Just this past week the social worker from the Hospice was talking with my father-in-law and me.  She talked about the fear she has for her ten year and seven year old children who had started school that day.

She spoke for every parent, who are sending their children off to school.  Whether that child is going off to school for the first time or returning for another year.  The start of school brings fear to a parent’s heart, fear for their child’s safety; fear that they might fall in with the wrong crowd; fear they may not adjust.

They are not the only ones who have fear.  Why, there are phobias for practically everything, fear of spiders, fear of the number thirteen, fear of heights, fear of flying, you name it and someone will be afraid of it.

Few of us have been filled with the type of fear as the woman in this morning’s scripture lesson.

The woman, who is a widow, is grieving the death of her only son. Her situation was very serious. In Jesus’ day there was no such thing as pension plans, IRAs, 401 plans.  The only social security in those days was having some man provide for you.  Married woman were completely dependent on their spouse.  When her husband died, she lost all means of support, except for her son.  Now faced with his death, she was not only faced with the loss of her only son, she was also faced with  losing her only means of support.  Unless a relative came to her aid, her future was bleak.  She would be an easy mark for swindlers.  She would likely be reduced to begging for food.

"When the Lord saw her,
He had compassion for her."

This is the promise of this story, that God sees us in our hour of need. He sees the desperation of our situation, and God has compassion for us.

This story reminds me of the movie, The Country.  Actress Jessica Lange played the role of a farmers wife, who is faced with running the farm after her husband’s death.  She has two small children. Finances are tough.  All her attempts to save the farm had come up short.  The bank is foreclosing.  The entire town gathered for the auction, but not a single bid was made.  The town had compassion for her, the situation they were in.  They rallied around her.

In the same way that Jesus had compassion for the widow, He has compassion for us, and we are to have compassion for one other. It doesn’t matter who the person is, or what the situation is, we are to have compassion.

AMEN

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