Tuesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary
Time
Lectionary: 324
Lectionary: 324
Absalom unexpectedly came up against David's servants.
He was mounted on a mule,
and, as the mule passed under the branches of a large terebinth,
his hair caught fast in the tree.
He hung between heaven and earth
while the mule he had been riding ran off.
Someone saw this and reported to Joab
that he had seen Absalom hanging from a terebinth.
And taking three pikes in hand,
he thrust for the heart of Absalom,
still hanging from the tree alive.
Now David was sitting between the two gates,
and a lookout went up to the roof of the gate above the city wall,
where he looked about and saw a man running all alone.
The lookout shouted to inform the king, who said,
"If he is alone, he has good news to report."
The king said, "Step aside and remain in attendance here."
So he stepped aside and remained there.
When the Cushite messenger came in, he said,
"Let my lord the king receive the good news
that this day the LORD has taken your part,
freeing you from the grasp of all who rebelled against you."
But the king asked the Cushite, "Is young Absalom safe?"
The Cushite replied, "May the enemies of my lord the king
and all who rebel against you with evil intent
be as that young man!"
The king was shaken,
and went up to the room over the city gate to weep.
He said as he wept,
"My son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom!
If only I had died instead of you,
Absalom, my son, my son!"
Joab was told that the king was weeping and mourning for Absalom;
and that day's victory was turned into mourning for the whole army
when they heard that the king was grieving for his son.
He was mounted on a mule,
and, as the mule passed under the branches of a large terebinth,
his hair caught fast in the tree.
He hung between heaven and earth
while the mule he had been riding ran off.
Someone saw this and reported to Joab
that he had seen Absalom hanging from a terebinth.
And taking three pikes in hand,
he thrust for the heart of Absalom,
still hanging from the tree alive.
Now David was sitting between the two gates,
and a lookout went up to the roof of the gate above the city wall,
where he looked about and saw a man running all alone.
The lookout shouted to inform the king, who said,
"If he is alone, he has good news to report."
The king said, "Step aside and remain in attendance here."
So he stepped aside and remained there.
When the Cushite messenger came in, he said,
"Let my lord the king receive the good news
that this day the LORD has taken your part,
freeing you from the grasp of all who rebelled against you."
But the king asked the Cushite, "Is young Absalom safe?"
The Cushite replied, "May the enemies of my lord the king
and all who rebel against you with evil intent
be as that young man!"
The king was shaken,
and went up to the room over the city gate to weep.
He said as he wept,
"My son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom!
If only I had died instead of you,
Absalom, my son, my son!"
Joab was told that the king was weeping and mourning for Absalom;
and that day's victory was turned into mourning for the whole army
when they heard that the king was grieving for his son.
Responsorial
PsalmPS 86:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
R. (1a) Listen,
Lord, and answer me.
Incline your ear, O LORD; answer me,
for I am afflicted and poor.
Keep my life, for I am devoted to you;
save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God.
R. Listen, Lord, and answer me.
Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for to you I call all the day.
Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
R. Listen, Lord, and answer me.
For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in kindness to all who call upon you.
Hearken, O LORD, to my prayer
and attend to the sound of my pleading.
R. Listen, Lord, and answer me.
Incline your ear, O LORD; answer me,
for I am afflicted and poor.
Keep my life, for I am devoted to you;
save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God.
R. Listen, Lord, and answer me.
Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for to you I call all the day.
Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
R. Listen, Lord, and answer me.
For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in kindness to all who call upon you.
Hearken, O LORD, to my prayer
and attend to the sound of my pleading.
R. Listen, Lord, and answer me.
AlleluiaMT 8:17
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
Christ took away our infirmities
and bore our diseases.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Christ took away our infirmities
and bore our diseases.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMK 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.
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.
Meditation: The woman who took heart in
Jesus
Do you approach the Lord
Jesus with expectant faith or with skeptical doubt? People in desperate or
helpless circumstances were not disappointed when they sought Jesus out. What
drew them to Jesus? Was it hope for a miracle or a word of comfort in their
affliction? What did the elderly woman who had suffered miserably for twelve
years expect Jesus to do for her? And what did a grieving father expect Jesus
to do for his beloved daughter who was at the point of death? Jesus gave hope
where there seemed to be no human cause for it because his hope was directed to
God. He spoke words of hope to the woman (Take
heart, daughter!) to ignite the spark of
faith in her (your faith has made you well!).
