Word to the Wise
Monday, July 5, 2010 - Monday in the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
[Hosea 2:16, 17c-18, 21-22 and Matthew 9:18-26]A woman suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind [Jesus] and touched the taselon his cloak. She said to herself, "If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured." Jesus turned around and saw her, and said, "Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you." And from that hour the woman was cured.
Back in the mid-nineties, when I was pastor of St. Ann Parish in San Antonio, I was "patroling" one Sunday during a Mass being celebrated by one of the other Dominicans in the priory. I spotted some teen age boys sitting in the vestibule of the church and invited them to join the rest of the people inside. They got up and went in (clearly unamused). Then I turned and spotted a woman and a man standing further back in the vestibule. I invited them to go into the assembly. The lady said they would prefer to remain in the vestibule. I responded, "But the church is gathered in there!" pointing to the folks in the pews. The lady responded, "The church is gathered out here too!" That shut me up but good! I realized that there are "tassel touchers' of many kinds. This lady and her friend were an example. Some folks, for whatever reason (and there are many reasons), just can't come all the way into the church. They are like the lady in the gospel today. They hope they can just touch the tassel of Jesus cloak and be cured. Jesus knows who they are, even if we don't. I had to learn how to respect this person who chose to remain on the margin. I hope that she and others like her will find a welcome and eventually (but not necessarily) come all the way in. In the meantime, I know that Jesus knows who they are. After all, it's HIS cloak they are touching, not mine. AMEN
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