Sometimes
there’s deeper truth in our words than we realize.
The
people of Nain in today’s Gospel knew the young man who had died.
They
were his family, his friends and his neighbors.
They
knew, beyond any doubt, that he was truly dead.
And
there was nothing anyone could do to bring him back.
But
then they met Jesus.
And,
out of compassion for the widow who had lost her son,
He
told the young man to arise.
They
all stood there and witnessed the impossible
happening before their eyes.
They
knew that this was clearly the work of God.
And
so they exclaimed, “God has visited his people.”
But
they didn’t mean that literally.
They
weren’t ready to proclaim that Jesus was God.
They
meant it in a figurative sense.
God
had shown his existence.
He
had reached down and intervened in their lives.
He
had worked a miracle for them—through a great prophet.
He
“visited” them through his action.
It
would still be quite some time before anyone would recognize that
Their
statement was literally
true.
God
was
visiting his people, and walking among them in person.
Peter
may have been the first to grasp the deeper truth.
The
day later came when Jesus asked his disciples “Who do you
say that I am?”
And
Peter said, “You are the son of God.”
And
Jesus blessed
him for knowing that –
He
said Peter could know that only through personal
revelation
from the Father.
Today,
how do we
know this deeper truth?
How
do we
know that Jesus is truly God.
We know it the same way Peter knew it.
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