First reading 1 Corinthians 12:12-14,27-31
You together are Christ’s body: each of you a different part
Just as a human body, though it is made up of many parts, is a single unit because all these parts, though many, make one body, so it is with Christ. In the one Spirit we were all baptised, Jews as well as Greeks, slaves as well as citizens, and one Spirit was given to us all to drink.
Nor is the body to be identified with any one of its many parts. Now you together are Christ’s body; but each of you is a different part of it. In the Church, God has given the first place to apostles, the second to prophets, the third to teachers; after them, miracles, and after them the gift of healing; helpers, good leaders, those with many languages. Are all of them apostles, or all of them prophets, or all of them teachers? Do they all have the gift of miracles, or all have the gift of healing? Do all speak strange languages, and all interpret them? Be ambitious for the higher gifts.
Responsorial Psalm 99(100)
We are his people, the sheep of his flock.
Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Serve the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing for joy.
We are his people, the sheep of his flock.
Know that he, the Lord, is God.
He made us, we belong to him,
we are his people, the sheep of his flock.
We are his people, the sheep of his flock.
Go within his gates, giving thanks.
Enter his courts with songs of praise.
Give thanks to him and bless his name.
We are his people, the sheep of his flock.
Indeed, how good is the Lord,
eternal his merciful love.
He is faithful from age to age.
We are his people, the sheep of his flock.
Gospel Luke 7:11-17
The only son of his mother, and she a widow
Jesus went to a town called Nain, accompanied by his disciples and a great number of people. When he was near the gate of the town it happened that a dead man was being carried out for burial, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a considerable number of the townspeople were with her. When the Lord saw her he felt sorry for her. ‘Do not cry’ he said. Then he went up and put his hand on the bier and the bearers stood still, and he said, ‘Young man, I tell you to get up.’ And the dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Everyone was filled with awe and praised God saying, ‘A great prophet has appeared among us; God has visited his people.’ And this opinion of him spread throughout Judaea and all over the countryside.
I am with you always
Have you experienced a tragedy or a loss in your life? In today’s gospel, there was a woman, accompanied by her friends and neighbours, walking alongside the coffin of her son. Her child, whom she loved dearly, was no longer with her. Though a crowd of people surrounded her, she felt alone in her sadness and grief because nobody could understand the pain she was going through.
“When the Lord saw her he felt sorry for her and said to her, ‘Don’t cry.’” Jesus saw the woman and empathised with her pain. He did not walk away but was there to provide her comfort. In our moments of distress, God tells us, “Don’t cry. I am with you. Trust me.” To suffer is not at all God’s plan for us because He is not a cruel God. We must accept that suffering is part of life and take comfort that God walks with us through our joys and pains. Let us draw near to God, who understands our struggles and shares in our suffering.
Reflective question:
Do I turn to God in the midst of a crisis?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year B” by Sr Maria Jose FMVD.
