“Do not weep”
Why does Jesus tell the woman not to weep? “He wished to moderate her excessive sorrow, and to teach us that we should not mourn for the loss of our relatives, like the heathens who have no hope of resurrection to eternal life (Thess. 4:12). Resignation to the will of God with prayer and good works, will be of more use to the dead than many tears.”[i]
What similes can be drawn from the mother? The mother in this story is like our mother Mary who wept for her Son on the cross. The mother is also like the Church who weeps for us. “May Mother Church weep for you for she intervenes for each of her children as the widowed mother intervened for her only son…And may a multitude of people [the people of the faithful] share in the grief of the good mother”[ii].
Why does Jesus show compassion for the mother? Father Gabriel writes, “Perhaps the weeping woman made him think of another mother, his own, who would one day see him dying on the cross, and, later, contemplate him risen.”[iii] “So He goes up to her and says, ‘Do not weep’ (Luke 7:13). It is like saying, ‘I don’t want to see your crying; I have come on earth to bring joy and peace.’ And then comes the miracle, the sign of the power of Christ who is God. But first came his compassion an evident sign of the tenderness of the heart of Christ the man.”[iv]
Why does Jesus raise the child from the dead? It was because He was so moved with compassion and pity for the woman who had lost everything that was important to her, her only son. Luke says that Jesus was “moved with compassion”. This could be similar to the compassion he had with Lazarus and moved to tears. “He could have passed by or waited until they called him. But He didn’t. He took the initiative, because He was moved by a widow’s sorrow.”[v]
What else does this resurrection show us of the child? The resurrection of the child shows us a couple of things. First, it shows that Jesus is the messiah. He has the power to raise the dead. In the first reading we read of Elijah bringing a child back to life not by his own power, but through prayers to the Father. In the gospel reading Jesus under His own power brings the boy back to life. Many people who saw the miracle thought he was like Elijah in bringing the dead back to life. This is why they call Jesus a “prophet”. Jesus shows us on more than one occasion He has this power to raise the dead.
The child’s resurrection also shows us that we too will one day be raised from the dead by the power of Jesus Christ. Jesus tells us to not weep too bitterly for those who have died, because He will raise us all up on the last day.
Finally, the miracle of the raising of the boy from death shows us the foreshadowing of Christ’s death and resurrection. When He would be taken out of the city, die, and be buried while His mother wept. It shows that Jesus rose from the dead just as He promised, and has the power to rise all from the dead.
Where else in Scripture does Jesus raise people from the dead? We know of two other stories in the Gospels similar to the one we read today. Besides today’s reading: The raising of Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5:35-43), and the raising of Lazarus (John 11:1-44)
What can we take from this Gospel Reading and apply it to our day and time? Just as Jesus shows perfect compassion and charity so too must we strive to show love and compassion to everyone we meet. “We should ask ourselves in our prayer today whether we know how to love everybody who crosses our path in this life, whether we have a real concern for their misfortunes, a concern that leads us to act in an effective way; thus, when we come to our daily examination of conscience we will find in the course of it that we have many acts of charity and of mercy we can offer to God.”[vi] “We should ask Our Lord to give us a good heart, capable of having compassion for other people’s pain. Only with such a heart can we realize that the true balm for the suffering and anguish in this world is love, charity. All other consolations hardly even have a temporary effect and leave behind them bitterness and despair.”[vii]
[i] Goffine, The Church’s Year, pg. 412
[ii] St. Ambrose Comm Gosp St. Luke, V,9
[iii] Fr. Gabriel, Divine Intimacy Vol. III, pg. 22
[iv] J. Escriva, Christ is passing by, 166
[v] J. Escriva, Christ is passing by, 166
[vi] Fernandez, In Conversation with God, 3, 81.1
[vii] J. Escriva, Christ is passing by, 167