Expectant faith believes in Jesus' power to act in our
lives today
Ephrem the Syrian (306-373 AD), an early church Scripture scholar and author of hymns and commentaries, reflected on the miracle of the woman who was healed of her flow of blood:
Ephrem the Syrian (306-373 AD), an early church Scripture scholar and author of hymns and commentaries, reflected on the miracle of the woman who was healed of her flow of blood:
"Glory to you, hidden Son of God,
because your healing power is proclaimed through the hidden suffering of the
afflicted woman. Through this woman whom they could see, the witnesses were
enabled to behold the divinity that cannot be seen. Through the Son's own
healing power his divinity became known. Through the afflicted women's being
healed her faith was made manifest. She caused him to be proclaimed, and indeed
was honored with him. For truth was being proclaimed together with its heralds.
If she was a witness to his divinity, he in turn was a witness to her faith...
He saw through to her hidden faith, and gave her a visible healing."
The Lord Jesus will touch each of us with
his healing hands of love and mercy
Jesus also gave supernatural hope to a father who had just lost a beloved child. It took considerable courage and risk for the ruler of a synagogue to openly go to Jesus and to invite the scorn of his neighbors and kin. Even the hired mourners laughed scornfully at Jesus. Their grief was devoid of any hope. Nonetheless, Jesus took the girl by the hand and delivered her from the grasp of death. Peter Chrysologus (400-450 AD), an early church father who was renowned for his preaching at Ravena, comments on this miracle:
Jesus also gave supernatural hope to a father who had just lost a beloved child. It took considerable courage and risk for the ruler of a synagogue to openly go to Jesus and to invite the scorn of his neighbors and kin. Even the hired mourners laughed scornfully at Jesus. Their grief was devoid of any hope. Nonetheless, Jesus took the girl by the hand and delivered her from the grasp of death. Peter Chrysologus (400-450 AD), an early church father who was renowned for his preaching at Ravena, comments on this miracle:
"This man was a ruler of the
synagogue, and versed in the law. He had surely read that while God created all
other things by his word, man had been created by the hand of God. He trusted
therefore in God that his daughter would be recreated, and restored to life by
that same hand which, he knew, had created her... He [Jesus] who laid hands on
her to form her from nothing, once more lays hands upon her to reform her from
what had perished."
In both instances we see
Jesus' personal concern for the needs of others and his readiness to heal and
restore life. In Jesus we see the infinite love of God extending to each and
every individual as he gives freely and wholly of himself to each person
he meets. Do you approach the Lord with confident expectation that he will hear
your request and act?
"Lord Jesus, you love each of us individually
with a unique and personal love. Touch my life with your saving power, heal and
restore me to fullness of life. Help me to give wholly of myself in loving
service to others."
Chrysologus (400-450
AD)
"Let us, if it is pleasing to you, speak for a
moment of the pains and anxieties which parents take upon themselves and endure
in patience out of love and affection for their children. Here, surrounded by
her family and by the sympathy and affection of her relations, a daughter lies
upon her bed of suffering. She is fading in body. Her father's mind and spirit
are worn with grief. She is suffering the inward pangs of her sickness. He,
unwashed, unkempt, is absorbed wholly in sorrow. He suffers and endures before
the eyes of the world. She is sinking into the quiet of death... Alas! why are
children indifferent to these things! Why are they not mindful of them? Why are
they not eager to make a return to their parents for them? But the love of
parents goes on nevertheless; and whatever parents bestow upon their children,
God, the parent of us all, will duly repay." (excerpt from SERMON 33.2)
[Peter Chrysologus,
400-450 AD, was a renowned preacher and bishop of Ravena in the 5th century]
TUESDAY, JANUARY 30, MARK 5:21-43
Weekday
(2 Samuel 18:9-10, 14b, 24-25a, 30 -- 19:3; Psalm 86)
Weekday
(2 Samuel 18:9-10, 14b, 24-25a, 30 -- 19:3; Psalm 86)
KEY VERSE: "Fear is useless; what is needed is trust" (v 36).
