Gospel: Luke 7, 11 – 17
Jesus went to a town called Nain, accompanied by his disciples and a great number of people. When he was near the gate of the town it happened that a dead man was being carried out for burial, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a considerable number of the townspeople were with her. When the Lord saw her he felt sorry for her. ‘Do not cry’ he said. Then he went up and put his hand on the bier and the bearers stood still, and he said, ‘Young man, I tell you to get up.’ And the dead man sat up and began to walk, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Everyone was filled with awe and praised God saying, ‘A great prophet has appeared among us; God has visited his people.’ And this opinion of him spread throughout Judaea and all over the countryside.
Homily
When I was a little boy growing up the world was populated not only by us human beings and animals but also by a whole host of other beings, good and bad, all invisible. Our folklore described the evil beings in very horrible ways and we prayed to our angel guardian to protect us because it seemed that the maleficent beings would try to trap us and could do us great harm at any time. Somehow we seemed more aware of the invisible evil around us than the Good.
The age and culture in which Jesus grew up and lived was no different. The maleficent beings brought all sorts of evil down on the poor and helpless.
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The widow of Nain had lost her only son, her only support in this world. The maleficent beings were in action bringing a great evil upon her. We are told that when Jesus saw her “he felt sorry for her.’Do not cry’ he said. Then he went up and put his hand on the bier and the bearers stood still, and he said, ‘Young man, I tell you to get up.’ And the dead man sat up and began to walk, and Jesus gave him to his mother.”Where evil beings seemed to have triumphed, Jesus showed the people that this triumph was not lasting. God indeed had the last word.
We have just celebrated the Feast of Corpus Christi, the Body of Christ and many preachers reminded us that the community of the disciples of Jesus is in fact the Body of Christ in the world and just as in the first thirty years of Christendom, one of our tasks, if not the most important is to remind those around us that the forces of evil will not triumph, that God indeed has the last word.
When the dead man sat up and began to walk the people exclaimed: “A great prophet has appeared among us; God has visited his people.” Jesus fulfilled his prophetic ministry but his preaching and his signs which told people that God indeed has the last word. It is important therefore for us to remember that we are all baptized to be Prophets, Priests and Kings and that like Jesus we fulfill our prophetic ministry not simply by what we say but much more by the ways in which we remind those around us that the forces of evil will not triumph, that God indeed has the last word.
This has been the authentic tradition of the Church and of the baptized throughout the history of the Church. It is because of that tradition that Catholic hospitals were first built. It is because of that tradition that religious congregations dedicated to the education of the poor were founded. It is that tradition which motivated Mother Teresa of Calcutta and Mon. Romero in El Salvador and it is that tradition which you and I baptized Christians have to keep alive, not simply for the Church but for this world in which we live. In an age in which violence and division are so rampant, it is important to keep on reminding all, especially those who suffer, that in spite of what it may seem, evil will not triumph and God indeed will have the last word.
Prayer
All powerful and ever-loving God, your Son Jesus, went about showing those of his time, through his miracles and healings, that evil would not triumph and that YOU God indeed has the last word. He had indeed spent his life as the defender of the poor and helpless. Help us his brothers and sisters, baptized and anointed as Prophets to live our lives as Prophets seriously so that the injustices perpetrated against the poor may be eliminated from this world and all will come to understand that God and not evil has the final word. We ask this through the intercession of Mary our mother and your Son Jesus. Amen
