Commentary of the Gospell for the day, 27th of august of 2024

agosto 27, 2024

Many of the miracles in the Gospels go far beyond simply doing something that defies the laws of physics or medicine. It’s not just about breaking the laws of nature that usually surround us and apply to us. They have a deeper meaning.

The miracle in today’s text goes far beyond the act of resurrecting a dead person. This dead person is not alone but in the context of a family. And that context is important. The deceased was his mother’s only son. And she was a widow. These facts have a very important meaning. In the society of that time, where there was no social security or state protection for the needy, no pensions or anything like that, the fact that a woman was widowed was already a problem. The husband was the head of the household, the man had social standing, the woman was a nobody. Widowhood meant marginalization. Unless there were children to take care of their mother. The extended family was, at that time, the social protection for those who were left helpless. The widow lost her social rights, but within the framework of the family, of her children, she found the protection and care necessary to continue with her life. But in this case, there was only one son, and he had died. There was no future for that widow. She was already marginalized, already a nobody.

The fact that Jesus revives the deceased son goes, therefore, far beyond the mere physical act of bringing him back to life. He also brings the widowed woman back to life, to society, giving her new hope: with her son revived by her side, she will no longer be marginalized but will once again be a person in that society.

The miracles of Jesus are a breaking of natural laws, but also and above all, they are integration, recovery of the person, overcoming marginalization. The miracles of Jesus are the sign of God’s welcome, who cares for his sons and daughters and reintegrates them into the human family. Every time we do this with one of our marginalized brothers or sisters, we too perform a miracle in the style of Jesus.

Fernando Torres, cmf