Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time -
A Reflection by Fr. Leo
In our scripture readings today, Elijah prays to God and restores the widow’s son to life and Jesus, being God, restores another widow’s son saying, “Young man I tell you arise!” Elijah prays for God’s intercession, Jesus, being God, raises the son himself. Both stories inspire faith in the power of God to give and restore life, as these stories continue to spread to “all the surrounding region.”
It is stories like these that inspire us to pray for miracles ourselves. And each of us, at different times in our lives, have prayed for such manifestation of the presence of God. We too have at times prayed, desperately like the widow, for life….and we will again in the future. Such is our faith, that we will call upon God all the more when things look hopeless.
We are to keep this faith even when our prayers seem not to be answered. Not always, maybe even rarely, does God intervene as he did in today’s reading. Before we blame such moments on a “Lack of faith,” we may need to consider that our prayers are being answered in a way that is still a great blessing for us and our loved ones, but not comprehendible in the moment.
Blessings emerge from all experiences, because all of life is a sharing in God’s life, and God is the one who breaths life into all things. So to live is sharing in God’s life, but for us there is a greater sharing in God’s life to come, in the resurrection from the dead. This is God’s greatest gift to our souls and becomes a source of joy after the pain of death dissipates.
Our scriptures also reveal the infinite compassion of God as well. Both widows receive the gift of their sons returned to life, which restored their lives as well. For without sons, the widows would have been left in an impoverished state because of the culture of the time. Thus, we can also place our faith in the endless compassion of God. For I believe that God will always raise us up and bring us into the fullness of his life, whether we can see or comprehend it in the moment or not.
Let us pray that God may strengthen our faith in his goodness and love, as we come to trust God’s love to bring us to the fullness of life!