A widow and her boy
| Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. 12 As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her.13 When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, "Don't cry." 14 Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, "Young man, I say to you, get up!" 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. 16 They were all filled with awe and praised God. "A great prophet has appeared among us," they said. "God has come to help his people." (Luke7:11-16 ) |
Genuine faith is not dependent upon proof – in fact, any faith that requires proof is not faith at all. Certainly miracles are not going to make anyone believe, because, as with politicians and car salesmen and carnival hucksters, we don't believe what we are hearing or seeing. Miracles can be explained away. While the Gospels are full of miracle stories, Jesus himself denounces the generation that looks for a sign from him to prove that he is who he claims to be. Jesus never performed a miracle because someone demanded it. Jesus performed miracles because he was moved with compassion to human need. In this passage, the one in need was a woman whose only son had died. She would be sentenced to a destitute life, a life of servitude and begging, forced to depend upon the generosity of others in order to keep from starvation.
"What, or whom, can we believe?" is the question which many people ask in our postmodern world where knowledge is abundant but truth is obscure. The answer Jesus gives us through his interaction with this woman and her son is that we can trust and believe in the God who is always faithful. This doesn't mean we can predict or determine the outcome of God's actions in our lives – our God is not an idol we can manipulate to our own ends. It does mean that when we find ourselves with our back against the ropes, when we struggle for answers to difficult questions, when we don't know where to turn or whom to ask for help, we can trust God to intervene. We have to believe that God has the power and ability to bring what is good and right and true even from the most difficult circumstances. In the midst of difficulty, our task is to be aware of, to discern, what God is up to in our lives and in the corporate life of our community so that we can co-operate with what God is already doing and see the hand of God in the midst of our crisis.
Maybe you find yourself in the midst of crisis today. Take a deep breath and ask God to show you how God is at work in your life and in the life of those around you. And then hand your crisis over to God and see what happens. Like this woman on her way to a funeral, you might be surprised.
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Peter Langerman lives and works in Durbanville Cape Town; is married to Sally and they have four daughters. Peter keeps fit by swimming; he enjoys hiking and walking in nature. He loves cooking for friends and family. He is also the Moderator Elect of General Assembly.
