No Gospel tells us directly that Jesus appeared to his Mother when he rose from the dead. However, it is an ancient tradition of the Church that he did so. It is, of course, most obvious that he must have appeared to her.

It is possible, even probable, that Saint Luke has deliberately written this story of the widow's only son, so that, we can read between the lines and discover as a subtext the story of the risen Jesus appearing to his mother.

Jesus was the only son of his mother and she was, as far as we can see, a widow. Jesus was crucified outside the city of Jerusalem, was buried there and rose from the dead there. Jesus encountered this funeral outside the city of Nain and raised the young man to life there. Then, a very significant detail, Jesus "gave him back to his mother" just as, at his own resurrection he gave himself back to his own mother Mary by appearing to her. She who gave birth to Jesus for our salvation and stood beside his cross should, of course, have been the first one to experience the joy of the resurrection.