Sunday Lectionary: A Widow's Lot

On Sunday mornings the pews near the front are filled with white-haired ladies, all of whom have survived their husbands by years, even decades. Though their lives have difficulties, pity them not; the lot of widows has come a long way since Biblical times.

Luke 7
12 As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” 14 Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

The focus of the passage has always been about raising the young man from the dead, but it's worth spending a moment to reflect upon how much the miracle meant to his mother. Women did not own property, and up until the 19th century, were even considered by most cultures to be the property of men. Jesus' heart went out to the widow not only for the obvious reason that she had lost her husband and son, but because without a male to provide for her she faced a lifetime of extreme hardship.

Today, whether the sexes are treated substantially equally and whether the social safety net is adequate are matters open to discussion. What isn't subject to debate is that full-fledged property and other rights for women have led to a more just and good society, one in which the white-haired ladies, without whom the church itself would not long survive, can hold their heads with dignity. © 2013 Stephen Yuen