Quarantine Quick Read: Christ our Brother - Alone at the Funeral

Jesus is a spiritual big brother for every Christian. Having suffered in every way like us He is able to sympathetically come alongside us with grace to help (Hebrews 2:17, 4:15-16).

As Jesus approached the city of Nain he met a funeral procession. A crowd of people were following the bier but that was little comfort to the woman at the centre of the scene. Already a widow, she was about to bury her only son. This probably carried  a significant social stigma - she must have done something really bad to deserve this! I wonder if the mourners crowded about her or if they followed at a safe distance? Either way, she was now all alone in the world. I don’t know if anyone reading this can relate to this widow? Quarantine regulations mean that many people are experiencing painful isolation. Perhaps you have been recently bereaved and must attend the funeral alone because other family members are not allowed to travel. Perhaps it is the anniversary of an earlier bereavement and again family cannot be with you to share the painful memories. Perhaps you are in the medical ‘crowd’ watching from a distance and unable to do anything to bring relief while others suffer in isolation. Luke’s gospel says that when Jesus saw the woman, “he had compassion on her”. In this unique situation He proceeded to raise the young man back to life - a miracle that brought people under the fear of God so that they began to worship. Scripture does not lead us to expect miracles in the ordinary course of things. But it does assure us that Jesus holds the power of life and death and that He still looks at the widows and fatherless with compassion. Christians have the assurance that we will be raised and reunited on the last day. In the meantime, when we feel moved by compassion but unable to help we can fix our eyes on Jesus whose infinite power is inseparable from His ocean of love and directed by inscrutable divine wisdom.