Indeed! God Has Visited His People!

Rev. Marcel Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

St. Mary of Assumption Church, Whittier, California

Sunday, June 5, 2016

The three readings of this Sunday speak about the death of someone. The first reading from 1 Kings 17:17-24 talks about the death of the son of the widow of Zarephath. The Gospel taken from Luke 7:11-17 talks about the death of the only son of the widow of Nain. And in the second reading, Saul, who later became Paul, talks about his own death. The two sons of the widows of Zarephath and Nain suffered a physical death, a loss of their human lives, until they were brought back to life by Elijah and Jesus respectively. But in the case of Saul, he died spiritually. His death wasn’t physical but spiritual and moral. After he was raised to life by the Lord, he took the name, Paul, which means “humble.” Death, therefore, can be physical or spiritual. The loss of human life is a physical death. But the loss of the following: sense of God, sense of the sacred, sense of guilt for a wrong done, good conscience, fear of the Lord, etc is a spiritual death. Those who try to harm others, who try to divide us or to pitch one group of people against another have died spiritually. Unrepentant haters and promoters of hate are dead spiritually. Unabashed destroyers of love, relationship, human dignity, are dead spiritually. No child of God who is truly alive would brag at doing any of those.

Death is always a loss— loss of human life or loss of godly life. In either case, there’s pain or emptiness. The death of someone dear to us can hurt. Loss of a mom, dad, sister, brother, friend, colleague, relative, mentor can hurt. Its hurt can be deep. But it doesn’t last forever. The physical death of someone who meant a lot to us can really hurt so much. I have had my own experience of this. In 2014, I lost my sister, my mom, and a wonderful uncle. But this kind of hurt does not last a lifetime or forever. With the passage of time, we experience healing and comfort. Our Comforter, the Holy Spirit visits us with his comfort and healing. Spiritual death also hurts. It can hurt in time and in eternity. The spiritual death of someone can be devastating for the church and society. Look at what the spiritual death of Saul caused the Early Church! He and this team tortured and imprisoned a good number of Christians. They stoned St. Stephen to death. He was on his way to Damascus to obtain authorization to arrest and imprison more Christians when he was rescued by the Lord. Days after, the ‘dead’ Saul was raised to life, to become Paul. Physical death only hurt the living, but spiritual death hurt both the living and the dead. 

Today’s Gospel is about the physical death of the only son of a widow. The woman’s tragedy was double. She had already lost her husband- the love of her life. And when she taught that her only son would learn a trade or get a job, make a living and support her financially, he was snatched away from her by the cold hand of death. The news of his death spread far and wide, and attracted a large crowd of people from the city. As the funeral procession was making its way to the cemetery, Jesus showed up. With a voice laden with compassion and confidence, he said to the widow, “Do not weep.” Then, he came forward, touched the coffin and said, “Young man, I tell you, arise!” The man got up and began to speak. 

Jesus’ compassion is life-giving. His empathy is life-giving. The fruits of his love are life-giving. His pity for those who experience disappointment, frustration and suffering gives life and ushers a new dawn. His pity for the widow was so deep that he was willing to thwart the course of nature. Since the Fall of Adam and Eve, death has become natural to humans. Once a person dies, we don’t sit around and wait for the dead person to rise. We bury the remains of the deceased. But Jesus’ compassion for this widow was so profound that he derailed the course of nature. He felt her pain and loss. He put himself in her shoes. He made her sorrow his own sorrow. He did not stand idly by and try to blame the young man for being the cause of his own death or to blame the widow for being responsible for the tragic deaths that had occurred in her family. He knew he could do something. He knew he has power to do something. He knew he can make a difference and he did it. 

When the dead man sat up and began to speak, fear, shock and awe seized the people, but it wasn’t a dispersing fear. It wasn’t the kind of fear that usually make people to take to their heels, rather, the kind that causes people to want to know more. The kind of fear expressed by the people does not cripple, it leads to praise, thanksgiving and glorification. It does not cause harm but joy. In summary, it is called “wonder!” In wonder state, the people exclaimed, “A great prophet has arisen in our midst, and God has visited his people.” Yes, indeed! God has visited his people! He has migrated and is living with his people and like his people. He is with us! God is with us! 

Today, God continues to visits us when we read the word of God or hear it proclaimed at Mass. He visits us when we pray, thank and praise him. He visits us when we encounter those who mourn, grieve, suffer, need our attention, and their living condition draw out of us, the kind of compassion that Elijah and Jesus showed to the widows they met. God visits his people when we give water to the thirsty, food to the hungry, clothes to the naked, shelter to the homeless. God visits the sick, the imprisoned, the bereaved when we visit them. When we offer financial assistance to Catholic Charities, St. Vincent de Paul Society, St. Mary’s Place, etc. for the care of the poor,God visits his people.

God is with us to save us. He is with us performing so many miracles, but more often than not, they are not dramatic ones like the one in today’s Gospel. But God still works miracles in our lives. So often they take place in the heart of a person, with no crowd to witness them. But when we look around us, there are many miracles of life, miracles of hope, miracles of peace, miracles of grace, miracles of comfort, miracles of care, miracles of restoration, miracles of thanksgiving, miracles of faithfulness, miracles of victories and successes, miracles of healing, miracles of life turned around, miracles of liberation from addiction, miracles of recovery from sickness, miracles of new thing emerging after a period of frustration, disappointment and failure. God is with us working miracles and wonder. Psalm 46:7 tells us: “The Lord of host is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.”