Wisdom 1:13-15;2:23-24; 2 Corinthians 8:7,9,13-15; Mark 5:21-43
The virtue
of faith and the necessity of faith is the dominating theme of today’s readings.
Faith is our personal response to a God who continues to reveal himself to us and
invites us to recognize his holiness and beauty. Bible shows us the ways in which
God reveals himself to human persons and invites him to respond in faith. Every situation
in the world presents a very great contrast between human powerlessness in the face
of sickness and death on the one hand, and the striking force of faith on the other.
We are in a constant relationship with a God of wonder who transforms us, heals us
and removes our pains and transforms them into joy. Faith works miracles and there
are the thousands of small miracles that no-one notices them except those concerned.
Certainly people are aware of the work of the power of God in human situation. In
this rational world we need the spiritual insight to recognize the working of these
miracles. But faith is there like a small seed which when planted in the human heart
grows slowly to yield fruit. Today’s readings invite us to reflect on how profoundly
faith influences our view of the world and our actions. In the first reading from
the Book of Wisdom, the wise teacher reminds us that we are all created in the image
of God. We are also surrounded by gifts that will finally lead us to heaven. In the
second reading Paul encourages the people of Corinth to be generous to the poor in
Jerusalem. The generosity of Jesus is their model and motivation. In the Gospel faith
brings new life to the Synagogue Official’s daughter and to a woman who was suffering
for twelve years. She only touched the garments of Jesus and she was healed.
The
First Reading from the Book of Wisdom reminds us that we are all created in the image
and likeness of God. Our calling is to enjoy eternal life in God’s presence. The
created world guides us along the path of life as long as see creation for what it
is and it will always remain a beautiful gift of God for us. The author can boldly
declare that there is nothing that harmful or destructive in creation. The Book of
Genesis tells us that God created everything that is good. In fact the word good is
repeated seven times. God created us for incorruption and made us in His own image
so we may inherit His Kingdom. In other words, God created the world in and of itself
and should not separate us from God either in this world or in the next. The author
of the Book of Wisdom says that God did not make death, and he does not delight in
the death of the living. For he created all things so that they might exist; the generative
forces of the world are wholesome, and the dominion of Hades is not on earth. For
righteousness is immortal. The death he speaks of is not physical death but spiritual
death. Further we all know that the kind God takes no pleasure in the extinction
of the living. He loves them all. If the wicked inherit spiritual death, it is because
they invite it upon themselves. But man can avoid spiritual death, as he is being
called to inherit the Kingdom of God. This kingdom becomes alive for us in Jesus.
The author says that the righteousness that we receive from God itself is immortal.
St
Paul in the Second Reading reminds the Corinthians how Jesus, rich though he was became
poor for our sake, to make them all rich out of his poverty. Naked and destitute on
the cross he poured out his love on us. He even gave his life that we might have life.
And because of that he, too, lives forever. And we have been immeasurable enriched.
Paul gives that as a model for the way that the Corinthians should share whatever
they can spare for their poorer brothers in other churches. He calls it a gracious
act because he views the collection as a grace from God. Interestingly, he says that
in sharing with others we are not expected to give away what we genuinely need ourselves
but only from our surplus. When we share our surplus today with someone in greater
need, we ourselves can hope to be treated in the same way in our own hour of need.
Part of our healing is in the wholeness of our communities, a wholeness which is based
on truth, love, compassion and a deep sense of justice for all. And this, too, is
holiness, because God is an integral part of the wholeness. He is recognized as the
Creator, the Conserver and the Final Goal of all that I am and can be, of all that
we are and can be. Jesus is the model for his people and his generosity made him give
up all the riches he had and take on the poverty of human life and death.
The
Gospel consists of two related stories, with one inside the other, a typical feature
of Mark. It is a literary art or devise known as intercalation or sandwiching. Both
stories then play off one another by parallels, contrasts and even ironies. They are
held together by theme or one of the characters in the stories. Here we have the
story of Jairus a synagogue leader, pleading with Jesus to come and heal his sick
daughter. Into this story is inserted another incident about a nameless woman long
suffering hemorrhages who secretly touches the garment of Jesus with a hope of being
cured. Finally the focus moves back to the story of the synagogue leader with a sick
daughter. Both the miracles tell us about the faith in Jesus. Jesus is the one who
holds both stories together. He is approached by Jairus, an official of the synagogue,
probably well to do and a public figure. His daughter is seriously ill and he wants
Jesus to come and lay his hands on her “to make her better and save her life”. It
was something unusual that a leader should ask this favor when much opposition was
brooding around him. But Jesus who always to seeks to do good, sets out for Jairus’
house and is followed by a huge crowd of jostling people. Thus reaching out to the
synagogue leader who had faith in him, Jesus raised his twelve year old daughter back
to life. As he had done with Lazarus, Jesus gave life to the little girl that had
crossed over to death.
In the Gospel we also heard how a woman who is anonymous,
poor, isolated from the synagogue and most social contact. While Jairus is able to
come forward boldly and plead with Jesus to come to his house and heal his little
girl, the woman who is sick makes a quiet attempt to reach close to Jesus and touch
his garment secretly. What is interesting is that both the synagogue official and
the woman who was sick are taken up with fear after they have approached Jesus. still
both are convinced through faith that Jesus has the power to cure all illness. The
nameless woman is healed of twelve years of hemorrhages, simply by touching the clothes
of the Lord Jesus. her deep faith made her well and the healing was immediate. Mark
tells us that she suffered for twelve years before turning to Jesus. She had endured
much under many physicians and obviously drained her of all her financial resources.
