Fr Kevin Kilgore

***

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.

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 him,
“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.

***

***

There are two layers to be uncovered in today’s Gospel: there’s the reality of human suffering, and beneath it, the invitation to faith. 

***

It begins with Jairus’ twelve-year-old daughter, who’s near the point of death. Jesus is on his way to heal her, when suddenly a woman reaches out and touches the tassel of his cloak.

Shocked at feeling power go out of him, Jesus stops, wasting precious time to find out who did it. Relieved, the woman steps forward admitting her desperate act of faith.

Meanwhile, the crowds inform Jesus that Jairus’ daughter has died. What good can be done now?

***

Consider the dramatic difference in faith between this woman and the sea of humanity surrounding Jesus.

While hundreds – if not thousands – of people bumped into Jesus as he was walking, this woman touched him. Her faith allowed her to receive Jesus’ divine power and thus a dramatic healing.

I’m sure many others were either sick or sinful, but they didn’t receive what they wanted from him because they lacked what she had: faith.

This begs the question: How often do we bump into Jesus, as opposed to touching him?

Every time we listen to the Gospel, receive communion, pray, or even say his name, we make contact with the Lord.

But is it half-conscious contact? Or, like this woman, is it driven by a faith that is desperate to receive the grace that flows from the Lord?

***

“Ask and you shall receive,” Jesus says. “Seek and you will find.”

We may add, reach, and receive what God has prepared for you today.

***

***

Image credits: (1) Denise Marks Blog, WordPress (2) The Encounter Chapel at Mandala, Galilee (3) “Faith,” by Yongsung Kim

***

Gospel: Mk. 5.1-20

Jesus and his disciples came to the other side of the sea,
to the territory of the Gerasenes.
When he got out of the boat,
at once a man from the tombs who had an unclean spirit met him.
The man had been dwelling among the tombs,
and no one could restrain him any longer, even with a chain.
In fact, he had frequently been bound with shackles and chains,
but the chains had been pulled apart by him and the shackles smashed,
and no one was strong enough to subdue him.
Night and day among the tombs and on the hillsides
he was always crying out and bruising himself with stones.
Catching sight of Jesus from a distance,
he ran up and prostrated himself before him,
crying out in a loud voice,
“What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?
I adjure you by God, do not torment me!”
(He had been saying to him, “Unclean spirit, come out of the man!”)
He asked him, “What is your name?”
He  replied, “Legion is my name.  There are many of us.”
And he pleaded earnestly with him
not to drive them away from that territory.

Now a large herd of swine was feeding there on the hillside.
And they pleaded with him,
“Send us into the swine.  Let us enter them.”
And he let them, and the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine.
The herd of about two thousand rushed down a steep bank into the sea,
where they were drowned.
The swineherds ran away and reported the incident in the town
and throughout the countryside.
And people came out to see what had happened.
As they approached Jesus,
they caught sight of the man who had been possessed by Legion,
sitting there clothed and in his right mind.
And they were seized with fear.
Those who witnessed the incident explained to them what had happened
to the possessed man and to the swine.
Then they began to beg him to leave their district.
As he was getting into the boat,
the man who had been possessed pleaded to remain with him.
But Jesus would not permit him but told him instead,
“Go home to your family and announce to them
all that the Lord in his pity has done for you.”
Then the man went off and began to proclaim in the Decapolis
what Jesus had done for him; and all were amazed.

The Gospel of the Lord.

***

***

Jesus has already shown his power over nature by calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee. Now he will demonstrate his power over evil within a human person.

As he steps ashore, he is immediately challenged by demonic powers, as if they’re jealous of their territory. “Are you here to torment us??” they cry out.

From a Jewish perspective, this was an unapproachable area. Caves, which were often used as tombs, lined the shoreline. Pigs roamed free. It was a dark and dreary place meant for the unholy and defiled.

***

But Jesus steps right in.

***

There’s a man dwelling among the tombs with superhuman strength. He’s been bound by shackles and chains, but smashes them against the rocks. “No one,” the Gospel says, “was strong enough to subdue him.”

