I TELL YOU, ARISE! ~ CookingFood.Org

“HONEY FROM THE ROCK”

Daily Reflections

Tuesday, 19^thSeptember 2017,

Twenty fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Col 2: 6-15;

Ps 144: 1-2, 8-11;

Lk 7: 11-17

I TELL YOU, ARISE!

The miracle of the raising the widow’s son at Nain is a miracle that is found only in the Gospel of Luke. Yesterday we saw the healing of the Centurion’s servant who was ill and at the point of death. Today, the son of the widow is already dead. Jesus raises the boy quite simply with an authoritative command. The crowd responds by regarding Jesus as a prophet and by affirming that God has been favourable to his people through the deed that Jesus had just done.

Luke succeeds to paint a very beautiful picture on the encounter of the two processions: the first procession of death which is going out of the city, accompanying the widow’s only son towards the cemetery; the second procession of life enters the city and accompanies Jesus. It is compassion which moves Jesus to speak and to act. Jesus sees a mother's tears, realizes that this widow has lost her only son, and Jesus is moved with compassion, and intervenes. Imagine the joy of the widow, as she saw her dead son came back to life. It would have been a moment that she would never forget and for which she would be eternally grateful.

Jesus spoke and what He spoke came to be. The dead came back to life at His command. But these words also reveal a deep spiritual truth. Jesus may not bring our loved ones back to life, in a literal way, but He does speak powerful words to us in many other ways. When our faith is strong and we turn to Him with hope, trust and surrender, He will speak to us words that lift us out of our misery and pain. There is great power in the words of our Lord. Offer Him, this day, your sins and all that weighs you down and listen for Him to speak to you. Let Him say to you, “I tell you, arise!” Arise from your sin, hurt, anger and pain. Let His words sink in and transform your life bringing what seems to be dead back to life.

Prayer: Lord, I surrender to You all that I am and all that weighs me down in life. I entrust to You my sin, hurt, anger and all that appears to be an obstacle to the newness of life to which You are calling me. May I surrender all to You, dear Lord, and hear You call me from my despair to newness of life. Jesus, I trust in You. Amen.