February 3, 2026
Tuesday of the Fourth Week in
Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 324
Reading
1
2 Samuel 18:9-10, 14b,
24-25a, 30–19:3
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.
Responsorial
Psalm
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.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
Christ took away our infirmities
and bore our diseases.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
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.
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/020326.cfm
Commentary on 2
Samuel 18:9-10,14,24-25,30—19:3
Once again David surprises us by his reactions. The tables
are being turned on the rebellious Absalom and a huge army goes out against his
supporters. David himself, on the advice of his commanders, stays behind.
Already they suspect his gentle attitude towards his son. As they set off,
David told them:
Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.
(2 Sam 18:5)
Absalom, now in flight, on his mule gets his long hair
caught in branches as he rides under a tree. The mule rides on and Absalom is
left hanging in mid-air (the mule apparently was the normal mount for royalty
in David’s kingdom). We were told earlier that Absalom, who was stunningly
handsome, had such an abundance of thick hair that he had to shave his head
every year. Presumably, then, it was this hair which got entangled in the
branches of the tree. Whatever the cause, it was the young man’s beauty which
was his undoing.
Absalom hanging from the tree was immediately reported to
Joab, the general leading the army. In verses not part of today’s reading, Joab
asked the man why he had not struck Absalom down and received a reward. The man
replied that even if he had 2,000 pieces of silver in his hands, he would not
lay a hand on the king’s son, whom David had ordered his officers to protect.
The soldier who had found Absalom told Joab:
…if I had dealt treacherously against his life [Absalom’s] (and
there is nothing hidden from the king), then you yourself would have stood
aloof. (2 Sam 18:13)
Joab then himself went and thrust three spears into the heart
of the helpless Absalom, still hanging alive on the tree. In Joab’s view, the
rebellion is now over and the threat to David’s throne has been removed.
The battle is now called off. Absalom is taken down from the
tree and thrown into a deep pit in the forest. A pile of stones is set up as a
marker for his grave.
Meanwhile, Ahimaaz, the son of the priest Zadok, offers to
bring the good news of the victory to David. Joab tells him he is not the man
to do it because, in fact, for David it will not be good news with his son
dead. Instead an anonymous Cushite is sent to bring the message. Then Ahimaaz
again pleads with Joab to let him go. Joab tells him:
Why will you run, my son, seeing that you have no reward
for the tidings?
But in the end Joab lets Ahimaaz go. He runs after the
Cushite and he actually overtakes him and is the first to reach the city wall.
A lookout on the city gates saw Ahimaaz running alone. David
said:
If he is alone, there are tidings in his mouth.
A large group of fleeing soldiers could only have meant
disaster. Then the second runner is seen and again David says it must mean good
news. As the runners get closer, Ahimaaz is recognised as one of them. Said
David:
He is a good man and comes with good tidings.
Ahimaaz then, in the presence of David, reports:
Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delivered up the
men who raised their hand against my lord the king.
But David has only one question:
Is it well with the young man Absalom?
Ahimaaz, suddenly realising the significance of the question,
is immediately cautious and, in fact, does not say what he knows:
I saw a great tumult when the king’s servant Joab sent
your servant, but I do not know what it was.
David then put Ahimaaz aside until he heard the Cushite’s
report. The Cushite too at first only gives a general report:
Good tidings for my lord the king! For the Lord has
vindicated you this day, delivering you from the power of all who rose up
against you.
Again, the king has only one concern and asks if Absalom was
safe. But the indirect response of the Cushite says it all:
May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up
to do you harm be like that young man.
Far from being overjoyed at the removal of his rebellious
son, David takes refuge in a room over the city gate and is overcome with
grief:
O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had
died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!
Words that have echoed down the centuries as one of the most
moving expressions of a father’s love. And that in spite of all that Absalom
had done against his father. It reminds one of the way that God loves us, even
at our most sinful.
And what should have been a triumphant victory is turned
into a day of mourning for the whole army.
As the text continues beyond our reading, we are told that
the generals and soldiers had mixed feelings about David’s reaction. They
wondered if Absalom, who was out to destroy his father, had lived and they had
died, would David have been happier? In that, they may have been unfair. For it
is only a parent who knows the feeling of having a child, even a rebellious
child, lost in this way.
