10th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

Each and every one of us would have gone through some form of suffering in our lives. Suffering can either make or break us. We are familiar with what some people have done to themselves because of suffering: they become withdrawn; they feel they can't take it any longer; some even despair and end it all by committing suicide. We are also familiar with how some people have handled their suffering: they could still smile sweetly and live normally, having a positive outlook and depending on God's help with patience and confidence. What about us? How would we respond to suffering? What about the sufferings of other people? What have we done when we are confronted by the suffering of other people? What have we done when people share their pains and sufferings with us? Have we remained unmoved or have we involved ourselves in their suffering by lending a compassionate ear or extending a helping hand?

In today's readings we learn that there are people who really do care about other people; that they do not keep their distance from others in their sufferings but instead do something to help them. This was what Elijah did to the widow of Zarephath in the first reading, where Elijah petitioned for God's help and brought her son back to life. This was also what the townspeople did in the Gospel for the widow of Nain, by giving her their support as her son's body was being carried out for burial. Jesus also did something spectacular for the widow of Nain, by raising her son back to life.

Do we not see examples of Elijah and Jesus in the way some of us deal with people who come to us? When a person comes to us in need, do we make effort to give him or her our time, or do we often make excuses, saying to ourselves that we have more important things to do? If we are making excuses and avoiding people to do our own thing, then perhaps the words "God has visited his people" in today's Gospel can never be said of us.

Today, let us make time for others when they are in need. Sometimes, the time we offer to them could mean much more than all the sermons we could utter, or even the financial aid we could offer. Let us be men and women of God, bringing His love and compassion to others, so that in all we say and do, His name be glorified.