5 June 2016
Third Sunday after Pentecost
Proper 5C (RCL)
1 Kings 17:8-24
Psalm 146
Galatians 1:11-24
Luke 7:11-17
Luke clearly intended to have his readers make the connection with the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath. This connection helps to provide an interpretive frame, but the story is unique in its own right. First, the son of the women is called monogenes houis, meaning “only born son” or “only begotten son.” It is the word John uses for Jesus in the prologue. So, our attention is called immediately to this son. Secondly, the narrator (Luke) says, “When he saw her, the Lord had compassion on her” (or was “gut-wrenched”). This is the first time Luke uses this title for Jesus — characters in the story have called him “sir,” but this is the first time in the narration. Now we are really paying attention. Continue reading “Raising the son”