Word to the Wise
Tuesday, February 4, 2014 - Tuesday in the 4th Week in Ordinary Time
[2 Sam 18:9-10, 14b, 24-25a, 30-19:3 and Mark 5:21-43]"If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured."
FEBRUARY 4, 2014 ST. CATHERINE DE RICCI, O.P.
If we place ourselves in the crowd with Jesus, today's gospel takes on a more intense power. The synagogue official, Jairus, runs up and begs Jesus to come quickly to heal his daughter who is on the point of death! Jesus goes with him, but is interrupted by a woman in the crowd with a medical problem that has resisted all treatment. Her faith motivates her to push through the crowd to get close enough to Jesus to touch his cloak! Then follows the exchange (which might have exasperated Jairus who is trying to get things moving toward his daughter) about who may have touched Jesus in a crowd! However, it is not the physical touch that Jesus experiences, it is the touch of faith, a faith more anonymous than that of Jairus, a public figure!
Jesus' reply to the woman, "Daughter, your faith has saved you..." uses a word that means not just being "cured" but "restored." That "restoration" is more related to the fear that both the woman and Jairus experienced. She had been unable to get help for her condition which made her "unclean" and Jairus was afraid for his daughter. Abandoning that fear and having faith in Jesus' power results in restoration. This faith may be faint, but Jesus will feel it in a crowd. And yes, he does make house calls! AMEN