Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace

 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 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 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 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 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 have returned from their travel across the Sea of Galilee, and are now in their Galilean "headquarters" of Capernaum.   In contrast to His travels across the sea, here all know Him, and await His return.  The ruler of the synagogue approaches Him with a desperate request.

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."   My study bible comments on the prohibition against blood; in the Old Testament, hemorrhage caused ceremonial defilement.  This meant the imposition of both religious and social restrictions, as contact with blood was strictly prohibited.  (See Leviticus 15:25 regarding the restrictions upon women, and contact with others.)  Therefore this woman's approach to Christ is done stealthily, but in great faith.  Let us observe Jesus' response:  He is aware of power going out from Him.  A contact via touch was made through faith.  My study bible notes that just as "the temple sanctifies the gold" (Matthew 23:17), so matter is sanctified by Christ's Incarnation, and the power of Christ works through even His garment.  To touch His garment in faith is to touch Him.  Thus, in the Church there is the power of sacraments; we touch Christ also through icons, oil, water, bread, wine, etc. when we do so in faith.  This transforming holy power "overrules" all notions of what is unclean, and is healing and cleansing.  Its power extends to the whole community:  Christ brings her good cheer and praises her faith before all the people, which includes Jairus who is to hear devastating news about his daughter, but will still need to retain his faith.

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 has the power of life and death.  Let us note the essential nature of faith to these healings.  Here, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John with Him, as well as the father and mother of this girl.  The three disciples are His inner circle, those of greatest faith.  He tells Jairus, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well."  Let us observe also how far Jesus goes to shore up faith:  He puts the ridiculing and weeping crowd outside.  This is another illustration of the power of touch in faith, but this time it is Christ who touches the girl by the hand, and the faith of the adults around her that is essential to her healing.

In today's reading, Christ's holy power defies all expectation and understanding.  It works despite the unclean nature of the condition of the woman who touches Him in a secret or hidden way.  It works to draw her out before the crowd and proclaim her faith.  It works to separate Jairus and his wife from the weeping, wailing, and ridiculing crowd.  It works even to create the power of life and death.  This is an important understanding of Christ and how faith and God's holy power can work in our own lives:  it breaks us out of our own expectations and understanding.  It defies our mindset.  In the incidents described in today's reading, without this defiance of such norms, there would be no healing in either case.  This is another reason why faith is an essential part of healing.  How is it possible for one to break through one's own assumed conventions without faith?  There is another more hidden aspect that is common to both incidents in today's reading as well, and it is that of patience.  The woman has had a long and difficult time -- twelve years of suffering with her hemorrhage.  Not only that, but she has exhausted all of her income on doctors and remains unhealed.  Yet when she secretly touches Christ in the crowd, it is with great faith.  Jairus is told even that his daughter is dead, and yet Christ admonishes him to "only believe."  Moreover, we make note of Jairus' desperation for Christ's help when he comes to Him.  Nevertheless, Christ takes time to single out this woman for whom holy power has gone out of Himself, even while He has been summoned to the house of the ruler of the synagogue to save his dying daughter.   The counsel of patience is an elusive and difficult thing, perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of faith to learn, or so it seems to me at least.   To recollect oneself in the midst of difficulties, to place all things in the hands of God, to cultivate this kind of detachment, is not simple, and it involves a great learning curve.  It's not merely an intellectual exercise, but one of the heart, that involves every aspect of ourselves -- including the physical stimulation of our nerves and all that goes with it.  Yet nevertheless, this is a great gift of faith.  It is the kind of faith that Jesus counsels for Jairus, the kind of faith Jesus publicly praises in the woman healed of her hemorrhage.  It is a subtle message to us that there is time, always time for God, for Christ, for prayer.  We may find that life works this way when we make "room" to take time out for prayer.  We're reminded in today's reading that Christ is not only Lord of life and death, but also the Master of time.  We'd be surprised how much time there is for prayer, how fluid time can be when we take time out for our own "touch in faith" to Christ in the middle of a busy schedule, how much time we may surprisingly find we have.  It is another aspect of learned patience as spiritual fruit.  This is all contained in the message of our faith in the Gospel reading for today.  How will you seek to put this all into practice?