Compassion in this broken, crazy world

‘….When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, ‘Do not weep. .…’ (Luke 7:13)

Luke 7:11-17 (Year C: Trinity+2)

Pic: science for women

A recurring theme

Sometimes people complain that religious ceremonies and liturgies are ‘boring’ and ‘irrelevant’ to them.  Certainly, there is a large measure of monotony to fixed, pre-determined liturgical pieces. But, thanks to this repetition we are the heirs of incredibly beautiful poetry, prose and narrative. The liturgy is like a spring board for spontaneous prayer and practical social action.

Drawing on the Bible and other sources William Shakespeare helped shape English as we speak and hear it today.  Yet, there is another angle to repetition. Again and again we keep hearing stories in the Gospel about ‘compassion’, ‘healing’, ‘faith’ and ‘salvation’.  In Luke 7:11-17 Jesus is at it again – being moved by the suffering of others (God in Jesus was a moveable God and not a master watch maker controlling the universe) – Jesus worked a miracle in the face of overwhelming sadness, loss and economic insecurity. There was no state pension (that was introduced here in 1909); neither was there any life assurance policies. There were families and there were communities. And for fear readers might think that this is an apologia for a former UK Prime Minister (‘there is no such thing as society. There are individual men and women, and there are families’) I am merely drawing attention to the way God’s compassion worked 2,000 years ago in a dramatically different set of social circumstances and norms to what we experience today. But, God’s compassion is still powerfully at work whether on the seas of the Mediterranean or on a quayside in Buncrana in Ireland.

Line by line

As is the case so often across the gospels, the gospel writer (TERS):

• Tells a story;
• Explains what happened;
• describes the Results; and
• provides a concise ‘So what’ reflection.

In this short story we hear of a widow whose only son had died. Jesus is moved by compassion for the intense suffering witnessed to work a miracle. The results are evident in the amazement and fear of the crowds. Finally, a theological reflection is provided on the lips of the crowd who declare that a great Prophet had arisen among them and God had visited his people.

‘Soon afterwards he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him’ (v. 11).

The context is set by an early missionary journey of Jesus and his disciples in the area around the northern shores of the Sea of Galilee. Clearly, his teaching and his healing has already drawn a large crowd of people – both the curious and those in need as well as those who were out to look for evidence to attack and eliminate Jesus.

 ‘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.’ (v.12)

This could have been a funeral procession down the main street of a village in 21^st century Ireland where attendance at a funeral – even someone hardly known – is presumed. It is different in other cultures where one does not presume to attend a funeral unless invited.

In this case, one large crowd meets another. The scene is set for a meeting of utter grief and tragedy on the one side and compassion on the other.

‘When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, ‘Do not weep.’ (v. 13)

Jesus was moved by what he saw and what he heard.  Weeping for the loss of a child is heart breaking. On top of this is added the very real prospect and likelihood that a widow in this situation would be left in poverty. Compassion for ‘widows and orphans’ is a recurring theme and emphasis across the scriptures. See for example the Letter of Saint James (1:27):

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

And Jesus was about to demonstrate to the people of this town what pure religion looks like. It means compassion – literally suffering with in Latin (com passio). Jesus is more defined by com passio than com petere – to contend or seek with.

‘Then he came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, ‘Young man, I say to you, rise!’ (v.14)

Although the story of the raising of the son of the widow of Nain is unique to the Gospel of Luke there are a few stories with parallel. For example, in Mark 5:41 Jesus raises the young daughter of the leader of the synagogue by saying ‘Young girl, get up’.  In Acts 9:40 the disciple Peter prays by the dead body of Tabitha and says ‘Tabitha, get up!’

Sometimes we may think that all is lost and hope is extinguished. But, the compassionate power of God can bring about transformations that we never dreamt of. People may not be coming back from the dead or people may not be walking on water in the 21^st century but the power of God’s love is no less miraculous and no less real today as it was in first century Palestine.

‘The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.’ (v. 15)

And what did the young man say when he ‘began to speak’?  We are not told. It must have been a little like waking up from a deep sleep in the recovery ward of a hospital operation theatre. Let’s say it is a pleasant sensation, typically!

‘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!’ (v. 16)

Fear is a powerful emotion and is not far removed from violence. But, on this occasion fear is the fruit of such a powerful and dramatic event that those witnessing it have no option but to declare that only God could have done this.  To borrow a current phrase imported into Europe ‘It was awesome’. You bet it was!  But awe was not the object of this miracle. In the first place it was compassion. Such a powerful and practical display of compassion had another desired effect: people saw compassion in front of their own eyes. Surely, God has looked favourably on his people. Some translations of this passage render verse 16 along the lines that God had visited his people. Those familiar with the daily recitation of the Benedictus in morning prayer will recognise this phrase (refer to Luke 1:78)

‘This word about him spread throughout Judea and all the surrounding country.’ (v. 17)

#MiracleNain

In modern day parlance this is the equivalent of saying that #MiracleNain was trending throughout Judea for weeks after!

Compassion is far from absent in our lives, hard as it is to believe this at times. Contrary to distorted theologies God is not absent in his stately mansion controlling, rewarding and condemning from afar. Rather, He (we use human analogy) is involved in the messy here and now of human vulnerability and suffering. But, why can’t He just fix things so that really ‘bad things’ do not happen (very often to ‘good people’)? I have no satisfactory answer to that question other than to say that we were made in freedom and God’s compassion in the world working through you and me is inexhaustible.

Hear again the various translations (in English) of verse 13:

When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, ‘Do not weep. (New Revised Standard Version)
When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, "Don't cry." (New International Version)
When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion. "Don't cry!" he said. (New Living Translation)
And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. (King James)
But Yeshua saw her and he was moved with pity for her and he said to her, “Do not weep.” (Aramaic Bible in plain English)
Whom when the Lord had seen, being moved with mercy towards her, he said to her: Weep not. (Douay-Rheims)

And so ....

So, how might we bring that poetry, story-telling and beauty found in the scriptures back to life again? By listening more carefully than ever to the words and actions of Jesus. Luke is an excellent place to listen again and here we are in Year C with Luke featuring in each Sunday Gospel from here to December. If we listen extra carefully what we thought was the same old fare year in year out becomes real food to fire us up and forward in ways that make us channels of compassion in this broken, crazy world.