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Gospel: Mark 5: 21-43
When Jesus had crossed again in the boat
to the other side,
a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea.
One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward.
Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying,
“My daughter is at the point of death.
Please, come lay your hands on her
that she may get well and live.”
He went off with him,
and a large crowd followed him and pressed upon him.
There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years.
She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors
and had spent all that she had.
Yet she was not helped but only grew worse.
She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd
and touched his cloak.
She said, “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.”
Immediately her flow of blood dried up.
She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.
Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him,
turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who has touched my clothes?”
But his disciples said to Jesus,
“You see how the crowd is pressing upon you,
and yet you ask, ‘Who touched me?'”
And he looked around to see who had done it.
The woman, realizing what had happened to her,
approached in fear and trembling.
She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth.
He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you.
Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.”
While he was still speaking,
people from the synagogue official’s house arrived and said,
“Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?”
Disregarding the message that was reported,
Jesus said to the synagogue official,
“Do not be afraid; just have faith.”
He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside
except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.
When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official,
he caught sight of a commotion,
people weeping and wailing loudly.
So he went in and said to them,
“Why this commotion and weeping?
The child is not dead but asleep.”
And they ridiculed him.
Then he put them all out.
He took along the child’s father and mother
and those who were with him
and entered the room where the child was.
He took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum,”
which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise!”
The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around.
At that they were utterly astounded.
He gave strict orders that no one should know this
and said that she should be given something to eat.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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We’ve all seen or maybe even tasted an Oreo. There’s a white, sugary center sandwiched in between two dark, brittle cookies.
It’s a fitting image for what’s unfolding in today’s Gospel. There are two stories of faith and healing, sandwiched in between the dark, brittle doubt of the crowds.
***
A woman has been hemorrhaging for the last twelve years. Meanwhile, a twelve-year-old girl is on the brink of death. Together, they represent all of humanity.
The older woman represents those who are aging, whose bodies are growing weak under the burden of years. The girl represents all children who suffer, and by extension the pain and helplessness of their parents.
At the very center is Jesus, who makes all things new.
***
We begin with the woman who bore the burden of bleeding.
Mark tells us, “She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors and had spent all that she had.”
Now she’s penniless. The fact that she’s spent all of her own resources implies that she is neither married nor blessed with children; she has to fend for herself.
Sadly, her uncontrolled bleeding renders her impure according to Jewish Law. So, she’s untouchable and, ultimately, undesirable. She cannot even enter the Temple to worship, leaving her no contact with others. Not even with her Creator.
This woman is utterly, utterly alone.
It’s her desperate desire for healing that drives her that day.
***
Imagine her barreling through the crowds like a bowling ball rolling through pins.
Suddenly, she makes contact with Jesus. Feeling power go out of him, he stops and demands to know who touched him.
To the faithless crowds, such a question seems ludicrous; imagine how many people are bumping into Jesus as he journeys towards Jairus’ home.
But there’s a needle in this haystack; someone has faith in Jesus’ power to heal. So, he waits for the person to be revealed.
As this desperate woman comes forward, she falls to the ground in fear, revealing what she’s done.
Her journey through the crowds has left many ritually impure, including Jesus. And yet, when she touches him – when she breaks the Law – her bleeding stops. She is healed.
The irony is dazzling.
The Law prevents this woman from touching anyone. But if she isn’t cured, then eventually she’ll die from her wound. Blood – the source of life – is slowly dripping out of her.
She must literally break the Law in order to be saved.
***
What type of legalism still exists in the Church today? What rules or laws prevent people like this woman from making contact with the Lord in the Sacraments?
How many others might be healed – saved – if only they were permitted to touch the tassel of his cloak?
The one thing that matters in this Gospel passage – in fact, the only thing that this woman can control – is her faith. Though impure, she believes. And that is what leads to her healing.
Not the law, but her faith.
***
This point is re-enforced when Jesus enters Jairus’ home and touches the hand of this father’s recently deceased daughter.
According to Jewish Law, touching a corpse rendered a person ritually impure – banning Jesus from contact with others, even entrance into the Temple! – and yet as he holds this girl’s hand – as he breaks the Law – she is healed.
She’s literally, “raised.”
This verb, “raise,” is the same verb Mark later uses to describe the resurrection of Jesus, implying this girl has received life – life in abundance.
But the Lord was only granted access into Jairus’ home because of Jairus’ faith. The crowds outside and the mourners within have given up – “Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?” they question. So, Jesus throws them out.
But Jairus clings to hope – and is rewarded for it.
***
What does all of this mean for us?
***
We can never underestimate the power of faith.
While that does not mean that everyone will receive the miraculous healing of this woman or Jairus’ daughter, faith gives us access to Jesus, who makes the impossible possible, even if that means simply sharing our burdens as we journey through life.
That’s an offer open to all – even the ritually impure.
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Image credits: (1) Substack (2) Patheos (3) Music Meets Heaven, YouTube, 3:25
