When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a large
crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea. One of the synagogue
officials, named Jairus, came forward. Seeing him he fell at his feet and
pleaded earnestly with him, saying, “My daughter is at the point of death.
Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live. He went off
with him, and a large crowd followed him and pressed upon him.
There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years. She had
suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors and had spent all that she had.
Yet she was not helped but only grew worse. She had heard about Jesus and came
up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak. She said, “If I but touch his
clothes, I shall be cured.” Immediately her flow of blood dried up. She felt in
her body that she was healed of her affliction.
Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him, turned around in
the crowd and asked, “Who has touched my clothes?” But his disciples said to
Jesus, “You see how the crowd is pressing upon you, and yet you ask, ‘Who
touched me?’ And he looked around to see who had done it. The woman, realizing
what had happened to her, approached in fear and trembling. She fell down before
Jesus and told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has
saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.”
While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official’s
house arrived and said, “Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any
longer? Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue
official “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” He did not allow anyone to
accompany him inside except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. When
they arrived at the house of the synagogue official, he caught sight of a
commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly.
So he went in and said to them, “Why this commotion and weeping? The
child is not dead but asleep.” And they ridiculed him. Then he put them all
out. He took along the child’s father and mother and those who were with him
and entered the room where the child was. He took the child by the hand and
said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise!”
The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around. At that they
were utterly astounded. He gave strict orders that no one should know this and
said that she should be given something to eat.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
A woman who was diagnosed with terminal sickness was given by her
doctors only two months to live. Even if her health was already failing this
woman had incredible faith, even if she was already getting weaker by the day
she would try very hard to attend Holy Mass daily.
It eventually came to a point that she was too weak to get up from her
bed. Hence, she requested their parish priest to visit her so that she could be
administered the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick. And thereafter every
Sunday she would be visited by an Extra-Ordinary Minister of the Holy Communion to give her the
Body of Christ.
After a month of receiving the Body of Christ brought to her by the Extra-Ordinary
Minister of the Holy Communion. The
woman was amazingly able to get up again. She regained her strength and was
able to attend once again their daily Mass. When she was asked who healed her
she would always give praise to Jesus and her strong faith in Him.
We have in our gospel two incredible stories of faith one is the
synagogue official named Jairus and the other one is a woman afflicted with
hemorrhages for twelve long years. Both of them got what they wanted from
Jesus, in the case of Jairus healing for his daughter and the woman healing for
her sickness that had been enslaving her for twelve years.
Jesus granted them both what they want because they both have rock solid
faith. Not only that they have faith they also manifested their respective
faiths by their deeds or actions. For example, in the story of Jairus he went
out of his way to personally go to Jesus to ask Him to come to his home and lay
His hand on his daughter.
The woman afflicted with hemorrhages did the same, upon hearing that
Jesus was near her. She went to Him with the intention of touching a part of
His clothes and that would be enough for her to be healed by Jesus. So, she
went to Jesus; touched His cloak and she was immediately cured. Jesus told her,
"Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your
affliction (Mark 5:34)."
Just like Jairus and the sick woman our faith in Jesus must always be
coupled with action. If we pray to Jesus to grant us something we must not lay
around idly we must work for it and ask Jesus with faith to grant us what we
want. It must always be faith with action not faith without action. St.
James said: What good is it to profess faith without showing works?” “Such
faith has no power to save you (James 2:14).”
How is your faith in Jesus is it always coupled with action? – Marino J.
Dasmarinas
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