Jesus was her last hope, her only hope. Nothing in the physical world could heal her.
Only a miracle from Jesus did the healing for her. Jesus was there for her when she
needed Him the most, after much suffering. Like many others, she had heard about Jesus
and, moved by a deep faith in him, she believed that if she could just touch the hem
of his cloak it would be enough for her to be healed. In fact, she does just that
and she is healed instantly. Her faith and trust in the power of Jesus has healed
her completely. Her faith in Jesus makes her a new person.
We are also surprised
at the dramatic episode with Jesus. Generally the miracles of Jesus are done quietly
and even done in public he avoided all publicity. Here Mark tells us that Jesus turned
round and asked the crowd who it was that touched my clothes. He knew that power
had gone out from him and the healing was done. The disciples remind Jesus that he
was surrounded by hundreds of people around him, trying to listen to him and how could
he just ask who touched him. The question of Jesus makes the woman to come forward
to make a public confession about her behavior and announced the good result which
she knew it had already produced. She was afraid because she should not have been
there at all because of the religious law. That was the reason why she could not approached
him openly in the first place. Her bleeding problem made her unclean and, if the people
around had known about it, she would have been in deep trouble. For all purposes she
was an outcast person. Now Jesus performs a great miracle. He restores her to normal
life in society. There is no anger or indignation on his part. Instead he affectionately
calls her: “My daughter,” and tells her that her faith had restored her to health.
She sends her away with good news to go in peace and be free from her complaint forever.
Her faith had healed her to the full.
Returning to the first story which is
equally important when Jairus is told by some messengers that his daughter had already
died and that there was no need to bother Jesus any further. Jesus was known to be
a healer but not as a person who would bring a dead person back to life. But Jesus
gives them new assurance. He says “Do not be Afraid,” a word used more than 350 times
in the Bible. Further he asks them to believe in him. Once he reached the house he
gives them further assurance that the girl is only sleeping and she is not dead.
They laugh at his comment. With the master sends everyone out of the house and goes
into the house with just the parents and his three close companions, Peter, James
and John. He takes the girl by the hands and tells her: “Little girl, I tell you to
get up.” And the 12-year-old girl immediately got up and walked around quite normally,
as if nothing had been wrong with her. Those words “get up” Jesus brings her back
to life and indicates his power over death that he is the resurrection and life.
Jesus ordered them not to speak about it and also asks them to give her something
to eat. All were amazed with his healing power. He is the one who controls life and
has power over death. He restores her to the parents and asks them to total care starting
from food. Both of these stories, with one, as it were, enfolded in the other reveal
Jesus as the source of life and healing.
Ultimately the synagogue official’s
daughter is cured as is the woman with the hemorrhages. In order for this to take
place, however, their fear has to be overcome with faith. In both cases it is the
faith that brings about the healings. Again both stories are about more than just
healing miracles. On a deeper level, both stories are telling us of Jesus granting
them new life. The woman is now reinstated into the community without any hindrance
and the little girl is brought back to life from death and given back to her parents.
In a real way they are the resurrection stories. Even the gesture that Jesus makes
by lifting up the girl has the resurrection overtones. On the practical level, both
the girl and the woman experience a new fullness of life. They are referred to as
“daughter” but now they have the potential to be part of the greater community. Both
the stories teach important lessons about the power of faith.
Today’s Gospel
tells us about the divine power and infinite mercy of Jesus. apart from proving his
claim to be the promised Messiah, all his miracles had as their aim and their end
to remove the pain and sufferings of human persons. He did not perform any miracle
for the sake of astonishing people or to satisfy idle curiosity of people. Each one
was performed to help someone in distress. All who were helped by his miracle of mercy
had one thing in common, namely, they were motivated by faith in him and trusted fully
in his mercy and power. for instance we see the leper in the gospel of Matthew who
expressed his sentiments saying, “Lord, if only want to, you can heal me.” Here in
the case of Jairus it was the relatives and friends of the girl who showed the faith
and confidence in him. In the case of unnamed woman it was her faith made her touch
him and her courage made her accept the transformation in her. Jesus through his miracles
gave of himself and has asked us to give of ourselves. He asked those who have an
abundance to share their wealth with those in need so that those who have little,
do not have too little. With that little extra that they receive through the love
of their Christian brothers and sisters, they too can live a decent life above the
poverty level. Let us pray today to Jesus as Lord of life and ask him to help us reach
that level of health, wholeness and holiness to which he is calling us.
Once
in a small town a curious case came up in the court. An elderly man had been caught
stealing two loaves of bread. He was presented before the magistrate who conducted
the full hearing in the presence of 120 people who had come curiously to listen to
the judgment. The man gave the reason that his wife, there children and elderly parents
were hungry and he was unemployed and he had no money to buy bread to feed his starving
family. After questioning and listening to the arguments, the judge was very angry
and said this was a terrible crime and the man must be fined and he set a fine of
Rupees one hundred. The accused thief was ashamed and put down his head as he had
no money to pay. The Judge then did a strange thing. He quietly took out his purse
and pulled out a hundred Rupee note and told the officer to accept the payment on
behalf of the accused. Then he raised the voice and said it is something more criminal
when a man without job had to steal bread to feed the family while 120 are wasting
their time to watch the fun. All those present are fined one Rupee per head and asked
the officer to collect the amount. He handed over that money to the accused man to
buy food and told him to come next day and he would get him a job. It was truly a
miracle in the life of a man who had secured a new life.