When the Lord saw her, he was moved with pity for her and said to her, “Do not weep.” He stepped forward and touched the coffin; at this the bearers halted, and he said, “Young man, I tell you, arise!”
The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother (Luke 7:13-15).
Jesus was moved with pity for her. Pity has been watered down in our contemporary understanding of the word. Pity is often understood as feeling sorry for someone, which is not untrue, but from the original Greek there is a stronger translation for the word used which is splanchnizomai, (try saying that three times fast, no really it’s fun :)). It means to be moved from a deeper level of the abdominal area. Thus, for Jesus he is deeply and emotionally moved, has compassion for, is willing to suffer with her.
Why this woman he has only just encountered now? As a widow, she has already lost her husband, and now she has lost her only son. She may still have family but is suffering with the loss of the two closest people in her life. During the time she lives, in such a paternalistic culture, she has also lost her protectors and providers, her means of safety and support. Another possibility is that once Jesus begins his ministry, there is no mention of Joseph. He most likely has died, and Jesus is moving closer to the same. Could he see his own mother, Mary, in this woman?
Jesus, as he does with us, is moved deeply because he recognizes the multiple layers of her grief and pain. She has not asked for help, he comes close to bring her son back to life and does so.
A question might also arise for those of us who have especially lost someone we care about deeply. Why didn’t Jesus do that for my spouse, my child, Marietta’s daughter? One response is that Jesus sees further down the line.
Even in this healing of the son, and later the daughter of Jairus, and Lazarus, they will all die again. Their healings are but a foretaste of the true healing Jesus came to bring. Jesus became one with us in our humanity to give his life, to die for us, to conquer death once and for all so that we might have life for all eternity. Those of us who die with Jesus will rise with him on the last day. Death does not have the last say, Jesus does. This means we want to develop a relationship with him now, not just learn about him, but to intimately know and give our lives to him as he gave his for us.
As our relationship with Jesus continues to mature and develop, we begin to die more to our old selves and to our fallen natures as we are willing to be stretched beyond our many comfort zones. As the perfection of Jesus dwells more within us, the partial, the attachments, the lies, the fears, insecurities and disfunctions, begin to pass away. Sooner rather than later would be nice yes, but that is how patience grows as well.
We will experience anxiety and stress as we let go, similar to when we heal from a broken bone as there is pain while the bone heals. We can take comfort in the truth that Jesus leads us through our inner healing, surrender, and growth gently and slowly. He lovingly offers his hand to lead us as we are willing. The process goes more smoothly the less we resist and the more we trust and abide in his love. Again, not as fast as we would like, but he knows what we can bear, and when sometimes we feel we are bearing too much we must lean on him all the more.
A good sign of our dying to self is when we too can experience a movement of splanchnizomai, deep compassion, not only for those we hold close to our hearts, but also for those who, like Jesus with the widow, we just meet and reach out to help in their need and allow God to happen through us.
Photo: Orthodox icon accessed from: orthochristian.com/87110.html
Spiritual Stepping Stones 