St. Cuthbert's Way - First Day of Two
Jesus Encounters a Widow and Her Son
Jesus Encounters a Widow and Her Son
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A Greeting
This is my comfort in my distress,
that your promise gives me life.
(Psalm 119:50)
A Small Verse
Leave your orphans, I will keep them alive;
and let your widows trust in me.
(Jeremiah 49:11)
This is my comfort in my distress,
that your promise gives me life.
(Psalm 119:50)
A Small Verse
Leave your orphans, I will keep them alive;
and let your widows trust in me.
(Jeremiah 49:11)
Soon afterwards he 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.
(Luke 7:11-17)
(Luke 7:11-17)
Music
A Meditative Verse
Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning, for in you I put my
trust.
Teach me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.
(Psalm 143:8)
Teach me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.
(Psalm 143:8)
A Reflection
"When the town gathered to help me bury my son it felt odd to be
surrounded by those to whom I must now entrust my life. We had managed
to survive before, but now without the boy to feed I wondered if they
would be so eager to provide for me alone. The loss of my beloved son
compounded by these fears consumed me with grief. As his body was
carried out of town for burial, I could not help but wail in despair and
anger. How could God forget me so? Was I as much of an outsider to God as I was in Nain?
Yet even as my faith crumbled in the face of my grief, something amazing happened.
We had just carried my son’s body outside of the town gate when we encountered a traveling teacher and his disciples. I doubt I would have noticed them, but this teacher came right up to us, halting our progress. And then he commented on my grief. Someone must have told him I was a widow who had just lost her only son, for he seemed to genuinely care about my plight. I half expected him to offer some hollow words of comfort or press a coin into my palm without quite looking me in the eye like a few others had done. Instead he looked at me and seemed to understand – not just my loss but it almost seemed like he knew how utterly alone I felt. And then with deep compassion that went far beyond awkward pity, he told me not to weep and he walked over to my son’s bier and touched it.
A few people gasped at how seemingly oblivious he was to the purity laws, but their concern was quickly dwarfed by what happened next: For the moment he touched the bier, my son sat up and started talking to him!
I was too stunned to speak, my sobs caught in my throat. One of the bearers nearly dropped his side of the bier breaking the tension of the moment. The teacher, laughing, then helped my son down and brought him over to me. All I could do was embrace my son, weeping all over again - this time with tears of relief and joy. Everyone was in awe of this teacher, calling him a prophet and proclaiming that he had brought God’s favor among us. But no one understood the magnitude of that favor more than I. My son and my ability to survive were restored to me – surely I had been blessed.
Like Hagar cast off into the wilderness, God saw me in my isolation and looked with favor on the lowliness of even one like me. I wasn’t forgotten or merely treated with pity, God accepted me even in my grief and despair. I finally felt like I belonged."
Yet even as my faith crumbled in the face of my grief, something amazing happened.
We had just carried my son’s body outside of the town gate when we encountered a traveling teacher and his disciples. I doubt I would have noticed them, but this teacher came right up to us, halting our progress. And then he commented on my grief. Someone must have told him I was a widow who had just lost her only son, for he seemed to genuinely care about my plight. I half expected him to offer some hollow words of comfort or press a coin into my palm without quite looking me in the eye like a few others had done. Instead he looked at me and seemed to understand – not just my loss but it almost seemed like he knew how utterly alone I felt. And then with deep compassion that went far beyond awkward pity, he told me not to weep and he walked over to my son’s bier and touched it.
A few people gasped at how seemingly oblivious he was to the purity laws, but their concern was quickly dwarfed by what happened next: For the moment he touched the bier, my son sat up and started talking to him!
I was too stunned to speak, my sobs caught in my throat. One of the bearers nearly dropped his side of the bier breaking the tension of the moment. The teacher, laughing, then helped my son down and brought him over to me. All I could do was embrace my son, weeping all over again - this time with tears of relief and joy. Everyone was in awe of this teacher, calling him a prophet and proclaiming that he had brought God’s favor among us. But no one understood the magnitude of that favor more than I. My son and my ability to survive were restored to me – surely I had been blessed.
Like Hagar cast off into the wilderness, God saw me in my isolation and looked with favor on the lowliness of even one like me. I wasn’t forgotten or merely treated with pity, God accepted me even in my grief and despair. I finally felt like I belonged."
- from a retelling of the Widow at Nain story by Julie Clawson,
found on the blog of Rachel Held Evans
found on the blog of Rachel Held Evans
Blessing
Door of the sheepfold,
Water of the well of life,
True bread that satisfies all hunger,
May we follow the mystery
of Cuthbert's faith and passion,
Where he placed his footsteps,
In the way of the Good Shepherd.
Water of the well of life,
True bread that satisfies all hunger,
May we follow the mystery
of Cuthbert's faith and passion,
Where he placed his footsteps,
In the way of the Good Shepherd.
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| One of the road sections of St. Cuthbert's Way by Callum Black |
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St. Cuthbert's Way stretches 100 kilometres from Melrose to Lindisfarne along the Scottish Borders and into the Northumberland region of England. It takes its name from the eighth-century priest whose life ministry began in Melrose and who is buried on Holy Island. St. Cuthbert lived in a time of thriving monastic practice and evangelism but like Saint Margaret, Cuthbert was known for spending time with people in their daily lives and upholding their spiritual and physical wellbeing. The pilgrim route is marked by church remains and notable monastic and missionary sites. It also moves through "a wide variety of landscapes including rolling farmland, quiet woods, moorland and across a causeway." (Macsadventure) More on St. Cuthbert and his way, tomorrow.
This video follows a group of people walking St. Cuthbert's Way.
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| Route map for part one of St. Cuthbert's Way: Melrose to Jedburgh |
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LC† On the Way with Jesus in Lent is a project of Lutherans Connect/Lutheran Campus Ministry Toronto. Find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