TO KNOW: In the midst of a busy day of ministry, Jesus received two urgent requests for healing. The first appeal came from Jairus, an official of the local synagogue, who pleaded with Jesus to come to his house and heal his critically ill daughter. While Jesus was on his way, a woman with a hemorrhage followed him, hoping to be cured. Although her condition prohibited her from having contact with anyone (Lv 15:19), she reached out in desperation and touched the hem of Jesus' garment. In an instant, a surge of power went out from Jesus and the woman was healed. Jesus assured the frightened woman that her faith had made her whole. At that moment, Jairus was informed that his daughter had died. Jesus told the distraught father not to be afraid, but to have faith. When they arrived at Jairus' home, Jesus sent the mourners away and entered the house. Taking the little girl by the hand, he raised her to new life.
TO LOVE: When I need healing, do I plead like Jairus or reach out in silence like the woman?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, help me to encourage others to come to you for healing?
Tuesday 30
January 2018
Ven Mary Ward.
2 Samuel 18:9-10, 14, 24-25, 30 – 19:3. Psalm 85(86):1-6. Mark
5:21-43.
Listen, Lord, and answer me—Psalm 85(86):1-6.
‘Do not be afraid: only believe.’
The Latin phrase, Noli timere, ego sum, travels with me
most days, especially when I am anxious – ‘Do not be afraid I am with you.’ My
problems do not dissolve, but I am more at peace with my part in the
difficulty. Jesus is a patient guide.
It takes courage to acknowledge the need for help, and we are
moved by the approaches of the sick woman and Jairus, neither of whom were
acquaintances of Jesus. He recognised his own healing power amidst the clutter
of noise and the querulousness of the crowd.
Jesus’ perceptive love moved through the tumult and reached out
to Jairus: ‘Do not be afraid: only believe.’ This was a holy, joyful moment for
the family at this gentle restoring of life in their little child.
We ask Jesus to move alongside our families, guiding them to
live full and generous lives.
Blessed Mary Angela Truszkowska
Saint of the Day for January 30
(May 16, 1825 – October 10, 1899)
Blessed Mary Angela Truszkowska’s Story
Today we honor a woman who submitted to God’s will throughout
her life—a life filled with pain and suffering.
Born in 1825 in central Poland and baptized Sophia, she
contracted tuberculosis as a young girl. The forced period of convalescence
gave her ample time for reflection. Sophia felt called to serve God by working
with the poor, including street children and the elderly homeless in Warsaw’s
slums. In time, her cousin joined her in the work.
In 1855, the two women made private vows and consecrated
themselves to the Blessed Mother. New followers joined them. Within two years,
they formed a new congregation, which came to be known as the Felician Sisters.
As their numbers grew, so did their work, and so did the pressures on Mother
Angela (the new name Sophia took in religious life).
Mother Angela served as superior for many years until ill health
forced her to resign at the age of 44. She watched the order grow and expand,
including missions to the United States among the sons and daughters of Polish
immigrants.
Pope John Paul II beatified her in 1993.
Reflection
Like Saints Francis of Assisi and Ignatius of Antioch,
Blessed Mary Angela experienced a conversion while convalescing from an
illness. The Lord can use sickness as well as other situations to speak to the
heart of an individual. This does not imply that God caused the illness; just
that he used the opportunity to speak to Blessed Angela’s heart.
LECTIO DIVINA: MARK 5, 21-43
Lectio Divina:
Tuesday, January 30, 2018
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Lord our God,
help us to love You with all our hearts
and to love all people as You love them.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
One God, for ever and ever. Amen.
help us to love You with all our hearts
and to love all people as You love them.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
One God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - 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.
3) Reflection
• In today’s Gospel, we meditate on two
miracles which Jesus worked in favor of two women: the first one for a woman
who was considered impure because of the hemorrhage which she was suffering
from for the past 12 years; the other one for a twelve year-old girl, who had
died a short time before. According to the mentality of the time, anybody who
would touch blood or a corpse was considered impure. Blood and death were
factors for exclusion! Because of this, those two women were marginalized
people and excluded from participation in the community.
