Word to the Wise
Monday, July 7, 2025 - Monday in the 14th Week in Ordinary Time
[Gen 28:10-22a and Matt 9:18-26]While Jesus was speaking, an official came forward, knelt down before him and said, "My daughter has just died. But come, lay our hand on her and she will live." Jesus rose and followed him, and so did his disciples. A woman suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the tassel on his cloak. She said to herself, "if only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured." Jesus turned around and said,, "Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you." And from that hour the woman was cured. [Matthew]
Although this "story within a story" is certainly about Jesus' power, it is also a story about faith. Two different manifestations of faith are featured. The first is the faith of the official. It is his faith that moves Jesus to follow him to his house to raise his daughter from death!
The second demonstration of faith is the faith of the woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages. She believed that merely touching Jesus' clothing would be sufficient to heal her, and she was rewarded by Jesus' response. Her faith comes to my mind when I recall an incident at a parish where I served as pastor. One Sunday, when my assistant pastor was celebrating one of the Masses, I walked into the vestibule of the church and saw some boys chatting and "horsing around." I asked them to go inside to the Mass and they sighed and went in. Then I turned and saw a lady and gentleman also standing in the vestibule. There was plenty of room in the sanctuary, so I asked if they would join the rest of the community. The lady said they would rather remain in the vestibule. I responded that the community was gathered inside, and she replied that the community was gathered outside as well!!! I have never since asked anyone to change their place in church. That lady and her companion were, to my thinking, "tassel touchers." That was as close as they thought they needed to be. I did not ask their reasons. I just let them be in good faith. Faith is where one finds it and Jesus responds to it, whether by the person or by others asking him to help someone else. What is our own experience? AMEN