Word to the Wise
Monday, February 6, 2012 - Monday in the 5th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Kgs 8:1-7, 9-13 and Mark 6:53-56]Whatever villages or towns of countryside he entered, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak; and as many as touched it were healed.
Fame has consequences. The Gospel of Mark uses that well known wisdom in a dramatic fashion. Jesus' increasing fame becomes a part of the tension that builds between him and the powers-that-be. The stories about his healings are not unusual in themselves since other non-religious literature from the same period records similar healings by itinerant healers. What is essential in Jesus' case is the recognition of his power. The image that always catches my attention is that of touching the tassel of his cloak.
For many years I have used that image to describe those folks whose only contact with faith is at the end of the tassel. They are the ones who come and stand in the back of the church at Mass, or perhaps just come and stand in the church without ever attending a service. On one occasion, while Mass was going on at the parish where I was pastor I encountered a woman and a male companion standing in the vestibule of the church. I greeted them and invited them to join the congregation inside and the lady said, no, they preferred to remain where they were. I somewhat pompously replied that the church was gathered inside. The lady replied, "The church is gathered out here, too! " That shut me up but good. That lady and her companion could only come as close as the tassel. Perhaps the best we can do is like the folks in today's gospel who "scurry around" and bring others close enough to touch the tassel. That may be all they want or need. AMEN