|
|
All the gospels emphasize the greatness of the Lord.
The Gospel of Mark presents people pushing against Jesus, crowding Him, trying
just to touch him. The Gospel of John presents Jesus as the Eternal Word
existing for all time but becoming flesh in our time. The Gospel of Luke emphasizes
Jesus’ greatness in a different way. In Luke, Jesus manifests His greatness in
His compassion. We have an example of this in today’s Gospel reading. Jesus
comes upon a widow following her son's funeral litter. He feels deeply for her.
Her sorrow becomes His sorrow. He gives the son back to the mother. Like Elijah
in the first reading, He conquers death. Like Elijah, He shows His greatness in
His compassion[1].
The Gospel of Luke is the Gospel of the Compassionate
Lord. The message is clear: the Lord
cares for each of us as individuals. He is not too big for us, or too great
for us. In fact, He shows His greatness in the concern He has for each of us.
And He calls us to follow. To be as He is. In the
Gospel of Matthew, we come upon the order: Be
perfect as my heavenly father is perfect[2].
In the Gospel of Luke the same directive is rephrased to: Be compassionate as my heavenly father is compassionate[3].
It is impossible for us to be too caring, too giving,
or too concerned about others. It's just difficult. We have busy
schedules. We can't handle
additional emotional grief. We find excuses why we can't spend time with a
family with a sick child, or with the elderly lady down the block. Many times
people have said to me, "My child came down with cancer, and all my
friends became strangers." We were surrounded with help at first, but as
the weeks became months and he became sicker and sicker, many people seemed to
disappear. Perhaps that's because it hurts to expose ourselves to another's
grief. But this hurt can bring support, this hurt can bring healing. Sure, we
are busy. Jesus was busy too. But
He didn't look for excuses to stop everything and reach out to the hurting. His
heart went out to those in need. He was compassionate. His heart goes out to us
too. He cares about every one of us. And He calls us to be like him, to be
compassionate. You remember what He said after He washed His disciples feet
before the Last Supper: What you have
seen me do, you must do. We have to allow the compassion of the Lord to
flow through us to others. This takes courage. This takes love, His Love. So, today let's think how we are
going to take a bit of time to bring comfort to those who suffer? Is visiting a
hospital for my family and me? Can I accompany any of the ministers of the
Eucharist to visit a patient? What I can I do for others? That is the
fundamental question: what do I do for others? Man or woman who does not live
with a great attitude of service, for sure will not find meaning in almost
anything ■
