13th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Gospel Reading: Mark 5:21-43

21 When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered round him and he stayed by the lakeside.

22 Then one of the synagogue officials came up, Jairus by name, and seeing him, fill at his feet

23 and pleaded with him earnestly, saying, 'My little daughter is desperately sick. Do come and lay your hands on her and make her bet­ter and save her life.

24 Jesus went with him and a large crowd followed him; they were pressing all round him.

25 Now there was a woman who had suffered from a haemorrhage for twelve years;

26 after long and painful treatment under various doctors, she had spent all she had without being any better for it; in fact, she was getting worse.

27 She had heard about Jesus, and she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his cloak.

28 “lf l can touch even his clothes” she had told herself, “I shall be well again.”

29 And the source of the bleeding dried up instantly, and she felt in herself that she was cured of her complaint.

30 Immediately aware that power had gone out of him, Jesus turned round in the crowd and said, 'Who touched my clothes?'

31 His disciples said to him, 'You see how the crowd is press­ing round you and yet you say, "Who touched me? "'

32 But he contin­ued to look round to see who had done it.

33 Then the woman came far-ward, frightened and trembling because she knew what had happened to her, and she fell at his feet and told him the whole truth.

34 'My daughter,' he said, 'your faith has restored you to health; go in peace and be free from your complaint.'

35 While he was still speaking some people arrived from the house of the synagogue official to say, 'Your daughter is dead; why put the Master to any further trouble?'

36 But Jesus had overheard this remark of theirs and he said to the official, 'Do not be afraid; only have faith.'

37 And he allowed no one to go with him except Peter and James and John the brother of James.

38 So they came to the official's house and Jesus noticed all the commotion, with people weeping and wailing unrestrainedly.

39 He went in and said to them, 'Why all this commotion and crying? The child is not dead, but asleep.'

40 But they laughed at him. So he turned them all out and, taking with him the child's father and mother and his own companions, he went into the place where the child lay.

41 And taking the child by the hand he said to her, 'Talitha, kum!' which means, 'Little girl, I tell you to get up'.

42 The little girl got up at once and began to walk about, for she was twelve years old. At this they were overcome with astonishment, and he ordered them strictly not to let anyone know about it, and told them to give her something to eat.

Meditation

Today's gospel comprises two distinct stories with no particular connection between them so you should decide to meditate on one or the other.
- There is the raising of Jairus's daughter to life, which by a peculiar arrangement is told in two separate sections (verses 21 to 24, and 35 to 43);
- and there is the healing of the woman with the haemorrhage (verses 25 to 43).
Remember that the miraculous cures by Jesus, while they record historical facts, are also lessons in how God works and invites us to enter with gratitude into his work of grace in our own lives and in the world today.

Prayer 

Lord, we thank you for Alcoholics Anonymous; this great organisation reminds us that to experience resurrection from the dead, all of us, even if we are important officials, have to come to the point where we are no longer in control and fall at the feet of someone greater than ourselves, pleading for help and allowing ourselves to be carried along by a community.

Lord, we thank you for the great moments of grace in our lives:
- we had struggled for years to give up a relationship that was harming us;
- we went through months of depression;
- we wanted to forgive but hurt was still eating us up.

We tried all kinds of remedies, got advice from many people, without getting any better; in fact we were getting worse. But there came a time when somehow or other we knew deep down that all we needed was a little push, a wise word, someone praying for us, a liturgy -and sure enough, it happened.

It was all so simple that people around us could not understand, but we were able to come forward, frightened and trembling because we knew what had happened, and we humbly told the whole truth. Thank you, Lord.

Lord, it sometimes happens that we help people without realising it.
Some word we say, some gesture we make, and they are deeply touched.
At such times we tend to be condescending toward the people we helped.

We pray that we may be more like Jesus, so that when we become aware of what has happened we speak gently to them, encourage them to tell their story, assure them that it was their faith that restored them to health, and help them to go in peace, fully free of their complaint.

Lord, we pray for leaders, in our country and in the world, leaders of church and civil communities, especially those whose communities are disillusioned or in despair.

As they go along, they will hear some people telling them that things are too far gone and there is no point putting themselves to further trouble; they will see people weeping and wailing unrestrainedly, and if they say that the community is not dead hut merely sleeping, many will laugh at them.

But they must ignore all these voices and surround themselves with people of faith and love, that they can take their communities by the hand and tell them to get up and walk.

Lord, we thank you for kind, practical people like Jesus, who, others are weeping and wailing unrestrainedly, hi see that the one being mourned is not dead but asleep, and who, when others are all excited that a great miracle has been worked, will tell them not to talk about it, but to give the person healed something to eat.