Mark says this man experienced a “violent squall” within – likely comparing what happened on the Sea of Galilee to what’s happening inside this man’s soul. He’s living in torment.

No one but Jesus can save him.

***

This Gospel scene describes in miniature the entire mission and ministry of Jesus: to seek and to save the lost.

Although none of us is tormented like this man, the demonic spirit within him demonstrates the power evil can have over us; to use Mark’s word, it “tortures” us. 

Think about this in the context of a person subdued by addiction, greed, lust, anger, even death.

Jesus comes to set us free.

Using his own words, which he prayed from the Cross, may we offer whatever burdens us to the Lord, saying, “Father, into your hands, I commend my spirit.”

***

***

Image credits: (1) Grace London, Jesus’ Power Over Evil and Sin (2) Pig Beach, Wikipedia (3) Diocese of Lansing

***

Gospel: Matthew 5: 1-12

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain,
and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. 
He began to teach them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you
and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.
Rejoice and be glad,
for your reward will be great in heaven.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

***

***

One of the most popular social media platforms today is Twitter. 

Twitter is used by 450 million people around the world. It allows you to share whatever’s on your mind, usually in a single sentence, or in 160 characters or less. 

Four of the most popular “tweets” from the last year are the following:

Congratulations to the astronauts who left earth today. Good choice.

COVID quarantine day 6.

Humans are simply not built for email.

It is with immeasurable grief that we announce the passing of Chadwick Boseman.

(Chad was the main actor in the wildly popular film Black Panther. He died after a private struggle with cancer at the age of 43).

We could write volumes explaining what each of these tweets means. They all make reference to our shared human experience of an imperfect world, COVID, emails, and death.

This is also the genius of Twitter and its users: distilling sometimes profound thoughts or experiences into a single sentence. 

***

In today’s Gospel, Jesus preaches his first and most popular sermon, often called the “Sermon on the Mount.” He boils God’s vision for humanity down to its essence in nine simple “tweets,” also known as the Beatitudes.

Let’s consider three of them. Perhaps the Lord is speaking to you through one of these.

***

“Blessed are you when they persecute you.”

It’s easy to apply this Beatitude to people living in different parts of the world where our faith is oppressed. But it also applies to us.

For example, blessed are you ninth graders when peer pressure gives way to courage and you speak up about your faith in Confirmation class. 

Blessed are you husbands and wives, moms and dads, when you ask your spouse and your children to pray with and to pray for you. 

Blessed are you when you speak about your faith at work, when you invite someone to Mass, when you make an unpopular decision – even at great personal cost – because it’s the right thing to do.

Blessed are you.

***

“Blessed are the pure of heart.”

To be “pure of heart” means to be “single-minded,” or “without division.” Love for God is the reason behind everything they do.

They are honest with their finances (tax season has begun!)

They live moral lives. God’s presence influences what they see, what they say, and what they do around others, in private, and online.

They pray to resist temptation, to overcome unhealthy habits, to keep God at the very center of their lives.

They ask God to guide their decisions, their relationships, and they lay their future at his feet.

Blessed are the “pure of heart.”

***

Finally, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”

To be “poor in spirit” means, “to know your need for God.”

I think of a young father who’s poor in spirit. He wakes up 20 minutes before there’s a stir in the house in order to pray for his wife and three kids.

I think of a woman who was married for 50 years. Her husband passed away suddenly at 6 am on a Sunday morning. She came to the noon Mass that day to thank the Lord for those 50 years, and to pray for her husband’s soul. 

I think of young people taking a leap of faith by attending World Youth Day with me this August in Portugal, including three of our own parishioners.

I think of those who make time to read the bible and strive to understand it, those who discuss faith with their friends, those who give their time, treasure, and talent to Jesus and our parish without a second thought.

Blessed are they.

***

Three tweets from Jesus, offering insight into the heart of God.

“Blessed are you when they persecute you.”

“Blessed are the pure of heart.”

“Blessed are the poor in spirit.”

Which of these is the Lord inviting me to experience this week?

Make every effort to do it and you’ll be among the blessed.

***

***

Image credits: (1) Thrive Church (2) Twitter (3) BlogtheChurch, WordPress