(Homily 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Yr. B)
An in-depth and spiritual reading of the
Word of God of this Sunday reveals that right from creation, God has desired
the best for all he has created, especially for man, even to the extent of
creating man that he might exist, and not to die. This original idea of God was
so powerful that the infidelity of man didn’t thwart it, for God in and through
the Person of His Son Jesus Christ, restored our life, and continues to give us
life in abundance and to liberate us from all that do not allow us to enjoy
that fullness of life. God is on the side of life, likewise His Son Jesus
Christ. Our existential journey, so far,
has brought to our consideration some of the actors and factors that tend to
limit the action of God’s grace in us, ranging from sickness, diseases and
death, but with a joyful hope we may well posit in Pauline words thus: “We
come through all these things triumphantly victorious, by the power of him who
loved us” (Rm. 8:37). Although, death
is an evident reality, in Jesus parlance, the evidence of death is an illusion,
for He is the author of life. In Christ what conquers death is not life, but
love.
The first reading (Wis. 1:13-15; 2:23-24) from the book of Wisdom provides the Old
Testament belief for man’s immortality. The world created by God was good (Wis. 1:14; cf. Gen. 1). Therein, man
was created to be immortal, (even though Genesis
3 seems to assume that man was created mortal). However, the book of Wisdom
must have deduced the idea from the fact of man’s creation in God’s image in Gen. 1:26. St. Paul as well seem to
share the same opinion as in Wisdom 1:14,
for when he was speaking about death, he says: “Well then, it was through one
man that sin came into the world, and through sin death, and thus death has
spread through the whole human race because everyone has sinned” (2 Cor.11:3). Drawing the issue
further, the view of death presented in this passage, seem to conflict with the
age long self-evident truth of death as a biological fact. However, it could be
argued that from the connection of immortality with righteousness in Wis.1:15, it does appear the author is
alluding to moral and spiritual death, just like St. Paul in (Rm. 5). In that bid, the mystery of death is beyond the mere physical meaning,
it is a sign of man’s alienation from God. In any case, on the basis of the facts of the Gospel, we believe in
what is said by the writer of the book of wisdom, that “God did not create
death, and does not delight in the death of the living, for he created all
things that they might exist...for God created man for in-corruption, and made
him in the image of His eternity”.
In today’s Gospel passage (Mk. 5:21-43), we see a common feature
of Mark’s Gospel, that is, the insertion of one episode into another. Thus,
here the story of the woman with hemorrhage is inserted into the narrative of
the raising of Jairus’ daughter. Even though, opinions vary as regards the
purpose of this insertion, but the more convincing explanation is St. Mark’s
intent to let one miracle interlace into and interpret the other. As such, the
healing of the woman with hemorrhage and the raising of Jairus’ daughter can be
interpreted as an act of cleansing and salvation (vv.28.34). Therefore, the
two miracles prefigure Christ’s salvation of man from death. The whole Gospel of St. Mark is centered on the
question: who is Jesus? In the Gospel
of last Sunday, Mark already tried to present Jesus as one who has the
prerogatives of God, and as such God; He has power over nature (calming the
storm). Today’s Gospel periscope
presents two miracles, different in nature and similar in the ways that Jesus
accomplished them, but they have a common element: the two miracles were rendered possible or rather provoked by FAITH.
Mark also presents Jesus as the Lord of Life. He healed instantly a woman that
was suffering from a sickness that no doctor was able to cure for twelve years.
More interestingly, He raises the little girl of twelve years, Jairus’ daughter
back to life. In some other biblical episodes Jesus’ demonstrated that he is
the Lord of life with the resurrection of the son of the widow of Naim (Lk.7:11-17), of his friend Lazarus (Jn. 11:38-53), and finally with His
own resurrection. As a matter of fact, Jesus told the woman with the issue of
blood, “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be healed of your
disease” (v.34). And to Jairus, who
received the news of his daughter’s death: “Do not fear, only believe” (v.36).
The
two figures of today’s gospel are very much distant from each other socially
speaking (Jairus was a ruler of the Synagogue, while the woman was socially
anonymous). And this teaches us the
universality and the non-discriminatory nature of God’s salvation. Two of
them teach us what it means to have faith. Faith as they have taught us is not
a mere sentiment or emotion, it is a conviction, it entails going beyond the
human horizon. To believe means to be certain that what is impossible in man’s
parlance is possible in God’s. Mark confirms this in an emblematic manner when
he says: “everything is possible for the person who has faith” (Mk 9:23).
In that bid, our great teachers and
spiritual facilitators today are Jairus and the socially anonymous woman with
the issue of blood. Though their social status is far apart, but Faith in Jesus
has brought them together. Let us have a glance at the two encounters:
● Jairus, a
ruler of the Synagogue asked Jesus what is absolutely impossible humanly
speaking: the return to life of his dead daughter. Let us observe the scene
closely: seeing Jesus, he fell at his
feet, “my little daughter is at the point of death come and lay your hands on
her, so that she may be made well and live” (a touch by Him). Immediately Jesus went with him, and on their way
the popular unknown woman appeared. Later on, a message came that the little
girl is dead. Some must have questioned the need of his coming. But on arriving
to his house with the words “Talitha cumi”,
Jesus brought her back to life.
