Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction

Now when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a great multitude gathered to Him; and He was by the sea. And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name. And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet and begged Him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live." So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.

Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, "If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well." Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My clothes?" But His disciples said to Him, "You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'" And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction."

While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue's house who said, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?" As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not be afraid; only believe." And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James. Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly. When He came in, He said to them, "Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping." And they ridiculed Him. But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying. Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, "Talitha, cumi," which is translated, "Little girl, I say to you, arise." Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age. And they were overcome with great amazement. But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat.

- Mark 5:21-43

On Saturday, we read that, after Jesus had given the command to cross to the other side of the Sea of Galilee through the night, they came to the country of the Gadarenes.  And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains.  And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him.  And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.  When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him.  And he cried out with a loud voice and said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus Son of the Most High God?  I implore You by God that You do not torment me."  For He said to him, "Come out of the man, unclean spirit!"  Then He asked him, "What is your name?"  And he answered, saying, "My name is Legion; for we are many."  Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country.  Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains.  So all the demons begged Him, saying, "Send us to the swine, that we may enter them."  And at once Jesus gave them permission.  Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea.  So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country.  And they went out to see what it was that had happened.  Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind.  And they were afraid.  And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine.  Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region.  And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him.  However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you."  And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.

Now when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a great multitude gathered to Him; and He was by the sea.  And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name.  And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet and begged Him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter lies at the point of death.  Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live."  So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.  Once again Mark's Gospel gives us a picture of Jesus' Galilean ministry, particularly in this "headquarters" town where He is well-known.  A great multitude is gathered to Him.  But finally, one of the rulers of the synaogue comes to Him with a request, even falling at His feet, begging that Christ saves His daughter from death.  We note this request is couched in images of the crowd; they thronged Christ, following Him even as He went with Jairus.

Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians.  She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.  When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment.  For she said, "If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well."  Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.  And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My clothes?"  But His disciples said to Him, "You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"  And He looked around to see her who had done this thing.  But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.  And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well.  Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction."   This healing comes as a kind of startling interruption, a moment that takes even Jesus by surprise as He's heading to the home of Jairus and is surrounded by this thronging crowd of people.  She takes the initiative to touch His clothing, and the holy power in Jesus responds to her faith.  Jesus is unaware of her touch, but completely aware and knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him.  It's important that we understand that her flow of blood, or hemorrhage, caused ceremonial defilement, which meant that there were both religious and social restrictions which would have been placed on her, as contact with blood was strictly prohibited (Leviticus 15:25).  Although she counts herself unclean, she approaches Jesus secretly, but with great faith.  As Jesus says, it is her faith that makes her well.

While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue's house who said, "Your daughter is dead.  Why trouble the Teacher any further?"  As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not be afraid; only believe."  And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James.  Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly.  When He came in, He said to them, "Why make this commotion and weep?  The child is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him.  But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying.  Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, "Talitha, cumi," which is translated, "Little girl, I say to you, arise."  Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age.  And they were overcome with great amazement.  But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat.  In the continuation of the story of Jairus' daughter, we also have a great demonstration of faith.  Jesus tells Jairus, "Do not be afraid; only believe."  Moreover, He allows only His inner circle of Peter, James, and John to come with Him.  These are His closest disciples, the ones with the greatest faith.  Christ is ridiculed by the mourners when He says the child is not dead, but sleeping.  In a further protection of faith, Jesus puts all outside except the father and mother, and His three closest disciples.  My study bible notes that this is one of three resurrections performed by Christ as recorded in the Gospels (see also Luke 7:11-17,  John 11:1-44).

Jesus' healing miracles in today's reading give us powerful examples of His divinity.  He has power over life and death, shown in the healing of the young girl.  Life and death are also present in the healing of the woman with the hemorrhage, as her flow of blood is also symbolic of humankind's constant subjection to suffering and death.  One spiritual interpretation of this healing miracle in Patristic tradition is that the various physicians who had previously treated the woman and taken all her money stand for the various religions of the world, as well as Old Testament Law, which were unable to grant life to humanity.  My study bible notes, "Only through Christ are we freed from suffering and bondage to sin."   These life or death issues raise the perspective that Christ, in His divinity, is of one essence with God the Father.  But for ourselves, we must note the power of faith at work here, and thereby the very tie between our capacity for faith and the power even of life and death.  Christ is also the master of time in today's reading, as there is time for the healing of the woman's blood flow -- also a "natural" unfolding of the effect of faith upon Christ's divine power.  This miracle doesn't seem to happen through the cooperation of Christ's human will, but rather through a type of direct interaction of this woman's faith and His divine power.  It tells us something about the use of time, a very divine purpose to the fact that we human beings are subject to time, and that is so that our faith may unfold through our experiences.  Even though the urgency of the certain death of the girl presses upon Christ, and the force of the desperate request made to Him by Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, there is time for the healing of this woman on their way.  In keeping with the theme of life and death issues, even Christ's suffering on the Cross is foreshadowed here, as the woman's years of experiencing suffering and fruitless efforts and expenditure on healers do not simply lead her to this moment before Christ, but are also transfigured through the holy power present in Him.  There is a message couched in this story of the older woman and the young about the years of our lives, our suffering in this world, our capacity for death, and how our faith unfolds through our experiences and transfigures what we think we already know, and what we have already experienced.  Her suffering has led her here, to Christ Himself, who proclaims her "peace" and that her "faith has made you well."  Faith -- even the faith of others, as in the demonstration of the healing of the little girl -- may interact with our experiences to bring us redemption of long-held suffering, old scars and wound of life.  This woman is excluded from society because of her flow of blood, but it is her faith in Christ which "immediately" stops her hemorrhage, and she is restored her to her place in community.   The little girl "immediately" gets up and begins walking, "for she was twelve years of age," as the text tells us.  It really doesn't matter where we are, what stage of life we're in, even if we are without the capacity to pray for ourselves, or if our actions of faith are in secret -- and seemingly no matter what pronunciation has already been proclaimed upon us.   With faith, we are in the realm of all possibilities, we connect with the power of life and death and of full redemption.  In these scenes, the scorn of others cannot deny the truth of faith.  Faith scatters the messages of the world and gives us new messages instead.  Has someone pronounced you "down and out"?   Have you been counted out of polite society?  Are there ways in which you have given up on your life and your possibilities?  These stories of healing give us a powerful role for faith to play in our lives no matter how long we've suffered under some sort of predicament, no matter who or where we are, nor whose prayers may help us -- even those of people whom we don't know, and the saints who are unknown to us, living and dead.  Our faith may redeem our old experiences and our lives, giving us purpose we didn't know we had, a place to serve Christ in our own lives, a function that God assigns alone.  The whole purpose of that Cross is to give us meaning where there is suffering, a strength to serve, a faith that finds us function and transformation.  It is the power of life itself that redeems where human beings see only what is hopeless.  Let us keep this in mind -- and the surprising power of redemption, which we cannot control but is in the hands of God.  Time is for this very purpose, so that we come to Christ in faith, and find ourselves where we might truly live His way.