Introduction
Today’s Gospel reading shows us God’s power through resurrection. The widow who mourned for her son must have thought that his death marked a very clear ending for her. Her son was dead, and with his loss her security and future must have looked bleak. But Jesus stepped into her situation and dramatically changed the ending.
Context
During this week several cultural events have opened for which the ending is widely known.
As part of a year-long season directing a company at the Garrick theatre in London Kenneth Branagh is currently showing his take on Romeo and Juliet. While the reviews are mixed, some loving the youthful famous actors playing the star-crossed lovers, others dubious about their ability to find the emotional depth required. One thing is certain, we all know how the story ends, and this version of the play is no exception.
In the cinema, anyone who thought they knew the ins and outs of the Alice in Wonderland sequel Through the Looking Glass may be thrown by the latest film adaptation. Although the central character is still Alice, much of the original Lewis Carroll plot has been abandoned, and the film tells a very different story. However, even with radical plot changes, we all know how the story will end: our heroine will undoubtedly win through. Whatever she encounters when she goes through the looking glass, we can be confident that Alice will come out having confronted the perils of Wonderland, put wrong things right, and will return to life all the better for her adventures.
Reflection
Perhaps this extends to real life. As events unfold we often have a sense that we know the outcome; when we are in a difficult situation certain endings seem inevitable, trying to change things to achieve a different ending can seem difficult if not impossible. But this is not the way that the kingdom of God works.
In Luke’s story of the widow and her dead son, the sense of certainty about the ending of the woman’s story is very powerful. Her son was dead, his end had come, and with his ending hers was sure to follow. Without her son any security she may have had was certainly in jeopardy. Due to the social climate of her day a widow alone in the world had very little hope for the future. It must have been a bleak moment when her son died, the widow must have had a palpable sense of the end. But her story and its inevitable end was about to interact with the story of Jesus. We are told that when Jesus saw her ‘he had compassion for her’. Jesus approached the corpse and commanded the dead boy to rise. Suddenly the ending is completely altered.
Indeed, one of the most powerful aspects of the whole of the Gospel story is the way in which God disrupts the inevitable and changes the ending.
At the core of the story is a display of God’s transformational power. Jesus raises the child and so transforms the widow’s life. It is interesting to reflect on the ways in which we are called to bring transformation to communities we interact with and people we know.
God powerfully intervenes to change the ending of this story. Jesus does not allow the expected outcome to unfold, rather he dramatically intercedes and, as a result, the whole crowd glorifies God. Do we live in the expectation that God can and does change the ending? Or have we slipped into a place where we think we know the outcome? Have we forgotten that in the kingdom of God the ending is in God’s hands?
Prayer
Guidelines for a reflective prayer activity using an Ignatian prayer technique. It is appropriate for use after the Gospel reading. Leave plenty of pauses to give time for reflection.
Invite people to be still and quiet, and to imagine themselves in the crowd that is about to watch the funeral procession for the widow’s dead son. Encourage them to use all their five senses – e.g. by using questions such as:
- What can you see?
- What sounds can you hear?
- What can you feel?
Invite the congregation to imagine Jesus approaching the child, touching the bier and commanding the boy to rise.
Encourage everyone to look at the way in which Jesus’s action transforms the scene
Ask them to imagine their response to what Jesus has done and its consequences.
Pray for all present using these (or similar) words:
O Lord, our God,
may we know your power to transform,
may we see the change your word can bring,
and may we feel your presence with us through the power of your resurrection.
Amen.
Questions
- How has a relationship with Jesus transformed lives in your church community?
- How do we respond when situations we are praying for are not changed?
- What does it mean for each one of us to be transformed?
Action
Make a list of local community projects that are working to change the ending of other people’s stories – e.g. food banks, projects working with the homeless, local charity shops. Invite the congregation to get involved with one of them – volunteering, or supporting in other ways. Hold a feedback session in a month or so to share stories.
Young people
Using a mobile phone, make a film of the story of the woman and her son. Encourage the filmmaker to try and capture the change in the emotions of the woman and the crowds around her. As they watch the completed film discuss with the young people how interacting with Jesus can change lives. Share examples of this with the group.
Fiona Dorman trained as a secondary English teacher. She is a freelance writer, is currently doing a MA in theology at Trinity College, Bristol and attends an Anglican church in North Bristol.
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