• The starting point. Jesus arrives in the boat. The people join Him. Jairus, the head of the synagogue, asks help for his daughter, who is dying. Jesus goes with him and the people accompany Him, pushing on all sides. This is the starting point of the two cases of healing which follow: the cure of the woman and the resurrection of the twelve year-old girl.
• The situation of the woman. Twelve years of suffering from hemorrhage! For this reason she lived excluded, because at that time blood rendered people impure, and the one who touched them became impure also. Mark says that the woman had spent all she had with doctors. And instead of becoming better, she got worse. A situation without a solution!
• The attitude of the woman. She heard people speak about Jesus. Hope sprang up in her. She told herself, “If I can just touch His clothes, I will be saved”. The catechism of the time said, “If I touch His cloak, He will become impure”. The woman thinks exactly the contrary! This is a sign that women did not agree with all that religious authority taught. The woman gets in through the crowd, in the midst of the people, and without being noticed, she touches Jesus, because everybody was touching Him and pushing Him. At that same moment she noticed in her body that she had been cured.
• The reaction of Jesus and that of the disciples. Jesus, aware of the power that had gone out from Him, asked, “Who touched My clothes?” The disciples said to Him, “You see how the crowd is pressing round You; how can You ask, ‘Who touched Me?’” So now comes the clash between Jesus and the disciples. Jesus had a sensitivity which the disciples did not perceive. The disciples reacted like everybody else; they did not understand the different reaction of Jesus. But Jesus did not pay attention and continued to investigate.
• Healing through faith. The woman became aware that she had been discovered. It was a difficult and dangerous moment for her, because according to the belief of the time, an impure person like herself got in among the people and contaminated everyone who touched her. All would become impure before God (Lev 15:19-30). For this reason, the punishment could be stoning. But the woman had the courage to accept the consequences of what she had done. The woman “frightened and trembling” fell at Jesus’ feet and told Him the whole truth. Jesus has the last word: “My daughter, your faith has restored you to health, go in peace and be free of your complaint.”
(a) “Daughter”, with this word Jesus accepts the woman into the new family, into the community which was gathering together around Him. (b) What she thought through faith became a reality. (c) Jesus acknowledges that, without that woman’s faith, He would not have been able to work the miracle.
• The news of the death of the little girl. At that moment some people arrived from the house of Jairus to inform him that his daughter had died. It was no longer necessary to disturb Jesus. For them, death was the great barrier. Jesus will not be able to overcome death! Jesus listens, looks at Jairus, and applies what He had just seen, that faith is capable of realizing what the person believes. And He says, “Do not be afraid, only have faith!”
• In Jairus’ house. Jesus allows only three of His disciples to go with Him. Seeing the commotion of the people weeping and wailing because of the death of the child, He said, “The child is not dead; she sleeps!” The people laughed. They know how to distinguish between a person who is sleeping and when the person is dead. It is the same laughter of Abraham and of Sarah, of those who are unable to believe that nothing is impossible for God (Gn 17:17; 18:12-14; Lk 1:37). For them, death was a barrier which nobody could overcome or go beyond! The words of Jesus had a very profound meaning. The situation of the persecuted communities at the time of Mark seemed to be a situation of death. They needed to hear, “She is not dead! You are sleeping! Wake up!” Jesus does not pay attention to the laughter and enters into the room where the child is, alone, and with the three disciples and the parents of the child.
• The resurrection of the child. Jesus takes the child by the hand and says: “Talitha kum!” She rises. There is a great commotion! Jesus keeps calm and asks that they give her something to eat. Two women are cured! One is twelve years old, the other one twelve years of hemorrhage, twelve years of exclusion! The exclusion of the child begins at twelve years of age, because her menstruation begins; she begins to die! Jesus has the greatest power and resurrects: “Get up!”
• The starting point. Jesus arrives in the boat. The people join Him. Jairus, the head of the synagogue, asks help for his daughter, who is dying. Jesus goes with him and the people accompany Him, pushing on all sides. This is the starting point of the two cases of healing which follow: the cure of the woman and the resurrection of the twelve year-old girl.
