“Do not weep.” (Luke 7:13).
During the first conversation that God has with Moses in the Old Testament, “The LORD said, ‘I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.’” (Exodus 3:7).
And I have been reflecting on those words, because ours is a God who helps.
You see, in the Old Testament, Moses pre-figured Christ as the saviour of the Israelites. This is not to say that Moses was in some way God, but what it says is that Moses was the instrument used by God to free the Israelites from the Egyptians and that later, Christ was God Himself come to Earth to free the whole of humanity...
And the first words that God spoke to Moses prior to this (albeit physical) salvation were words of MERCY that acknowledged the suffering of His people… “‘…I am concerned about their suffering.’” (Exodus 3:7).
And that same mercy is evident in the words and actions of Christ many many many times in the New Testament…
“As He drew near to the gate of the city of Naim, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a large crowd from the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, ‘Do not weep.’ And He came and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And He said, ‘Young man, I say to you, arise.’ And the dead man sat up, and began to speak. And He gave him to his mother. Fear seized them all; and they glorified God, saying, ‘A great prophet has arisen among us!’ and ‘God has visited his people!’” (Luke 7:11-17).
There is a very old cliché that says, “There is nothing more certain than death and taxes…” And yet, what compassion of God for His people! You see, despite the inevitability of DEATH Christ restored Earthly life...
So, I have been reflecting on the actions of Christ in restoring that dead son to life… Why did He do it? After all, that son would one day die again, and all that Christ really did was delay the inevitable. And yet He did that even so…
Why?
Christ did it out of mercy and He showed that mercy when He said to the widow, “Do not weep”.
And as I reflect on this, the parallels between this widow and the Blessed Virgin at Calvary are obvious. After all, in Christ’s ancient society, widows were the weakest and most vulnerable members of the society. They had no social, political or economic power, and they lived at the mercy of their community. So, the widow at Nain was grieving not only the loss of her only son, but also the loss of her place and protection in the world.
But there was something more there too. You see, the widow Nain lost her child. And a mother’s love for her child is an extraordinary thing. In my own experience in losing my little boy before he was even born, I felt physical pain from the burning love that I wished to express to that precious soul and which I was unable to articulate in an effective manner in the world.
And that causes me to reflect on the Blessed Virgin... For when she gave her FIAT to the Angel Gabriel at the Annunciation, she was consenting to be completely vulnerable in her world. Not only was she consenting to live a life of poverty and sacrifice for the salvation of souls as Christ’s FIRST disciple, but she was consenting to live the life of a mother and widow whose Son would die.
And that lends new insights into Christ’s words on the Cross… “When Jesus saw His mother there, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, ‘Dear woman, here is your son,’ and to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’” (John 19:26-27).
For though the Blessed Virgin accepted imperfect humanity in place of her Perfect Son… Christ understood that the Blessed Virgin is the PERFECT mother. And as an IMPERFECT mother myself, it occurs to me that if I have a great capacity to love with my very limited mother’s heart, the Blessed Virgin’s capacity to love is unfathomable…
So, when I think of the PERFECT capacity for love that the Blessed Virgin has in her heart, I can see the great MERCY that Christ had for His Perfect Mother – even suffering and dying on the Cross… Because, even then – with His dying breath – He gave her children to love for all eternity. Because He remembered (surely) the suffering heart of the widow Nain, who had lost a child to love…
And remembering that, He knew what would be of help…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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