By Martin Jumbam
The Universal Church celebrates Sunday, June 05, 2016, as the tenth Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year C. In the entrance antiphon we pray “The Lord is my light and my salvation. Who shall frighten me? The Lord is the defender of my life. Who shall make me tremble? Amen.
In the Gospel, the evangelist Luke presents us one of the most moving passages in Sacred Scripture: Jesus shows his compassion for the widow of Nain by raising her only son from the dead. Before Jesus, the prophet Elijah, in the first reading, also raises to life the dead son of the widow of Zarephath in Sidonia, the stronghold of the prophet Baal. The widow and her son had earlier welcomed Elijah, who had shown God’s power by providing them with grain and oil that never ran out. God then operates through Elijah to bring back to life the widow’s son. Unlike Elijah, who is a mere instrument of God, Christ raises the son of the widow of Nain by his own power. Both the first reading and the Gospel show us how God views grief. His response is a compassion that heals and restores. As the Psalmist sings in the Responsorial Psalm, which is a psalm of thanksgiving, nothing is greater than to be snatched from the jaws of death. God, who is present among men in the person of Jesus Christ, continues to choose sometimes very unlikely people to bear witness to him. That is what happens to Saint Paul, a former violent persecutor of the faith, whom Jesus chooses to be his apostle to the Gentiles, as we hear in the second reading from the Letter to the Galatians. God serves everyone through faith. In the course of this Eucharist, let us pray for the grace to comfort those who grieve around us so as to bring hope and joy where there is sorrow and despair.
First Reading: 1 Kings 17: 17-24.
In those days: The son of the woman, the mistress of the house [at Zarephath], became ill; and his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. And she said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to cause the death of my son!” And he said to her, “Give me your son.” And he took him up into the upper chamber, where he lodged, and laid him upon his own bed. And he cried to the Lord, “O Lord, my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?” Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, let this child’s soul come into him again.” And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah took the child, and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house, and delivered him to his mother; and Elijah said, “See, your son lives.” And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”
V/ The word of the Lord.
R/ Thanks be to God.
Comment
There are two books of Kings in the Bible, commonly known as First and Second Kings. The African Bible (1999) tells us that the two Books of Kings cover about four centuries of Israel’s history, marked by three main events: the first is the united monarchy (during which time Israel and Judah remained united under Solomon as they had been under Saul and David); the second event is the divided monarchy (from the rebellion of Israel against the rulership of the Judean kings until Israel was carried off into captivity by the Assyrians); and the third is the period of the surviving kingdom, which record Judah’s history from the deportation of Israel to Judah’s own defeat and exile by the Babylonians.
Both Books of Kings serve, therefore, as a record of the kings of both Israel and Judah, showing the decline of the northern and southern kingdoms and pointing out the reasons for this decline and the fate of each king. The sacred author seems to have intended to teach the people of Israel in exile in Babylon the reasons for their plight so that they could learn from the errors of the past. He instructs the exiles by demonstrating to them that through their kings they have been unfaithful to God’s covenant but that God, far from abandoning Israel, has remained loyal and patient with them.
Two prophets play a significant role in the Books of King: Elijah and Elisha. Elijah, whose name means “my God is the Lord”, is an itinerant prophet who, like the Patriarchs, moves around the country in obedience to the word of the Lord. He is a very courageous man, who does not hesitate to denounce the abuses of power and the violation of justice by those in authority. He has to flee from the fury of those in power to take refuge in the desert. That is where he receives God’s command to anoint Elisha as his successor. Elisha is important to Elijah because he will carry on Elijah’s mission. Elisha is to Elijah what Joshua is to Moses, each completing his master’s work
The final chapters of the First Book of Kings are dominated by the prophet Elijah, in many ways the greatest of God’s prophetic champions. Elijah’s mission and achievement were the triumph of true worship over idolatry in the northern kingdom of Israel. His arch-enemy is Queen Jezebel who was a spirited missionary for the gods of her native Phoenicia.
Elijah takes refuge in the home of a widow of Zarephath and her son and in gratitude for their generosity towards him, he shows them God’s power and love by ensuring that they never lack grain and oil. However, this widow’s son dies and, in line with the thinking prevalent among her people, she supposes that her son’s death is a divine punishment for sins she might have committed, which God has focused on because of the presence of Elijah in her house. Through God, Elijah restores her son to life.
The Fathers of the Church see Elijah’s raising of the widow’s son as symbolizing the action of Christ. Saint Augustine, for example, says that “By his prayer, Elijah brought the widow’s son back to life; by coming into the world, Christ frees the son of the Church, the Christian people from the prison of death. Elijah bowed his head in prayer and raised up the widow’s son; Christ prostrated himself in the Passion, and gave life to the Christian people” (Sermons, 40, 4). Our God is a God of compassion and mercy, slow to anger and quick to forgive. May he soothe our anxieties as we stand before him in prayer this day. We make our supplication through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Second Reading: Galatians 1: 11-19.
I would have you know, brethren, that the Gospel which was preached by me is not man’s Gospel. For I did not receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the Church of God violently and tried to destroy it; and I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. But when he who had set men apart before I was born, and had called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia; and again I returned to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas, and remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles, except James, the Lord’s brother.
V/ The word of the Lord.
R/ Thanks be to God.
Comment
Galatia was an inland region of Asia Minor, occupying the central part of what is today Turkey. It was a Roman province whose inhabitants, shepherds for the most part, were evangelized by Saint Paul mainly during his second missionary journey between 49 and 52 AD (Gal 4:13; Acts 1: 1-8). They welcomed Saint Paul with open arms, receiving him as “an angel of God”, as if he were our Lord himself (Gal 4:14). Saint Paul was, however, very concerned by the aggressive activities of his enemies, who were bent on imposing the Law of Moses, especially that on circumcision, on new converts to Christianity.
