Let me begin by sharing the passage from Luke’s Gospel to which Emily refers in this chapter:
Soon afterwards he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. As he approached the gate of the town, a man who had died was being carried out. He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow; and with her was a large crowd from the town. When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then he came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, rise!” The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized all of them; and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen among us!” and “God has looked favorably on his people!” This word about him spread throughout Judea and all the surrounding country.
Luke 7:11-17
I love the way Emily focuses immediately on a beautiful lesson for all of us from this story. She relates it to when she attended a very large university. She began to feel disconnected as “just another person among the masses.” in fact, her name was not even necessary on assignments or exams, just a number that she was assigned.
Emily asks us if we ever worry that we are “just another person among the masses” to God. After all, it is difficult to imagine the number of people in all of humanity who are counting on God. Even more difficult is to see how God could possibly hear my seemingly unimportant request when there are so many other people who have much more pressing needs.
Similarly, we can only imagine the pain and grief this widow was feeling. She was left all alone in the world, and at that time, women were much more dependent on the men in their families to care for them. She must have felt very lonely and probably afraid to face her life ahead.
I have to admit, throughout my life, I have always hated the feeling of being alone. Evidently, that is a sign of an extrovert, needing interaction with other people and yearning for those connections. It is difficult for me to imagine what it feels like to be an introvert who needs time alone to re-energize.
Meanwhile, the widow in this passage was surrounded by “a large crowd from the town,” but it is easy to imagine that she still felt very alone. In some ways, that might be the worst kind of loneliness, the kind that happens even though you are surrounded by people. The kind Emily must have felt from time to time as she learned to identify herself by a number at that large university.
On Thursday, we’ll discuss how God finds us in our loneliness, but for now I’ll leave you today with the first discussion question that Emily posed at the end of this chapter: “Has it ever seemed as though you’ve been forgotten, or as though you were just another face in the crowd? Maybe in your family, in your group of friends, or at your school? (or maybe at your job) How did that make you feel?” I hope to see your thoughts in the comment section at the bottom of the page.