Finding Compassion, Love and Hope

Scripture Reflection for the Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (June 9, 2013)

Scripture Readings:
1 Kings 17:17-24
Psalm 30
Galatians 1:11-19
Luke 7:11-17

A few weeks ago, the brother of a good friend of mine committed suicide, after struggling with an episode of severe mental illness. It was a shock for the family and everybody who knew him. I was able to attend the wake,and while I was there I was really struck by the strong faith of his parents and siblings. While there were a lot of tears and deep pain, there was no despair, but hope. Hope in a God who provides love, comfort and consolation in the midst of immense suffering. Talking with one of the family members, she shared with me how she was struggling with the question: “How can this be God’s will?” It’s a question that humanity has been struggling with since the beginning: “Where does all our pain and suffering come from? How can God allow bad things to happen?”

I thought of this conversation when I read through the readings for this Sunday. It seems to me that the widow in the first reading is asking the same question. After her son got sick and died, she thinks that it must have been God through his prophet Elijah who caused his death. It turns out that she was wrong and Elijah actually becomes the cause of her son’s healing. But I do understand where she is coming from. If God is the cause of all the good things in our lives – is God also the cause of the bad things? Is it God’s will that people die?

I am not trying to give a theological or philosophical answer to this complex question. But I would like to share with you that one sentence that sticks out to me in our Gospel reading. The Gospel story describes a similar situation to the one in our first reading. Again the only son of a widow had died. Besides the loss of a person she loved, this was also the worst case scenario for a woman in those days: With the husband dead and no male children, there was no one who would take care of her. This time it is Jesus who sees the pain of the women and understands her tragic situation. And here is the crucial sentence: “When the Lord saw her, he was moved with pity for her…” Jesus was moved with pity. And because of Jesus’ compassion for the woman, the young man was healed. There were no pre-conditions, no strings attached. The only motivation was Jesus’ love for that woman. This is the God that Jesus came to give witness to: A God who is close to humans, who suffers when we suffer, who is love and compassion. A God who has pity for the woman, who lost her only son, wouldn’t cause his death in the first place, would he?

As Paul writes in his letter to the Galatians, God has called us “from [our] mother’s womb” and the only thing God wants from us is to grow closer to God and share the good news of God’s love with others. Bad things happen in life, tragic things may happen, but God will use all these circumstances to draw us closer to him and help us understand God’s unlimited love and compassion that became revealed in Jesus. That’s why there is always hope, that’s why we can’t fall into despair even in moments of great suffering. That’s why we can join the song of praise of the widow and the people witnessing Jesus’ healing action and exclaim with them: “A great prophet has arisen in our midst. God has visited his people.”

On the other side it is also true that we are human beings. God’s love can sometimes seem very abstract, especially when we are overwhelmed with feelings of deep sorrow. When my friend’s brother passed away, the family was sharing with me how much they felt supported – by their own family members but also by their friends and especially the parish community.People dropped off food for them, cleared the parish hall for the wake and took care of them in a very concrete way. Through the love of their friends and family, they were able to “touch” God’s love in a very concrete way.

As we gather for the Eucharist today let us reflect on God’s love for us and let us go out and be God’s presence for others, so that through us, individually and as a faith community, others may experience compassion, love and hope in their lives.