Bogoslovska smotra, Vol. 95 No. 5, 2025.
Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.53745/bs.95.5.10
God’s Coming into the Widow’s »Today«: An Analysis of Luke 7:11–17 from a Communication Perspective
Silvana Fužinato
orcid.org/0000-0002-6777-1526
; Catholic Faculty of Theology in Đakovo, University of Josip Juraj Stossmayer in Osijek, Osijek, Croatia
Abstract
Because of its literary beauty and theological reflection, Luke 7:11-17 has attracted the attention of many scholars. Most of them hold that the central message of this kerygmatic account is faith in the risen Jesus Christ. However, an analysis of Luke 7:11-17 from a communication perspective – which pays special attention to the pragmatic force and function of the text – leads to the conclusion that the central message of the account is God’s visitation of the widow, who belongs to those whom Scripture calls ῾ănāwîm Yhwh – »the poor of God«. The communication context, marked by inner and external debates about God’s faithfulness to his promises, together with the communication strategy focused on the widow, the mother of an only son, places at the center God’s coming into the widow’s »today«. In Jesus Christ, the eschatological prophet, God has fulfilled his salvific promises, and in his encounter with the widow he revealed his compassionate and merciful face. In God’s coming into the widow’s »today« the reader is invited to live his faith in Jesus the Savior authentically and joyfully bear witness to it. Moreover, recognizing in one’s own »today« the place of God’s salvific visitation and being aware that salvation passes through the paths of the small and marginalized, the poor and the oppressed, the reader is invited to go out to meet their neighbor and, through concrete acts of love, mercy, compassion and responsibility, to build a »Church which goes forth« in which everyone feels accepted and loved like a son in the Father’s house.
Keywords
God’s visitation; widow of Nain; eschatological prophet; the poor of God; fulfillment of promises
Hrčak ID:
346356
URI
Publication date:
16.4.2026.
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