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So it was, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him. And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. And he fell down at Jesus' feet and begged Him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying.
But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him. Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped. And Jesus said, "Who touched Me?" When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, "Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'" But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me." Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately. And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace."
While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, "Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Teacher." But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well." When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl. Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, "Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping." And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead. But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, "Little girl, arise." Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately. And He commanded that she be given something to eat. And her parents were astonished but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.
- Luke 8:40-56
Yesterday, we read that Jesus and the disciples sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee. And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!" For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness. Jesus asked him, saying, "What is your name?" And he said, "Legion," because many demons had entered him. And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss. Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them. Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned. When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed. Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with a great fear. And He got into the boat and returned. Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you." And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.
So it was, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him. And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. And he fell down at Jesus' feet and begged Him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying. Jesus and the disciples return "home" to Capernaum and familiar territory, only to find the ruler of the synagogue with a disastrous problem: his only daughter is dying.
But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him. Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped. My study bible says, "For the Jews, contact with blood caused defilement and led to religious and social isolation (Leviticus 25). The woman displays bold faith by approaching both Christ and a ruler of the synagogue in a crowd, potentially defiling all of them and subjecting herself to ridicule."
And Jesus said, "Who touched Me?" When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, "Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'" A note here explains that the question, "Who touched Me?" doesn't mean a mere physical touch but rather could be stated, "Who touched Me in faith?" It says, "Just as 'the temple sanctifies the gold' (Matthew 23:17), so also matter is sanctified by Christ's Incarnation, and the power of Christ works through even His garment. To touch Christ's garment in faith is to touch Him. In the Church, we touch Christ through oil, water, bread, wine, etc. When this is done in faith, the power of Christ is received." The traditional use of icons is also done in this spirit of faith in Christ and the power of Christ.
But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me." Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately. And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace." My study bible says that Jesus calls this woman forward for two reasons: to take away her fear and trembling, and also to strengthen Jairus for the forthcoming news of his daughter's death.
While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, "Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Teacher." But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well." When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl. Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, "Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping." And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead. But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, "Little girl, arise." Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately. And He commanded that she be given something to eat. And her parents were astonished but He charged them to tell no one what had happened. Jesus' statement, "Only believe," is reinforced (as my study bible pointed out) by the intervening experience of the healing of the woman with the bloodflow. She was told, "Your faith has made you well." It seems to me that the presence of only those closest to Jesus (Peter, James, and John) is also acting as enforcement for the idea that it is faith in Christ which is going to complete this "healing circuit," as we might call it. The ridiculers must be kept out, those who think they know. It's interesting also that here Jesus also says she's sleeping, as he said for Lazarus. Even afterward, He charges her parents to tell no one what happened. This may be because it's not yet time for such a revelation of His power to the public -- but given the circumstances, it is also an avoidance of those who might trample pearls underfoot, and threaten faith.
It's interesting that Jesus speaks frequently linking sleep and death (as in today's reading and the statement to the disciples about Lazarus). Various branches of the Church, for example, commemorate the Dormition (falling asleep) of Mary. At other times sleeping is linked to the kind of ignorance of spiritual life that allows us to miss the promise of life in Christ (as in the parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins). So we see sleep used as metaphor for death in positive and negative ways. To think of the young girl, or our own beloved, as those who sleep is a very positive way to view physical death. From a Christian point of view, it is an accurate way to view death, in the sense that we don't believe it is the end of life. To be a human being means there is much more to us, to our life and what is alive as us, beyond physical being. There is soul and spirit, there is mind and emotions. There is faith. There is relationship to God, and to God as mediator in our relationship to other creatures in our world. The image of sleep as death emphasizes the life that still exists, that it goes on, where we are still linked through love, through spirit, through memory and mindful presence. This understanding even leads us to another concept of time, an eternal present, that differs from how we live in the worldly life. (It was Einstein who told us scientifically that space and time are linked; that in another "space" beyond how we live in the world there is a different sort of time is something the Church has always accepted. "For a thousand years in your sight are as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night" Psalm 90:4.) It gives us the truth of the hope of the Resurrection and Christ's promise of even more life than we can imagine, life in abundance. Sleep in the negative sense (as metaphor for a lack of spiritual "wakefulness") becomes akin to being deaf and blind, unperceptive, unaware of the true reality in one's situation. It is a lack of awareness of the return of the Bridegroom in the parable of the Virgins, noted above, it's a failure to take note of the time at hand. In Luke 12, we'll read about how Jesus likens servants who are awake and alert, awaiting the master even through the night, to those who can discern the signs of the times. To be like the true faithful servant is to always be aware of what one is doing, awake to duty, how one lives with the other servants - carrying out the commands with justice and mercy - in awaiting even the very late return of the Master. For those who sleep on the job, the result is death - both a kind of living death, and a failure to receive the greater Life that awaits. Jesus tells His followers, and all who will read the Gospels, "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour when the Son of Man returns" (Matthew 25:13). In the Greek, the word we've had translated as "watch" really means to "stay awake." Let us always remember both the hope in death, and also the proper state of life as "awake" in so many ways. Ultimately, it is our Savior who has conquered death on the Cross for all of us. Let us think even more deeply about all the meanings therein, and how that means we must live our lives in the state of wakefulness He exemplified. Let us also remember the eternal communion of the saints, living in our midst, together with Him. In a broken and imperfect world, life is all around. Let us not sleepwalk while we can be awake to all of it.
