
failure when he heard the news about his grandchildren. How that woman must
long to trade places with the woman in Luke 7 and have her grief relieved
by one of Jesus’ miracles.
Though Jesus told his disciples that they, too, could perform such miracles
if they only had faith, we almost never hear of modern day resurrection
stories, not even in the tabloids. It is as though Christians and
non-Christians alike have surrendered to the fact that only God can restore
life from death. So what message can we take from this scripture passage?
What does Jesus teach us to do when we see someone grieving? How can we
help bring life to the “dead”?
Though we may not be capable of reviving the widow’s dead son, Jesus
teaches us to show mercy on those who are suffering. The best thing to do
for those who mourn is often just to listen to them, and provide support as
they work through their loss and pain. We can forgive those who may
misdirect their anger at us while they are suffering. We can often do more
practical things for those who suffer from pain or disease by helping them
with their household chores, visiting them when they are hospitalized, and
by praying for them. We can befriend the lonely, forgive the guilt-ridden,
encourage the downtrodden.
While we may not be able to bodily raise a dead man to life, we might have
opportunities to restore life to one who is dead in spirit. Interceding
when someone we love is engaging in self-destructive behavior such as drug
abuse or gambling is a practical way to restore real life to the “dying.”
Victims of domestic violence can be restored to a new life if we can help
them break the destructive cycle they’ve fallen prey
to.
Dear Lord, you bought joy to the
sorrowful widow by restoring life to her
son. Teach us to show the same mercy to
those around us who suffer, and
help us to share your life giving message
with the world around us. Amen.
Susan Ardito
seven7seas7@yahoo.com