He therefore wrote this letter that is considered the first of the so-called “great” epistles of Saint Paul. It provides the best commentary to the decisions of the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15: 23-29). At that gathering the Apostles, with the help of the Elders or presbyters of the local Church of Jerusalem, and, as they themselves put it, in union with the Holy Spirit, decided that Christians of Gentile origin were under no obligation to conform to Jewish traditions, particularly the practice of circumcision.
Despite the decision of the Council of Jerusalem, some staunch-hearted Jewish converts to Christianity, followers of Saint James, continued to give more importance to the ancient rites of Israel over the freedom won by Christ. They aggressively invaded territory already converted by Paul, not only in Galatia but also in Corinth, Philippi, Colosae, Ephesus and Crete.
In the passage of our meditation, Saint Paul justifies his claim to apostolic authority. He says that the Lord himself gave him (Paul) his Gospel directly when he appeared to him on the road to Damascus (Acts 9: 1-18). In spite of his earlier violent opposition to Christ, God still consecrated him, as he did the other Apostles, for his apostolic work. In this, Paul stresses the fact that he received the Gospel from the same source as the other Apostles, who recognized him as one of theirs. He did not, however, hesitate to oppose one of these Apostles whose actions he deemed irresponsible. He even took Peter to task in Antioch for fraternizing with the Gentiles when Jewish converts were not around, and then dissociating himself from them when the Jews were around, calling it sheer hypocrisy (Acts 11: 20-21; 24-26).
The basis of Paul’s apostolic authority, therefore, is the vocation he received directly from Jesus Christ (Acts 9: 1-18). He is therefore an apostle, “not from men nor through man” but through Jesus Christ himself. He warns the Galatians not to be so easily led off course. He warns them of his enemies who are seeking to undermine his authority and his preaching, especially on the matter of circumcision. That is why he strongly stresses that there is only one Gospel, that of Jesus Christ.
Saint Paul insists on the importance of defending the deposit of faith. Any attempt to replace the true Gospel of Jesus Christ with a different teaching must be opposed. That is the same message he passes onto his assistants Titus and Timothy when he tells them to carefully guard the truths he teaches them (1 Tim 6:20; Tit 1: 9; 2:1).
We too, like the Galatians, are being bombarded everyday with false promises from false prophets – the prophets of Baal – who are roaming our cities today. For the most part, they oppose the teachings of the Catholic Church, promising converts to their brand of religion, rewards they can hardly provide. Let us therefore heed Saint Paul’s warning to the Galatians not to let themselves be led astray by the purveyors of false promises. The true Gospel is the Gospel of Christ, the Redeemer, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, One God for ever and ever. Amen.
Gospel: Luke 7: 11-17.
At that time, Jesus went to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. As he drew near to the gate of the city, behold a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a large crowd from the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” And he came and touched the bier, and the bearers stood sill. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” And the dead man sat up, and began to speak. And he gave him to his mother. Fear seized them all; and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” And this report concerning him spread through the whole of Judaea and all surrounding country.
V/ The Gospel of the Lord.
R/ Praise to you Lord, Jesus Christ.
Comment
In the first reading of this day, we see how the prophet Elijah prays and asks God to restore a widow’s dead son to life. God does and the relieved mother declares that Elijah is truly a man of God. This story forms the background for Saint Luke’s Gospel story of this day. Jesus, followed by a large crowd, is entering a town when he meets another large crowd following a corpse, the mortal remains of a widow’s only son. Nobody asks Jesus to intervene although that’s what he does.
Saint Luke tells us that Jesus is moved to pity by the poor widow’s plight and steps in to help. Christ always takes the first step to go towards those who are in need of him. He first tells the woman not to cry and then commands the young man to stand up. He sits up and begins to speak and Jesus hands him over to his mother. The people’s response is understandably one of great astonishment. The evangelist tells us that fear grips them and they begin to praise God saying “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” (Lk 7:16). Truly Jesus is the prophet of God.
What lesson do we take home from this Gospel reading? There are many points for reflection but the most outstanding seems to me to be the word ‘compassion’. The widows in the first reading and in the Gospel are both sorrow-stricken. In the first reading, the poor widow, who shares the little she has with a hungry prophet, is rewarded when God grants the prophet’s prayer and restores her dead son to life. In the Gospel, Jesus shows that by the power of his word, life overcomes death.
Jesus is a man of deep sympathy and feeling. In him, we have someone we can turn to with our sorrows, anxieties, despair and receive feelings of tenderness and compassion. He tells us: “Do not weep” as he brings us comfort and hope. He is the comforter of the afflicted and hope for those who have lost hope. We learn from Jesus that it is not enough to only express our sympathy for a grieving neighbour in words, but also through actions: being present with them as they grieve, accompanying them through moments of difficulties, as the crowds did the widow. This shows that assistance to people in need does not necessarily have to be financial -- important though that may be – but there are other ways of helping, by giving them our time, for example.
As Father Francis Fernandez says in his book, Conversation with God: Daily Meditations, Volume 3 (p. 533): “Our compassionate and merciful attitude, manifested in deeds, has to be shown in the first place towards the people we are normally with, towards those whom God has placed, day in day out, in our company, and towards those of them who are most in need. It is unlikely that compassion for people further away will be pleasing to God if we neglect the many opportunities that present themselves to us each day to practice justice and charity towards the people who belong to our family or who work beside us”.
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