1 Timothy 3:1-13
Luke 7:11-17
Who can overcome the world, conquer death, bind our wounds and cure us of all diseases? Only God can do such wonders. Our encounter with the Lord in faith and trust can do all that seems to be impossible for us. Many times in the gospel , we find Jesus smacked in midst of somebody’s sorrow, pain or loss, and he quickly demonstrates his divine consolation, mercy and compassion. In today’s gospel, as Jesus was about to enter the city of Nain with his disciples, they encounter a funeral procession. The deceased was a young man, and “the only son of his mother, and she was a widow.” The Lord was moved with compassion and as a result, Jesus raised the young man back to life and at the end of today’s gospel, we can understand why the crowd were moved to say”God has visited his people’. One of the most important nature of God is his compassion. Scripture tells us that the Lord is compassionate and gracious. Exodus 34:6; Psalm 103:8.
The great theologian of the thirteenth century, St. Thomas Aquinas, taught that compassion is the most important characteristic of God and the quality that most fully reveals to us who God is. He said that God’s power is a power of compassion and that we who are made in the image of God are most like God when we show compassion. God continues to visit his people when we extend to others the compassion that God in Christ has shown to us. What are we waiting for? After all, if we start with compassion, who knows what miracles might follow.
Fr Joseph Osho
