WORKS OF POWER (13th Sunday in OT)
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June 30, 2018Healing is something we all seek at some point in our lives. Whether we have battled a life-threatening disease or suffered through a common cold, we have all sought physical healing.
In this week’s Gospel, Jesus reveals his power to heal and bring forth new life. He also longs to heal you of the things that are preventing you from growing in love for him—whether physical or spiritual. Have you ever approached him with the faith of Jairus or the hemorrhaging woman? How much do you trust his power to heal your body and soul?(Need access to FORMED? Go here to register > sptacc.org.formed.org )
First Reading ReflectionGod did not make death, nor does God rejoice in the destruction of the living (Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24)
This Sunday’s Scriptures focus on the restorative power of God. The First Reading from Wisdom establishes the original goodness of the world as God made it and the fact that sin and death are the result of our turning away from God.
The reading is sandwiched by two statements about where death comes from. The first verse affirms that “God did not make death.” The final verse explains that “by the envy of the devil, death entered the world.” The central portion of the reading is composed from two sets of verses taken from the first two chapters of Wisdom, with the first set describing the goodness of the created world in general, the second focusing on the goodness of man in particular.
The pattern of this reading mimics the opening chapters of Genesis, where we find the story of the seven days of creation (Chapter 1) and then the story of the creation of man (Chapter 2). Finally, we see an allusion to Chapter 3, where Adam and Eve fall. The structure helps to reaffirm the truth that from the beginning, God intends good for man.
Wisdom literature aims to teach how to live our lives focused on eternity. As the next two readings illuminate the power of Christ, let’s recall that his healing is part of an eternal plan of goodness and life.
Second Reading Reflection
Your abundance should supply the needs of the others (2 Corinthians 8:7, 9, 13-15)
At this point in his letter to the Corinthians, Saint Paul makes a charitable appeal. But rather than focusing on the plight of those in need, he presents this as a golden opportunity. He sees this “gracious act” he asks the Corinthians to do as a natural companion to their other virtues. Practical care for their brothers in need (in this case the people in Jerusalem) goes along with the practice of faith, knowledge, and devotion.
To further inspire them in sacrificial giving, Saint Paul points to Christ: “For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Thus, the term “gracious act,” expresses more than mere politeness. It is an act imbued with grace, that is, with God’s life.
As we reflect on the power of Christ to heal, it is good to recall that we share in his power by grace. While we may not raise people from the dead or heal them with a touch, we do have the ability to bring restoration. Our works of charity, our words of encouragement, our prayers, and our forgiveness continue to heal the wounds of the world. At the heart of all true deeds of mercy is the love of God, present in our souls by grace. Thus the most powerful work we can do is to surrender to that love completely. With Mary we say “be it done to me according to your word.”
Gospel Reflection
Your faith has saved you (Mark 5:21-43 [21-24, 35b-43])
Jairus’s journey of faith reveals the process of surrender and trust in God. He begins with a plea to Jesus. At this point, everyone seems to be asking Jesus, and Jesus is hemmed in by a crowd of people at the water’s edge. Jairus had to trust that Jesus would listen to him and would act on his words despite all the other people who demanded Jesus’s time.
As the crowd walks with Jairus and Jesus, Jairus is given an example of radical trust. The hemorrhaging woman has striven to be healed for years, to the point that she has “spent all that she had.” With such a condition, she is unable to participate fully in the liturgical life of the community. All she has left is hope in Jesus. This woman doesn’t even need to speak with Jesus—she believes that even touching his cloak will bring her the healing she so desperately desires. Jesus grants her both spiritual and physical healing because of her faith in him.
After witnessing the healing of the woman, Jairus is given a test: news of his daughter’s death. Though Jairus’s friends advise giving up, Jesus asks for trust. As with the chaos on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus ignores the storm of despair and sorrow. And he asks Jairus to do the same. Leaving the crowd, Jairus follows Jesus into a quiet encounter, allows him to take control in the heart of his home, and it is there that the great gift of healing comes.
DIGGING DEEPER:
UncleanLet’s take a deeper look at the hemorrhaging woman in this week’s Gospel. At the time of Jesus, when a woman was bleeding, she was considered “unclean.” She was banned from all of society and would not have been allowed to be out among the crowds and townsfolk. If she touched anyone, they would be considered “unclean” by virtue of contact with her. But when she touches Jesus, he is not made “unclean” by her touch. Rather, he cleanses her of her “uncleanness.” Whenever we come to Christ in faith, he receives our pain, sickness, burdens, sins, weakness, and replaces them with his grace and freedom.
PRAYER:
Today’s miracles are incredible. There is so much faith in those seeking healing and an unmistakable tender love that Jesus bestows on the people who approach him. Jesus is moved to help the father who requests healing for his sick daughter, and, as he follows him toward his home, a crowd presses in around them. People are everywhere, brushing against each other, loudly speaking, and bustling about. Even as Jesus pushes through the crowd, he stops and asks: “Who touched me?” Jesus was keenly aware that this woman of heroic faith stepped out and touched him. He saw her as she was—in need of great mercy and full of hope that Jesus could bring her to life. Jesus speaks with her, off ers her the healing she had sought, and sends her forth.
The father must have been panicked at this point. Jesus has been delayed not just by a crowd, but by someone else on the way to his dying daughter. And then the father heard that his daughter had died. Imagine the way his heart must have dropped. What did he think of Jesus? Was he angry with him? Jesus immediately responds with encouragement to not be afraid and hold on to his faith. Jesus continued on to his home and cured his daughter.
Who do you most relate to? Is it the father who sought Jesus’s help and whose faith is tested? Maybe you relate to the woman who had been hemorrhaging for twelve years, and whose only hope was in Christ. Or do you relate to the twelve-year-old girl, who is physically alive but appears dead? Are you physically alive, but spiritually dead and in need of Christ to forgive your sins?
Take some time to refl ect on the power of Christ’s healing and step out in faith, asking him to heal you todayRESOLUTION:
Do you truly believe in Christ’s power to heal you? Every day we have the opportunity to receive Jesus’s Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in the Eucharist. During Mass this week, ask Christ to heal you of something specifi c, such as a sin or vice you are struggling with, as you pray, “Lord I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.”
Reprinted from Opening the Word at Formed.org .
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