20240630 FINDING HEALING AND LIFE IN JESUS
30 June 2024, Sunday, 13th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Wisdom 1:13-15,2:23-24 |
God takes no pleasure in the extinction of the living
Death was not God’s doing,
he takes no pleasure in the extinction of the living.
To be – for this he created all;
the world’s created things have health in them,
in them no fatal poison can be found,
and Hades holds no power on earth;
for virtue is undying.
Yet God did make man imperishable,
he made him in the image of his own nature;
it was the devil’s envy that brought death into the world,
as those who are his partners will discover.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 29(30):2,4-6,11-13 |
I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me.
I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me
and have not let my enemies rejoice over me.
O Lord, you have raised my soul from the dead,
restored me to life from those who sink into the grave.
I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me.
Sing psalms to the Lord, you who love him,
give thanks to his holy name.
His anger lasts a moment; his favour all through life.
At night there are tears, but joy comes with dawn.
I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me.
The Lord listened and had pity.
The Lord came to my help.
For me you have changed my mourning into dancing:
O Lord my God, I will thank you for ever.
I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me.
Second reading |
2 Corinthians 8:7,9,13-15 |
The Lord Jesus became poor for your sake, to make you rich
You always have the most of everything – of faith, of eloquence, of understanding, of keenness for any cause, and the biggest share of our affection – so we expect you to put the most into this work of mercy too. Remember how generous the Lord Jesus was: he was rich, but he became poor for your sake, to make you rich out of his poverty. This does not mean that to give relief to others you ought to make things difficult for yourselves: it is a question of balancing what happens to be your surplus now against their present need, and one day they may have something to spare that will supply your own need. That is how we strike a balance: as scripture says: The man who gathered much had none too much, the man who gathered little did not go short.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Jn6:63,68 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life;
you have the message of eternal life.
Alleluia!
Or: | cf.2Tim1:10 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Our Saviour Jesus Christ abolished death
and he has proclaimed life through the Good News.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 5:21-43 |
Little girl, I tell you to get up
When Jesus had crossed in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered round him and he stayed by the lakeside. Then one of the synagogue officials came up, Jairus by name, and seeing him, fell at his feet and pleaded with him earnestly, saying, ‘My little daughter is desperately sick. Do come and lay your hands on her to make her better and save her life.’ Jesus went with him and a large crowd followed him; they were pressing all round him.
Now there was a woman who had suffered from a haemorrhage for twelve years; after long and painful treatment under various doctors, she spent all she had without being any the better for it, in fact, she was getting worse. She had heard about Jesus, and she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his cloak. ‘If I can touch even his clothes,’ she had told herself ‘I shall be well again.’ And the source of the bleeding dried up instantly, and she felt in herself that she was cured of her complaint. Immediately aware that power had gone out from him, Jesus turned round in the crowd and said, ‘Who touched my clothes?’ His disciples said to him, ‘You see how the crowd is pressing round you and yet you say, “Who touched me?”’ But he continued to look all round to see who had done it. Then the woman came forward, frightened and trembling because she knew what had happened to her, and she fell at his feet and told him the whole truth. ‘My daughter,’ he said ‘your faith has restored you to health; go in peace and be free from your complaint.’
While he was still speaking some people arrived from the house of the synagogue official to say, ‘Your daughter is dead: why put the Master to any further trouble?’ But Jesus had overheard this remark of theirs and he said to the official, ‘Do not be afraid; only have faith.’ And he allowed no one to go with him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. So they came to the official’s house and Jesus noticed all the commotion, with people weeping and wailing unrestrainedly. He went in and said to them, ‘Why all this commotion and crying? The child is not dead, but asleep.’ But they laughed at him. So he turned them all out and, taking with him the child’s father and mother and his own companions, he went into the place where the child lay. And taking the child by the hand he said to her, ‘Talitha, kum!’ which means, ‘Little girl, I tell you to get up.’ The little girl got up at once and began to walk about, for she was twelve years old. At this they were overcome with astonishment, and he ordered them strictly not to let anyone know about it, and told them to give her something to eat.
FINDING HEALING AND LIFE IN JESUS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Wis 1:13-15, 2:23-24; Ps 29:2,4-6,11-13; 2 Cor 8:7,9,13-15; Mk 5:21-43 (or Mk 5:21-24,35-43)]
One of the inevitable facts of life, and perhaps the most evident, is that we will all have to die, sooner or later. Death is the most feared truth of life. It is the last enemy of man. Many do not want to talk or think about it and deceive themselves into thinking that they will live here forever. Death is frightening because we reach the point of life where there is no return. Death is painful also for those who are left behind, and if the love is deep and intense, the bereavement might take a long time because of the vacuum the person leaves with his or her departure. Is there no way to overcome death? The world thinks that death is the end of everything. This is why the world fears death more than those of us who are believers.
But the Book of Wisdom tells us that “Death was not God’s doing, he takes no pleasure in the extinction of the living. To be – for this he created all. God did make man imperishable, he made him in the image of his own nature; it was the devil’s envy that brought death into the world, as those who are his partners will discover.” God created us all to be. He created us immortal, in His image and likeness. We were created for eternal life with God, but because of sin, not only do we suffer death as a consequence but we also acquire a wounded nature – when we lack control over our life and allow our disoriented passions and desires to lead us to go against authentic love and life. Instead of living for others, we seek to live only for ourselves. This is why the wages of sin is death.
