Word to the Wise
Tuesday, January 30, 2024 - Tuesday in the 4th Week in Ordinary Time
[2 Sam 18:9-10, 14b, 24-25a, 30-19:3 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." [Mark]
The evangelist Mark once more "sandwiches" a story within a story. Earlier, the story of Jesus' family setting out to seize him "for he was clearly out of his mind" was interrupted by the scribes claiming Jesus was possessed by Beelzebub. In today's gospel, the story of the raising of Jairus' daughter is interrupted by the story of the woman with hemorrhages. The seriousness of her illness (twelve years) is placed alongside the death of the little girl to show the power of Jesus over illness and death. The important thing to remember is that Jesus is responding to the faith being shown by the woman and Jairus. Jesus' sensitivity to faith is demonstrated by the fact that he could sense the woman's touch of his clothing in a jostling crowd! The single point of both stories is intensified by their being "sandwiched" together.
The connection between faith and healing is well-known, but it is important to understand that healing is a broader reality than curing. The latter may or may not occur in a given situation but the peace that can come from faith is always healing. This is not some kind of psychological escape from suffering. It is the response of God with a way forward through the suffering. God's way of responding does not always correspond to our hopes, but the response will be there through faith and love. AMEN