Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and His disciples and a large crowd went along with Him. As He approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, His heart went out to her and He said, “Don’t cry.”
Then He went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.
They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help His people.” This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country. Luke 11:11-17
“Jesus crosses paths again with a crowd of people. 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. She had just lost all she had, her son. The evangelist [Luke] explains that Jesus was moved. Perhaps even showed signs of it… Jesus Christ was not, and is not, insensitive to suffering…
Christ knows He is surrounded by a crowd which will be awed by the miracle and will tell the story all over the countryside. But He does not act artificially, merely to make an effect. Quite simply, He is touched by that woman’s suffering and cannot keep from consoling her. So He goes up to her and says, ‘Do not weep’. It is like saying, ‘I don’t want to see you 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…
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 the world is love, charity. All other consolations hardly even have a temporary effect and leave behind them bitterness and despair.”
Josemaría Escrivá (1902-1975) in Christ is Passing By (Strongsville: Scepter, 1974) 166.
As we continue following Christ to see His generosity and follow His example, we come to the miracle of the healing of the widow’s son in Nain.
If you recall, the context has Jesus walking along with with his newly-picked ordinary people as disciples and with them and in front of a crowd, we see this display of compassion coupled with the miracle of healing.
We might be tempted to say, but how can I bring the same healing? How can I exchange brokenness for blessing or turn grief into generosity? The answer is not to try to solve problems with money but lead with love.
Remember, the apostle Paul tells us this. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[a] but do not have love, I gain nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:3
So where does our money and our resources come into play? After the compassion. Notice Jesus first was moved, then he acted. When we lead with love and then put to work what we have, God can do the same miracles through us.
If you don’t believe me, then I challenge you to do this. Move toward the brokenness in your context with love. Then once you meet the grief and pain, face to face with love, use what you have to minister and see what happens.
Remember, in these last two months of the year we do not want to overlook the needs of those around us but attune to them, bring love to them, and whatever resources we can muster, and trust God to work.