Once again, we see the deep humanity of David. He did what
we often fail to do. He made the clear distinction between the person of his
son and his actions. He was opposed to his son’s actions, but he deeply loved
his son. We sometimes express that by saying that we love the sinner, but not
the sin. So often, however, our hate is directed so that both forgiveness and
reconciliation can be very difficult.
Jesus, of course, as the image of his Father, also set us an
example in this regard. As men, filled with hatred, nailed him to the cross, he
prayed:
Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are
doing. (Luke 23:34)
And, of course, every time we take advantage of the
Sacrament of Reconciliation, we expect that God will forgive us no matter what
we may have done or how often.
Let us remember, though, that as Christians we need to take
on the same attitude as Jesus. Every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer we say:
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against
us.
It is a dangerous prayer to make and we should think twice
about its meaning before we let it trip so easily off our tongues.
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Commentary on Mark
5:21-43
Today’s passage illustrates a feature of Mark’s
Gospel—inclusion, where one passage is contained inside another. Today we have
two miracles, with one of them narrated inside the other. Again we are told of
large crowds gathering around Jesus on the shore as once again he crosses the
lake.
A synagogue official, Jairus, approaches and begs Jesus to
lay his healing hands on his daughter who is very ill. Jairus was a person
responsible for conducting services at the synagogue and keeping order.
Sometimes the position was honorary, without any administrative responsibility.
Jairus asks Jesus to come and lay his healing hands on his
daughter, as he has done for so many others. As Jesus makes his way to the
house followed by a large crowd, there is a woman who had been haemorrhaging
for 12 years. She had tried every kind of medical treatment in vain, and she
was getting worse. Apart from the distress caused by the ailment, her bleeding
rendered her ritually unclean. If the people around her knew of her condition,
she might have been attacked. Hence she felt great anxiety about approaching
Jesus without being identified or drawing attention.
She had this tremendous faith that, just by touching the hem
of Jesus’ garment, she would be healed. And she was—immediately. In both cases,
there was a deep conviction that physical contact, together with faith in
Jesus’ power to heal, would bring about a cure. It is important for us to
recover the connection between physical touch and healing.
Jesus knew something had happened:
Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him,
Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my cloak?”
His disciples naturally wondered why he would say this when
so many people were pressing in on him.
In fear and trembling, probably more afraid of the crowd
than of Jesus, the woman identified herself. She then hears the beautiful
words:
Daughter, your faith [i.e. your total trust in
me] has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.
Peace indeed. Not only was she physically cured, but she
could now mix freely with people again. She was fully restored to society and
her community, without the shame that a woman of that time would feel, and
without having to hide.
After this, we resume the first story. Messengers come to
say that Jairus’ daughter has died. There is no need to bother Jesus any more.
Jesus urges Jairus to keep believing. As he approaches the house, he separates
from the crowd and brings only Peter, James and John with him as witnesses to a
very special event. The house is full of mourners, wailing and weeping in the
customary way.
Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not
dead but sleeping.
In so speaking, Jesus is not denying the child’s real death,
but it is an assurance that she will be wakened from her sleep of death. Death
in the Old Testament is often described as sleep. And we, too, read on
gravestones that so-and-so “went to sleep in the Lord”.
The crowd, often portrayed as so supportive of Jesus, is
here shown as incredulous. They laugh at him. So everyone is put out of the
room except the child’s parents and Jesus’ three companions. Then:
Taking her by the hand, he said to her, “Talitha koum,”
which means, “Little girl, get up!”
The words suggest resurrection to new life. Immediately the
girl got up and began to walk around. She was just 12 years old.
Those present are “overcome with amazement” and are told not
to say anything to anyone. They are also reminded to give the poor girl some
food. This is another step in the unfolding of Jesus’ true identity, while at
the same time, he does not want that identity to be made public at this stage. It
is another indication of Jesus’ mission:
I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
(John 10:10)
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https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/o2043g/
Tuesday,
February 3, 2026
Ordinary Time
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.
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 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.
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 can realize 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 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!”
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?
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 forever. (Ps 22:
25-26)
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