The Widow of Nain

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator

As I am sure you are aware, there are several resuscitation stories in the Gospels. All three of the synoptic Gospels record the raising of the little girl, the daughter of Jairus. St. John's Gospel records the remarkable story of the raising of Lazarus who had lain in a tomb for four days. Today's reading brings us a story of the raising of the son the widow of Nain, a story that is peculiar to the Gospel of St. Luke.

Burial practices in the Middle East and in most countries where the climate is very warm require that the dead be interred within twenty-four hours of their deaths. In today's Gospel reading, we read that Jesus encounters the grieving widow as she walks behind the group which is carrying her son's body to the place of burial. The Gospel tells us that Jesus raises the boy because he is moved with pity.

Widows were among the most vulnerable people in Jewish culture. If a woman was left without a son after her husband died, she was left without any kind of support system. Her husband's property would have been handed down to his closest living relative. Until her son died, the widow of Nain was among the fortunate. Jewish law provided that the son was responsible for his mother until he was thirty years old. Given the fact that life expectancy in this culture and at this time was not much more than thirty years, it is reasonable to conclude that this Jewish law was based upon the ordinary life span. There are, of course, exceptions to the rule. St. Luke also tells the story of a very old widow named Hannah in the opening chapters of his Gospel.

Jesus' pity for the woman was, no doubt, based upon the fact that this woman was now left with no resources. By restoring her son's life, he actually restored her life. The Gospel records that Jesus touched the man's coffin, an act that would have rendered him ritually impure for the next seven days. In other words, Jesus went to remarkable lengths to provide for this woman's future.

This story is typical of St. Luke's Gospel in that it features a person who was condemned to a life of poverty by the Jewish Law. Remember that St. Luke himself was not Jewish and wrote for a non-Jewish audience. His Gospel often features people who are left on the fringes of society. The story of the Samaritan leper as well as the parable of the Good Samaritan are just two examples that are exclusively found in St. Luke's Gospel.

This story is a poignant reminder that there are still people in our society who are left without resources and our responsibility to reach out to them in compassion.