Word to the Wise
Tuesday, January 31, 2017 - Tuesday in the 4th Week in Ordinary Time
[Heb 12:1-4 and Mark 5:21-43]"Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction." "Do not be afraid; just have faith."
JANUARY 31 ST. JOHN BOSCO, sdb
Today's gospel scripture is composed of two stories, one sandwiched within the other - something the evangelist Mark does on other occasions. On the larger level of the story of Jesus in this gospel, the double-story shows Jesus' power over sickness and death, in addition to the forces of nature and demons. On the level of us believers, it shows the power of faith in Jesus, demonstrated by the healing of the woman and the raising of the daughter of Jairus from death. On this level, we have Jesus being approached by people who heard of him and came to him in faith. it is this faith that makes the difference. It may be an imperfect faith insofar as the people involved may not truly and fully understand Jesus' identity and mission, but it is faith nonetheless. Full faith would come with the cross and resurrection.
We can note the desperation of the woman with hemorrhages and the father of the little girl. We can note that Jesus tells the woman that it is her FAITH that saved her (not some magic in his clothes). We can note that in Jairus' house, before raising the little girl, Jesus says, "Do not be afraid.." - words that often precede great things from God.
The Gospels were written to help us in our own faith. Jesus' power is revealed in the stories we have been seeing in Mark. Can we not accept the possibility of his power working through our faith in him? AMEN