He stopped the funeral cortège

“Jesus 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^[c] 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.” (Lk 7, 11-17)

St. Luke is the only evangelist to tell us about the miracle of the resurrection of the son of the widow of Nain, which the liturgy presents for our reflection today. Perhaps, Luke received information about this miracle from the "pious women" who followed Jesus and his disciples when he visited towns and villages, preaching and making miracles. Luke mentions these women in chapter eight of his gospel. Surely, they had been deeply impressed by such an extraordinary miracle, and they wanted to inform Luke in order to keep a memory of it.

What is so important about this miracle?

There is nothing in his miracle that makes it more important than any other miracle, for example, that of the resurrection of Lazarus, the friend of Jesus, or when Jesus fed five thousand people with five loaves and two fishes. However, I think we can learn a lot from it.

First, it was Jesus who took the initiative to make this miracle. No one asked him to. Luke tells us that Jesus went to the city called Nain. When he approached the town’s gate, he saw a funeral procession which was approaching. They were outside the city, in a place where the cemetery was. To the families of the dead, this was the end.

Jesus was traveling on the same road but in the opposite direction. Due to this fact, this funeral was not going to be the end! Jesus shows us another way! Once he said: "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life" (Jn 14: 6). Indeed, Jesus is "the way" even when he comes in the opposite direction! Often we move towards the end; Jesus leads us to a new beginning, which we do not expect.

Before performing the miracle Jesus does three things: he has compassion for the widow, who was the mother of the dead man, and said to her: "Do not weep". Then he touched the coffin to stop the funeral procession. Finally, he said to the son: "Young man, I say to you, rise!".

First, he spoke to the mother who was very sad because this young man was her only son. He was her sole support. Also, Jesus wanted to comfort her, to give her hope. "Do not weep!", he told her. Once, he invited us all: "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." (Mt 11, 28). He means it! We should accept this invitation! Often, the Church repeats the words of the angel to Mary Magdalene and her companions: "Do not be afraid; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified" (Mk 16: 6).

Then Jesus touched the coffin to halt the funeral procession. We need to stop to listen to the words of Jesus. If we do not stop, we do not listen; if we do not listen, we will not receive the gifts he promises us.

When the funeral procession stopped and everyone could hear him, Jesus said: "Young man, I say to you, rise!". This is an order for the man, who was dead, and a message for the people. For the young man the order was: Rise! When the dead man heard the voice of Jesus, he sat up and began to speak.

The message to the people was hidden in the words: "I tell you," or "I make this miracle on my authority", which means, “I am from God!” When the people heard the words of Jesus, all were seized with awe and they glorified God, saying: "A great prophet has risen among us!” and “God has looked favourably on his people!"

For me, it is very interesting that, after the story of the Resurrection of the son of the widow of Nain, Luke recalled John the Baptist’s question. As John was in prison, he sent two of his disciples to ask Jesus: "Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?" Jesus answered them: " Go and tell John what you have seen and heard"

I believe that this is the figurative meaning of the resurrection story of the young man from Nain. We live our daily lives and often we have to face many difficulties and we are sad. Jesus comes to meet us. He stops and talks to us. He says, "Rise! Do not be afraid for I am with you!"

Let us remember that our God is the source of every good, and a comforter of the afflicted. Let us also remember that at the end of the miracle of the resurrection of the son of the widow of Nain, he gave him to his mother alive. Jesus does the same with us if we stop to listen to his voice: he gives us our life back. Let us remember that Jesus teaches us: "I have come that you may have life and have it to the full" (Jn 10, 10).