In
the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Our
Lord came into this world to lay down His life as a sacrifice. But He
seems to get distracted, almost impatient, along the way. Consider
today's Gospel lesson – the widow in Nain. Our Lord knows the boy
will be raised on the last day and the widow's grief will come to an
end. But when He sees her sorrow, perhaps thinking also of His own
mother, He is moved by compassion. He acts right then.
It
is the same with all His miracles. None of them are planned. All of
them are spontaneous. All of them, even the withering of the fig
tree, come from Our Lord's compassion and serve to re-order creation.
The
miracle in Nain fills the people with fear. Then, immediately, they
glorify God. And rightly so. Our Lord's compassion should scare you.
Because it is holy, pure, and focused. It is hard for sinners, at
first glance, to distinguish it from His wrath. It is more absolute,
more solid, more unbending than anything of earth. Nothing of the
Lord is cotton balls and marshmallows. Even His mercy is severe.
