FIRST READING: 1 Kings 17:17-24. The son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill; and his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. And she said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to cause the death of my son!” And he said to her, “Give me your son.” And he took him, from her bosom, and carried him up into the upper chamber, where he lodged, and laid him upon his own bed. And he cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, hast thou brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?” Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, let this child’s soul come into him again.” And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah took the child, and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house, and delivered him to his mother; and Elijah said, “See, your son lives.” And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”
SECOND READING: Galatians 1: 11-19. I would have you know, brethren, that the Gospel which was preached by me is not man’s Gospel. For I did not receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the Church of God violently and tried to destroy it; and I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and had called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia; and again I returned to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas, and remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other Apostles except James the Lord’s brother.
GOSPEL: Luke 7:11-17. Jesus went to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. As he drew near to the gate of the city, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a large crowd from the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” And he came and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” And the dead man sat up, and began to speak. And he gave him to his mother. Fear seized them all; and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” And this report concerning him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.
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Both 1 Kings and Luke present us with widows whose only son had died. This appears as if it was a casual choice of example to illustrate Elijah’s and Jesus’ miracles. However, there seems to be more to it. In ancient times widows in general were doomed to misery; their only hope to live a decent life would have been a son, who could work for their livelihood. By the death of this hope, all they could expect from life was perpetual poverty, unhappiness and suffering. Their lives were living exemplars of the unjust society they were living in. By restoring the sons to the widows Elijah and Jesus make a political point: they bring back hope and the possibility of a decent and dignified life.
That is what God’s action makes. It restores life; it brings back happiness to where human injustices have created only suffering and anguish.
Paul calls these injustices “man’s Gospel”, and starkly contrasts it to the Gospel of Jesus. He recalls how he once was a faithful, if blind, servant to the former, whereas later he realised his grave mistake and became a servant of the latter. He formerly was a servant of a religion which satisfied and confirmed the status quo. Later he became a servant of a religion which challenges injustices and works to build a just society of peace for all.
Jesus is a visible personification of God’s justice and righteousness. As is his community throughout the ages.
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