Nougat 29

Bountiful Blessings Beloved of God. It is a marvellous day to worship. The Son has risen, and we’re alive.

Speaking of alive, are you familiar with Y’shua’s resurrection miracles – most of us are familiar with Jairus’ daughter and with Lazarus. But how many of us recall that Y’shua also restored life to the widow’s son? We can’t visit the entire text in this space, so please read for yourselves in Luke 7. In the meantime, consider Today’s Holy Nougat

Luke 7:11-12 AMP

[11] Soon afterward, Jesus went to a city called Nain [near Nazareth], and His disciples and a large crowd accompanied Him.

[12] Now as He approached the city gate, a dead man was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her [in the funeral procession].

He went to Her

As we continue to ponder our spiritual responsibilities to those on the margins, I am drawn to Luke 7. The chapter begins with an intriguing narrative of Y’shua and the centurion. The centurion’s servant was deathly ill, and it seemed all hope in medical intervention was lost. But the centurion, a Roman officer, put his hope in Y’shua. (There’s more to that story. You’ve gotta read for yourself). That miracle is immediately followed by the resurrection act. Right here in Nain.

Nain, which means ‘green pastures’, or ‘lovely’, was probably not feeling very lovely for the widow. As a widow she was already disenfranchised (in those days, as with some countries now, widows had no personal possessions – they were reliant on their children and closer relatives for sustenance, or were forced into all kinds of servitude), but was probably consoled that she had a child to give her access to whatever her husband had owned. And then he also died.

The death of her only son, therefore, was Not Lovely for her. Not in the least. Any hope of normalcy dried up. Her green pasture was a desert! We don’t know if the crowd gathered because her son was a good man, in pity for her, or just out of support. She wasn’t alone at that moment of her grief, but she was definitely alone in her grief. Only that widow knew how much she had laid in store for her only son.

Except for Y’shua.

As the Son of God, He knew the depth of her tears. I can only imagine that she felt like Naomi on her initial return to Israel (see Ruth 1:20) – ‘Don’t call me Naomi’, she said. ‘Call me Mara for I am bitter.’ Naomi, the widowed mother of two sons, lost all hope when her sons died. For though her family had property, a childless widow with a daughter-in-law owned nothing. Mara, a bitter pill to swallow. But God!

Unknown to the widow grieving on the outskirts of Nain, God saw her. She didn’t seem to have a personal relationship with Y’shua like Mary and Martha, who sent for Him to attend to their brother. Yet God sent help. Y’shua literally met her on the outskirts of town. In spite of the location, He went to her.

Siblings, we find encouragement in this encounter as we realize that YHWH sees us. But we also realize that it is a call to meet others in their distress and bring to them Y’shua. No matter that death has set in, and the crowds are gathered. No matter that the one in distress is on the margins, as we are sent to minister, we offer the presence and power of Y’shua.

That is what we’re called to. That is who we are. May we speak Jesus wherever we are, bringing hope and transformation to all in need. Y’shua, our living Hope.

—

May all we seek be found in Christ