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Friends, our Gospel today gives us <b><span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)">Jesus’ raising of the son of the widow of
Nain</span></b>. This is a prime exemplification of the key Gospel truth that
<b><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">everything Jesus said and did, in one way or another, is an anticipation
of his Resurrection. The God of Israel, the God of Jesus Christ, is a
God of life, a God of the living. He hates<span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"> death and the ways of death.</span></span></b><br><b><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">The
death<span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)"> </span></span><span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)">in today’s Gospel </span></b>goes beyond the tragic loss of a loved one, as
awful as that is. In the context of Jesus’ time and place, this<b><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"> is a
disaster for <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">the widow</span>. There is no <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">social safety net,</span> no <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">insurance</span>, no
<span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">guaranteed income</span></span></b><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">.</span> <b><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">Unless she finds kindly
neighbors who will support her, she</span></b> i<b><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">s lost without</span></b> <b><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">her husband and,
importantly, her “only son.” This is why the heart of Jesus is
especially moved with pity.</span></b><br><div>Notice please that <b><span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)">the reaction of
the bystanders is fear</span></b>. This is the fear that comes from the turning
upside-down of a world.<b><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"> <span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)">This is also the reaction of the women at the
tomb on Easter Sunday morning.</span> An evangelization <span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)">that isn’t</span> a little
scary is an <span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)">inadequate</span> evangelization. <br></span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><br></span></b></div></div><div id="DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2"><br><table style="border-top:1px solid #d3d4de"><tr><td style="width:55px;padding-top:13px"><a href="http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail" target="_blank"><img src="https://s-install.avcdn.net/ipm/preview/icons/icon-envelope-tick-green-avg-v1.png" alt="" width="46" height="29" style="width: 46px; height: 29px;"></a></td><td style="width:470px;padding-top:12px;color:#41424e;font-size:13px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;line-height:18px">Vírusmentes.<a href="http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail" target="_blank" style="color:#4453ea">www.avg.com</a></td></tr></table><a href="#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2" width="1" height="1"></a></div>