18 September. Tuesday, Week 24

1st Reading: 1 Corinthians (12:12-14, 27-31)

Many gifts are meant for service to the community, the body of Christ

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the organs in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single organ, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to he hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body which seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those parts of the body which we think less honourable we invest with the greater honour, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving the greater honour to the inferior part, that there may be no discord in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together.
Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, then healers, helpers, administrators, speakers in various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.

Resp. Psalm (Ps 100)

R.: We are his people, the sheep of his flock

Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Serve the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing for joy. (R./)
Know that he, the Lord, is God.
He made us, we belong to him,
we are his people, the sheep of his flock. (R./)
Go within his gates giving thanks,
enter his courts with songs of praise.
Give thanks to him and bless his name. (R./)
Indeed, how good is the Lord,
eternal his merciful love.
He is faithful from age to age. (R./)

Gospel: Luke (7:11-17)

Jesus restores life to the son of a widow. The people respond with awe

Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. As he approached the gate of the town, a man who had died was being carried out. He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow; and with her was a large crowd from the town. When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then he came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, rise!” The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized all of them; and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen among us!” and “God has looked favourably on his people!” This word about him spread throughout Judea and all the surrounding country.

Many roles to be filled

Examining the New Testament from the Gospels through to First Corinthians and then the Pastoral Epistles, we notice development in the understanding of church leadership. In today’s Gospel, Corinthians puts miracle working fourth in a list of services in the church (after apostle, prophet and teacher.) In the Pastorals the offices of apostle and miracle worker are not mentioned at all, and the focus is on the leading functions of bishops, deacons, deaconess and (later) presbyters and widows. Then Jesus spontaneously works a miracle in response to a widowed mother’s grief.
As the church expanded through the Mediterranean world, and faced crises of internal cohesion and external persecution, its need of organization grew. This is often paralleled in the development of an individual’s life. Children and youths are filled with hope and seem willing and able to become anything they choose. As young adults, they must choose a particular path, yet they still bring creative innovation within their vocation. Finally, as mature adults they tend to settle into relative caution and conservatism.
Paul’s concern regarding authority is, “Which of these pastoral offices is best for the needs of church life?” The more charismatic type of leadership carries high risks of splintering. Belief in miracles can result in mad fervor where religion becomes a cult, and the cult leader exercises absolute and lucrative control. On the other hand, we respect the part played by miracles in the Bible and in early church history. Whether in church or in our own personal lives, we must not forget Jesus, the miracle worker. The spontaneity of charisma brings energy to the church, but steadfast virtues are needed too, especially in bishops and deacons. An even temper, self-control, modesty of demeanour, good management skills and the rest. We hope and pray for both charisma and steadfastness, for the service of God’s people.

The widow’s plight

In the time of Jesus, widows were considered very vulnerable; they no longer had their main provider, their husband. Widows often had to depend on their children, particularly their sons, to support them. A widow who lost her only son through death was, therefore, the most vulnerable of all. It is such a widow that Jesus encounters in today’s gospel. The gospel tells us that Jesus was moved with compassion by this woman’s plight. That inner movement of compassion resulted in action on his part, as he restores her son to life and gives him back to his mother. It is striking that the widow in this story did not take any initiative towards Jesus; she did not cry out to him for help. Without waiting to be asked, Jesus simply responded to a situation of human grief and loss.
The risen Lord, invisibly present with to us today, reaches out in our situations of grief and loss, without waiting to be asked. When we are at our most vulnerable, his compassion is at its strongest. We are not asked to bear grief and our loss on our own. The Lord carries them with us; he suffers with us, with the power of his compassion. The Lord of compassionate love also calls us to be channels of his compassion to others in their hour of need, to help carry each other’s burdens, as he carries ours.