Fr Agustinus Sutiono O.Carm

Nain was a small Arab village, 13 kilometers southeast of Nazareth. The story about Jesus who awoke a dead young man, the only son of a widow, is interesting. Saint Luke wrote that Jesus was accompanied by his disciples and a large crowd. On the other side, there were also a large crowd of people from the city accompanying this widow for the burial of her son. The large crowd which followed Jesus moved with a conscience that Jesus was a person whose words and works brought life, enkindled the spirit, strengthened every hope for the better. There is life in Him. Meanwhile, the other crowd concentrated on a deep sadness, frustration and were immersed in a conscience of the absence of life. There was no life in that dead Young man. The encounter of Jesus and him brought life back to him, dispelled the sadness of all, and reawoke the hope and restored the spirit of his widowed mother.

Luke wrote: “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”. Wherever Jesus is, there, life is restored, conserved, promoted and protected. His movement is like that of the flowing water described in the book of Ezekiel: “The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple. It flows toward the eastern región, goes down into the Arabah, and enters the sea.Wherever the river goes, everything, every living creature that swarms will live, and the waters of the seamay become fresh. On both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, They will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.” Jesus is that flowing living water.

The presence of Jesus is a model of the presence of the Church because the Church is a continuation of His presence. It means that the Church is to be like that living wáter whose flows are capable of bringing life. As we know that the Church is not the clergy but the whole believers in Christ, we are made aware that our presence too is expected to be a presence that promotes, protects, restores, and conserves life.  No more priest or clerical centricism, and no more clergy-laity polarisation or enmities among them, no more scapegoating each other for the existing problems. The whole member of the Church shall participate in the growth of the Church, in finding wise and Christian solutions for the actual challenges faced by the Church. Only by doing so, the Church will be faithfully representing her profound call to become the continuation of the presence of Christ.