Young man, I tell you, arise!

1Tm 3,1-13; Ps 100; Lk 7,11-17
17 SEPTEMBER

Take a large-sized nail and pull it to the fire. You cannot pierce a thick wood with it. It is not sufficiently heated. The more the nail is hot and the more it can penetrate into the wood if pushed into it. Elijah is iron in fire, but he is not fire. He needs a lot of work to resuscitate the son of the widow that housed him. However, having been warmed up at the end, the son is given back to his mother.

Sometime later the son of the mistress of the house fell sick, and his sickness grew more severe until he stopped breathing. So she said to Elijah, “Why have you done this to me, O man of God? Have you come to me to call attention to my guilt and to kill my son?” “Give me your son,” Elijah said to her. Taking him from her lap, he carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. He called out to the Lord: “O Lord, my God, will you afflict even the widow with whom I am staying by killing her son?” Then he stretched himself out upon the child three times and called out to the Lord: “O Lord, my God, let the life breath return to the body of this child.” The Lord heard the prayer of Elijah; the life breath returned to the child’s body and he revived. Taking the child, Elijah brought him down into the house from the upper room and gave him to his mother. “See!” Elijah said to her, “your son is alive.” “Now indeed I know that you are a man of God,” the woman replied to Elijah. “The word of the Lord comes truly from your mouth” (1Kings 17,17-24).

Gehazi is an iron just touched by the fire of the prophet, but he can nothing to bring life back in the child. Elisha is red-hot, but less than Elijah. His work is superior to that required for Elijah. The more one is red-hot in the divine fire, the more one can do the works of God. One comes out of his fire, no work of the Lord might be done.

“Gird your loins,” Elisha said to Gehazi, “take my staff with you and be off; if you meet anyone, do not greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not answer. Lay my staff upon the boy.” But the boy’s mother cried out: “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not release you.” So he started to go back with her. Meanwhile, Gehazi had gone on ahead and had laid the staff upon the boy, but there was no sound or sign of life. He returned to meet Elisha and informed him that the boy had not awakened. When Elisha reached the house, he found the boy lying dead. He went in, closed the door on them both, and prayed to the Lord. Then he lay upon the child on the bed, placing his mouth upon the child’s mouth, his eyes upon the eyes, and his hands upon the hands. As Elisha stretched himself over the child, the body became warm. He arose, paced up and down the room, and then once more lay down upon the boy, who now sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite.” She came at his call, and Elisha said to her, “Take your son.” She came in and fell at his feet in gratitude; then she took her son and left the room (2Kings 4,29-37).

Since Jesus is true divine nature, he is fire of eternal love and of divine compassion just as his Father and the Holy Spirit are and in that human nature he participates in a completely special way of the nature of fire that is God. He participates of it not by nature. Human nature has its properties and divine nature its own. He participates in it by very pure obedience. The Father for perfect obedience grants human nature to enjoy in his fire. In fact, as soon as he touches the child, this resurrects. This event must reveal to us that Jesus is infinitely beyond Elijah and beyond Elisha and for other miracles even infinitely beyond Moses. A small detail reveals the greatness of Jesus.

Soon afterward he journeyed to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd accompanied him. As he drew near to the gate of the city, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. A large crowd from the city was with her. When the Lord saw her, he was moved with pity for her and said to her, “Do not weep.” He stepped forward and touched the coffin; at this the bearers halted, and he said, “Young man, I tell you, arise!” The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, exclaiming, “A great prophet has arisen in our midst,” and “God has visited his people.” This report about him spread through the whole of Judea and in all the surrounding region.

Those people present are seeing what has happened and they recognize that a great prophet is in their midst. They confess that God has visited his people. From the sign to faith!

Mother of God, Angels and Saints arrange that every Christian gives the world signs of truth and faith.