Tuesday of 24th Week, Year II: reflection
Theme: Do not weep; God has visited his people, and He will restore your joy.
Reading: Lk: 7:11–17
In Jeremiah 31:13, God said: “I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.” In the three cases where Jesus raised the dead, he turned the morning of the bereaved into gladness and restored their joy, giving the assurance that He has the mission to restore our hope and joy. He told Martha and Mary to weep no more because their brother Lazarus will live, and He brought Lazarus back to life, restoring the joy of his sisters and family. He told Jairus and the mourners in his house to stop crying because their girl was not dead, and He demonstrated this by bringing the girl back to life and turned their somber atmosphere into one of joy. Then, to the woman of Nain, which we read in today’s gospel, Jesus told to weep no more because God has visited His people, and He wiped the tears of the woman by raising her son and restoring her joy. Jesus is still actively turning people’s mourning into joy.
A closer look at the situation that surrounded the woman of Nain will throw more light on Christ’s mission of restoration of hope and joy. She was a widow, which meant she had lost her husband, her first pillar of support in the family. Then, she after struggling to raise her only son, perhaps, her only child, to be her next pillar of support in life, death came and snatched him away. As they carried her son away, she wept uncontrollably, watching her only source of hope and support going to the grave. What a devastating situation she found herself in. At that point, Jesus stepped in, for He never abandons His people in their time of need and never ignores their cry. He wiped the widow’s tears by restoring her only source of joy and support.
Dear friends, I don’t know what you have lost; I don’t know how long you have wept; I don’t know how you have been surviving the many devastating situations that hit your life; and I don’t know when and where Jesus will meet you to pull you out of your tears, because I am not one of the prophets that speak when God has not spoken to them. But what I am very sure of is that Jesus has visited His people, that His name is Emmanuel — God is with us, that He has said we should weep no more, that He has wiped away the tears of many people and restored the sources of their joy, and that He will not pass you by. So, stand strong and hold on to your faith in Him.
May God restore your joy, Amen.
Fr Isaac C. Chima.