To deliver us from personal and physical death, Jesus came to heal and to give life. This is the message of today’s gospel. In the gospel, He healed “a woman who had suffered from a haemorrhage for twelve years.” She had been impoverished by her long and painful treatment under various doctors without getting any better. In fact, she was getting worse. In the second story, the Lord raised a twelve-year-old girl from death, the daughter of the Synagogue Official. By so doing, Jesus showed Himself to be not just the healer over our illnesses but also our life-giver. Jesus has the power to heal, to save and to give life.
What does it take for us to encounter the healing and saving power of our Risen Lord? It boils down to faith. It is not so much that God will not grant us our petitions if we have no faith in Him. Rather, the obstacle to the reception of grace is on our side; not on the side of God. The gospel assures us that God is always loving and caring. His love is unconditional, as shown in today’s gospel. So, if we want to received His healing, be it emotional, physical or spiritual, what is paramount for us all is faith. But what kind of faith is required? A sincere, humble and trusting faith like that of the woman suffering from haemorrhage, and the disposition of Jairus to receive His healing grace.
In the first place, to be receptive to God’s healing grace, we must be humble to ask. We must recognize our finiteness and ignorance about the mystery of life and death. The trouble is that we are so proud of ourselves and our knowledge and power, we think we can solve all the problems in the world through science and technology. Science indeed can do many things, but science cannot solve the mystery of life and death. It can explain the how but not the why. This is why we are most fearful of death because when death and terminal illness strike, we are at a loss. Quite often, only in desperation do we turn to God for help and for healing. Sometimes, God allows us to suffer to learn humility, so that we will turn to Him and come to recognize our limitations.
In the case of Jairus, out of desperation he had to humble himself to come to Jesus to seek healing for his daughter. He was a synagogue official. It would have cost him his dignity to implore Jesus to go to his house to heal his daughter who was at the brink of death. Perhaps no one from his family wanted to invite Jesus and so he had to come himself. And to show his sincerity and faith, he discarded his pride and prejudice and “fell at his feet and pleaded with him earnestly, saying, ‘My little daughter is desperately sick. Do come and lay your hands on her to make her better and save her life.'” Certainly, that action could have caused him to lose the respect of his fellow Jews and officials. But in the face of death and life, all such prejudices and dignity are forgotten.
Not only humility in faith is required, but we need courage and perseverance as well. This was the case of the woman suffering from haemorrhage. She might not have much dignity to lose, unlike Jairus, but she risked condemnation for being in the crowd whilst menstruating. She, too, was desperate, having exhausted her money on doctors, but none could cure her of this shameful, embarrassing, physically debilitating illness. Ritually, she was perpetually unclean, making it impossible for her to render worship and sacrifices. She was also unable to bear children, which was considered shameful in Jewish culture. But she never gave up hope. She persevered in faith until the opportunity came. We can appreciate why the woman sneaked into the crowd and secretly touched the cloak of our Lord in faith to find healing. This was a great feat on her part, as she was unwell and it was inconvenient for her to go out.
Coming back to the faith of Jairus, even though his daughter was dead by the time he managed to get Jesus away from the crowd to his house, he never gave up hope when all others had. Jesus took charge of the situation, dismissed the unbelieving crowd and took the child’s father and mother and his own companions to see the girl. “And taking the child by the hand he said to her, ‘Talitha, kum!’ which means, ‘Little girl, I tell you to get up.’ The little girl got up at once and began to walk about, for she was twelve years old.”
Similarly, for the woman with haemorrhage, the Lord not only stopped her blood from flowing but by making her confess what she did, He released her from the fear and shame which had crippled her all her life. He restored her dignity by saying to her, “My daughter, your faith has restored you to health; go in peace and be free from your complaint.” By healing her physically, she was also restored spiritually and emotionally. She regained her dignity once again as the daughter of God. She found deep peace. Indeed, confession, which means acknowledging our sins and weaknesses and confessing in the power of Jesus, sets us free.
But what does it mean to be set free from illnesses, fear and death? We can be healed but we will fall sick again. We can be healthy but we might not find life. This is why we are called to be life-givers to others when we are set free from illness and death. The only way to live is to share our life with others. Hence, we must take heed of the exhortation of St Paul who told the Corinthians, “You always have the most of everything – of faith, of eloquence, of understanding, of keenness for any cause, and the biggest share of our affection – so we expect you to put the most into this work of mercy too. Remember how generous the Lord Jesus was: he was rich, but he became poor for your sake, to make you rich out of his poverty.” Because we have received grace and mercy from God, we too must do the same and render assistance to others.
Indeed, fullness of life is more than physical life. It is a life of love, a life of compassion, and a life that is giving. The more we give to others, the more we receive, not necessarily materially but spiritually, beyond human calculation. What makes us happy is when we live a life of meaning, purpose and sincere relationship with everyone. In giving life to others, we receive life ourselves. As St Paul remarked, “The man who gathered much had none too much, the man who gathered little did not go short.”
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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