● The woman with the issue of blood for twelve years manifested the magnitude of her faith,
after so many years of suffering. She had reports about Jesus and was fully and
deeply convinced “if I touch even His garments, I shall be made well” (a touch of Him). The story of
this woman and her action of touching the garments of Jesus reveal that she saw
Jesus as an ‘extraordinary man’, a ‘great prophet’, a ‘divine man’. In fact,
the evangelist Luke (8:46) drew the
issue further, by adding that Jesus knew that power (dynamis) had gone out of
him, when the woman touched him. However,
in Mark we see the effort to transform the woman’s courageous gesture into an
expression of faith, and as such, a personal encounter with the Saviour. She wanted to do this in a hidden way, because there
was a popular believe at that time, that a woman suffering from the issue of
blood is impure and also renders whatever she touches so. (But in the episode
Jesus purified her imperfect faith). And she did succeed in the midst of the crowd.
But Jesus immediately noticed a different type of touch, and He asked who
touched my garments? But she presented herself in fear and trembling, she
prostrated before Jesus and told Him the whole truth (v.33), and Jesus assured her: “daughter, your faith has saved you”
(v.34). And as a premium to their
faith they received miracles.
Similarly, at the heart of the two miracles,
one notices with ease that faith for them is not simply a probability or
hypothesis, it is instead a certainty, certainty because it is founded on the
Word of God that does not deceive at all. The words of Jesus to Jairus give credence
to this, “do not fear, only believe”. The
exercise of faith is not without difficulties. As someone would say, it is like a dark-light, dark because it requires adhesion to truths
that surpass our human capacity (little wonder, is a supernatural gift); it is light, limpid and immune from error
because it is founded on the Word of God.
On the other hand, in our present age
replete with all sorts of ideologies, especially of those who do not believe in
God, and thus see that as a form of weakness and folly. In their conception, faith is an act of infantilism and weakness,
little wonder, some tend to manifest their faith with fear and in shame. Contrarily, faith is an act of humility and
recognition of one’s limits, just as Jairus and the woman did in the gospel. To
be faithful in God presupposes courageousness. In the passage, the stories
therein bring to light the incomprehension and oppositions that are encountered
in the bid to believe in Jesus Christ and his Good News of salvation. A
wonderful example to follow is that of Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, who
notwithstanding his social position and prestige, humbled himself, without
minding what could be the negative reaction of the crowd (criticisms, derision
etc.), walked up to Jesus for something that seemed humanly impossible.
Once again, as
it is typical of the Marcan account, at the end of the raising event, Mark introduces the messianic secret: “And
he gave them strict orders not to let anyone know about it” (v.43). And this order is better understood from the theological standpoint,
for the true significance of the act of raising is not yet apparent.
Indeed, it is only at the death and resurrection event that the veil of the
messianic secrecy will be revealed. The injunction of Mark 9:9 explains this better: “As they were coming down from the
mountain he warned them to tell no one what they has seen, until after the son
of man had risen from the dead”. In all, while the raising of Jarius’ daughter
prefigures Christ’s victory over death, the healing of the hemorrhage woman
prefigures Christ’s death as a cleansing from sin.
In our own existential
experiences and situation, the Good news for us today is that the same Jesus
who instantly healed the woman with the issue of blood, who for twelve years
was craving and searching for cure, is the same Jesus that can heal our own
sickness, especially the spiritual sickness called sin. The same Jesus that
gave back life to the daughter of Jairus can deliver us and give us life in
abundance (Jn. 10:10). But from us, Jesus just requires a humble, courageous
and persevering faith as exemplified in today’s Gospel passage. The faith
that does not give up even when prayers seem not to be answered and when things
are not working as desired. A wonderful example is the experience of Jairus
when Jesus was on His way to His house, and later was ‘distracted’ by the woman
that touched him. And again, while Jesus was still on the way a message came
from Jairus house: “your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any
further”. As if the coming of Jesus is no longer useful. But Jesus ignored them
and intervened with these words to Jairus: “do not fear, only believe”. What
happened to “the some” who came with despondency to report the death of Jairus
daughter and at the same time seeing Jesus visit to be useless can also happen
to us, when we lose hope, and begin to doubt what God can do in our life. In moments
like that the words of Jesus re-echoes again to us saying: “do not fear, only
believe”. What are those things that are standing between us and our faith in
Jesus? Is it sickness? It can become a
bridge and not a wall for us to encounter Jesus. Is it the crowd? We should not be discouraged by them.
Is it derision? Faith in Jesus conquers
that. In the words of St. Paul, “In all these things we have complete
victory through Him who loved us” (Rm.
8:37). In whatever situation we find ourselves a touch of Him or a touch by
Him can raise us up! Let us put our voices together and invoke the power of the
miracle Jesus to raise us up from our different situations of failure and
limitations. Amen! And may the song of Josh Groban, “You raise me Up”, re-echo
in our hearts and lips thus:
When I am down, and, oh, my soul, so weary
When troubles come, and my heart burdened be
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence
Until you come and sit awhile with me
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up… to more than I can be
(Fr. Vitus M.C. Unegbu, SC)
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