Restored to Life:
Scott Hahn Reflects on the 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Scott Hahn Reflects on the 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Readings:
1 Kings 17-17-24
Jesus in today’s Gospel meets a funeral
procession coming out of the gates of the town of Nain. Unlike when he
raised Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5) or Lazarus (John 11), no one requests his assistance. Moved by compassion for
the widow who had lost her only son, Jesus steps forward and, laying his hand
on the bier, commands him to arise.
The onlookers were reminded of the
story of Elijah in the first reading who raised the dead child of the widow of
Zarephath and “gave him [back] to his mother.” They proclaimed that “a
great prophet has arisen in our midst.”
Jesus of course is more than a prophet;
he is the ruler over life and death. In the Mosaic law, contact with a
dead body renders an Israelite unclean for a week (Numbers 19:11-19). Jesus’ touch
and word reverses that; instead of being defiled by contact with death, he gave
life.
Like the physical healings that he
performed, Jesus’ raising people from the dead is a sign of the Messiah’s
arrival (Luke 7:22). But it is more than that; these healings are visible
signs of the awakening and liberating of men from the spiritual death caused by
sin (see Mark 2:1-12).
The Church Fathers return to this theme
again and again. St. Ambrose writes, “the widow signifies Mother Church,
weeping for those who are dead in sin and carried beyond the safety of her
gates. The multitudes looking on will praise the Lord when sinners rise
again from death and are restored to their mother.”
When we are dead in sin, it is the
outstretched hand and the words of Christ spoken by his priest that raise
us from spiritual death and restore us to the arms of our mother, the
Church. With the Psalmist, then, we can sing “I will praise you, Lord,
for you have rescued me. You brought me up from the nether world; you
preserved me from those going down into the pit."
Yours in Christ,
Scott Hahn, PhD
Scott Hahn, PhD
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