• The situation of the woman. Twelve years of suffering from hemorrhage! For this reason she lived excluded, because at that time blood rendered people impure, and the one who touched them became impure also. Mark says that the woman had spent all she had with doctors. And instead of becoming better, she got worse. A situation without a solution!
• The attitude of the woman. She heard people speak about Jesus. Hope sprang up in her. She told herself, “If I can just touch His clothes, I will be saved”. The catechism of the time said, “If I touch His cloak, He will become impure”. The woman thinks exactly the contrary! This is a sign that women did not agree with all that religious authority taught. The woman gets in through the crowd, in the midst of the people, and without being noticed, she touches Jesus, because everybody was touching Him and pushing Him. At that same moment she noticed in her body that she had been cured.
• The reaction of Jesus and that of the disciples. Jesus, aware of the power that had gone out from Him, asked, “Who touched My clothes?” The disciples said to Him, “You see how the crowd is pressing round You; how can You ask, ‘Who touched Me?’” So now comes the clash between Jesus and the disciples. Jesus had a sensitivity which the disciples did not perceive. The disciples reacted like everybody else; they did not understand the different reaction of Jesus. But Jesus did not pay attention and continued to investigate.
• Healing through faith. The woman became aware that she had been discovered. It was a difficult and dangerous moment for her, because according to the belief of the time, an impure person like herself got in among the people and contaminated everyone who touched her. All would become impure before God (Lev 15:19-30). For this reason, the punishment could be stoning. But the woman had the courage to accept the consequences of what she had done. The woman “frightened and trembling” fell at Jesus’ feet and told Him the whole truth. Jesus has the last word: “My daughter, your faith has restored you to health, go in peace and be free of your complaint.”
(a) “Daughter”, with this word Jesus accepts the woman into the new family, into the community which was gathering together around Him. (b) What she thought through faith became a reality. (c) Jesus acknowledges that, without that woman’s faith, He would not have been able to work the miracle.
• The news of the death of the little girl. At that moment some people arrived from the house of Jairus to inform him that his daughter had died. It was no longer necessary to disturb Jesus. For them, death was the great barrier. Jesus will not be able to overcome death! Jesus listens, looks at Jairus, and applies what He had just seen, that faith is capable of realizing what the person believes. And He says, “Do not be afraid, only have faith!”
• In Jairus’ house. Jesus allows only three of His disciples to go with Him. Seeing the commotion of the people weeping and wailing because of the death of the child, He said, “The child is not dead; she sleeps!” The people laughed. They know how to distinguish between a person who is sleeping and when the person is dead. It is the same laughter of Abraham and of Sarah, of those who are unable to believe that nothing is impossible for God (Gn 17:17; 18:12-14; Lk 1:37). For them, death was a barrier which nobody could overcome or go beyond! The words of Jesus had a very profound meaning. The situation of the persecuted communities at the time of Mark seemed to be a situation of death. They needed to hear, “She is not dead! You are sleeping! Wake up!” Jesus does not pay attention to the laughter and enters into the room where the child is, alone, and with the three disciples and the parents of the child.
• The resurrection of the child. Jesus takes the child by the hand and says: “Talitha kum!” She rises. There is a great commotion! Jesus keeps calm and asks that they give her something to eat. Two women are cured! One is twelve years old, the other one twelve years of hemorrhage, twelve years of exclusion! The exclusion of the child begins at twelve years of age, because her menstruation begins; she begins to die! Jesus has the greatest power and resurrects: “Get up!”
4) Personal questions
• What is the point in this text which
pleased you or struck you the most? Why?
• One of the women was cured and once again integrated so that she could live in the community. A child was raised from her death bed. What does this action of Jesus teach us for our life in the family and for our community today?
• One of the women was cured and once again integrated so that she could live in the community. A child was raised from her death bed. What does this action of Jesus teach us for our life in the family and for our community today?
5) Concluding Prayer
From You comes my praise in the thronged
assembly;
I will perform my vows before all who fear Him.
The poor will eat and be filled;
those who seek Yahweh will praise Him.
May your heart live for ever. (Ps 22:25-26)
I will perform my vows before all who fear Him.
The poor will eat and be filled;
those who seek Yahweh will praise Him.
May your heart live for ever. (Ps 22:25-26)
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