10th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle C, Year II)
Community Word:
The power of God’s spoken word deepens our compassion, enables us to forgive, and makes us steadfast in following Jesus.
Theme: The spoken word of God empowers us to be compassionate and sensitive to those in need.
Promise: “You change my mourning into dancing.” (Ps 30:12)
Reflection:
In the first reading, Elijah restores a son back to life through prayer and a series of actions – he lays the dead son on his bed, stretches himself over him and prays for the return of his life, at which the mother is led to exclaim: “The word of the Lord comes truly from your mouth… you are a man of God,” (1King 17:24). In the Gospel, a mere word from Jesus is sufficient to bring the dead son back to life. In both cases, compassion for the grieving mother triggers the restoration of life.
We are given a glimpse of the human side of Jesus when he encounters a funeral procession upon entering the city of Naim. Seeing the anguish of the mother at the death of her only son, Jesus is moved to pity and restores the dead son back to life. He tells her “do not weep,” (Lk 7:13). And without being asked, He steps forward, touches the coffin and says: “Young man, I tell you, arise!” (Lk 7:14).“The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother,” (Lk 7:15).
What was the reaction of the crowd? The people were amazed and they glorified God. They exclaimed, “God has visited His people,” (Lk 7:16). The word “visit” in biblical terms means divine intervention. It stands for salvation. It signifies that God is so concerned, He acts, doing what is necessary and beneficial. And truly, in His Son Jesus, “God has visited His people.” Jesus’s visit demonstrates God’s unconditional and constant love for us. Although the act of raising the dead son to lifeclearly reveals the presence of divine power, St. Luke describes the incident in such a way as to emphasize the love and compassion that motivated Jesus to perform the miracle in the first place. This underscores our theme for this week: The spoken word of God empowers us to be compassionate and sensitive to those in need. It is essential to open ourselves to the healing touch of Jesus, the reviving touch of the Lord. Are we humble enough to admit that we need Jesus to raise up the dead areas of our life?
When Jesus encountered the grieving mother of Naim, Heacted without being asked. There was no petition, no prayer, no expectation, or expression of hope or faith on the part of the mother to elicit such a miracle. It was a spontaneous outflow from the compassionate heart of Jesus. By restoring her only son to life, He gave her back new hope, new life. “Jesus gave him back to his mother,” (Lk 7:15) – this phrase summarizes the whole story. While it is about divine compassion, it is also about God’s life-giving power. We can say that with Jesus, there is always fresh hope, new opportunities. With Jesus, there is salvation, a new life and a future.
The Gospel tells us that Jesus is a man of love and empathy. He feels what we feel. He knows what goes on in our hearts that causeus pain. God allows suffering and trials to happen because He is able to make goodcome from tough and challenging situations. He showed this through His own Son whom He allowed to suffer and die for our salvation. It is this belief that sustains us in the midst of our sufferings and trials. Ours, then, is the promise from Psalm 30: 12: “You change my mourning into dancing.”
Prayer:
Jesus, our strength, our life, and our hope. Just as you had compassion on the widowed mother and gave her son back to her, surely, you will hear our prayers. Heal us of our pain and sufferings, and grant us the grace we need. As we experience your compassion, expand our capacity to extend the same compassion to others.
Reflection Questions:
1. How have we demonstrated compassion when confronted by the sufferings of others?
2. Cite an incident in your life when you felt that God “visited” you and your loved ones.
This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
June 5, 2016 (Sun) 1 Kgs 17:17-24/Ps 30:2,4,5-6,11,12,13/Gal 1::11-19/Lk 7:11-17
June 6, 2016 (Mon) 1 Kgs 17:1-7/Ps 121:1-2,3-4,5-6,7-8/Mt 5:1-12
June 7, 2016 (Tue) 1 Kgs 17:7-16/Ps 4:2-3,4-5,7-8/Mt 5:13-16
June 8, 2016 (Wed) 1 Kgs 18:20-39/Ps 16:1-2,4,5,8,11/Mt 5:17-19
June 9, 2016 (Thu) 1 Kgs 18:41-46/Ps 65:10,10-11,12-13/Mt 5:20-26
June 10, 2016 (Fri) 1 Kgs 19;9,11-16/Ps 27:7-8,8-9, 13-14/Mt 5:27-32
June 11, 2016 (Sat) Acts 11:21-06;13:1-3/Ps 98:1,2-3,3-4,5-6/Mt 33-37
“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ. Read your Bible daily!”
