Artist: Lucas Cranach In both the gospel reading for today and the reading from the Hebrew scriptures we are offered stories that relate how a widow's son is restored to her through divine mercy and power.
Please remember that in each case the widow's predicament is not merely that of losing someone she loves dearly. She is also losing her very means of survival. Women of that day were horribly vulnerable without the support of a husband or a son.
These stories are tremendously meaningful to me because they teach us that God cares for the woman who is alone, that her feelings matter, that her survival matters and that she is not to be devalued. I, too, am a woman alone; I have no husband, no son. And while I certainly have more options for survival than did a first century widow, I often feel very vulnerable indeed - especially as I age. So today's readings are powerfully consoling and affirming.
Now, there are other kinds of vulnerability besides that which makes physical survival precarious. What seems to have died in your life that has left you vulnerable and bereft - perhaps in on an emotional, inward level that most people will not recognize, much less acknowledge? Today's readings assure you that God will restore to you what you need for that part of your life to be supported once more, for you to thrive again.
Deo gratias.
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