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 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 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.  But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him.  Back in Capernuam, everyone knows Christ, and the multitude welcomed Him.  A ruler of the synagogue seeks Him out.  We note the contrast, for the disciples, between what is known and what is unknown.  Jesus has just had them go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, in the encounter with the man with a Legion of demons (see above, yesterday's reading).  But then He returns them to what is known to them, and to His ministry here.  In this way, He is constantly "stretching" them as disciples for the mission that will be ahead of them in the Church, after His death, Resurrection, and Ascension.

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 tells us that for the Jews, contact with blood caused defilement, and would lead to religious and social isolation (Leviticus 25).  For this reason, she came from behind and touched the border of His garment.  My study bible says that this woman displays bold faith by approaching both Chris and a ruler of the synagogue in a crowd, which is potentially defiling to all of them and a risk of 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?'"  But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me."  Let us consider that Christ, the knower of hearts (Acts 1:24), most likely understands -- or is perfectly capable of discerning for Himself -- who has touched Him.  But He draws her out into a confession of faith.  My study bible says that "Who touched Me?" isn't a question that simply asks about a physical touch, but rather He is asking, "Who touched Me in faith?"  Just as "the temple sanctifies the gold" (Matthew 23:17), so matter is sanctified by the Incarnation of Christ, and the power of Christ works through even His garment.  It notes that to touch Christ's garment in faith is to touch Him.  In the Church, my study bible continues, we touch Christ through icons, oil, water, bread, wine, etc.  When done in faith, Christ's power is received.

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 that Jesus calls the woman forward both to take away her fear and trembling and also to strengthen Jairus for the forthcoming news of his daughter's death.  Let us note that Jesus draws out from her a public confession, and also to give consolation and praise to her publicly, as well as conferring a blessing of peace before all.

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.  Again, what is important in this story?  It is the essential need for shoring up faith amid a crowd of people who may be gainsaying whatever it is that real faith will teach.  Note all the precautions Jesus takes for this:  He allows in only His own inner circle of Peter, James, and John, His closest disciples and those with the strongest faith.  He puts out all the mourners and others who ridicule Him, and keeps only the parents with Him.

In yesterday's reading, Jesus took the disciples to a faraway and strange place, in order to evidence a healing and exorcism of the strongest magnitude, against a legion of demons and among people who had abandoned their faith for material gain (the Jewish swineherders).  In today's reading, however, Jesus is back in home territory, Capernaum, the headquarters of His Galilean ministry and site of Peter's family home.  So the healings that take place before this multitude that greets Him as He returns "home" and in this city (rather than among the tombs of the forlorn man with the demons in yesterday's reading) give us something different.   The action initiated through the power of Christ is still astonishing.  It still shakes up the world of assumptions and what is understood among the people in the scenes we're given in today's reading.  The woman who comes from behind to simply touch Christ's garment amid the crowd that even the disciples can't keep track of does so against the customs of the society, against the religious rules that forbid the touch of blood, what is unclean.  But she does so in great faith, which is drawn out from where it is in secret and her hidden touch, and proclaimed and praised before all.  This is a learning and teaching experience for the home crowds.  It no doubt was astonishing and possibly disturbing to those among the religious establishment.  And yet, it is a ruler of the synagogue who desperately awaits Christ's attention to his dying daughter.  There remains, therefore, yet another deeply astonishing scenario ahead, midst the pause for the healing of the woman with the haemorrhage.  Everyone is certain that Jairus' daughter is dead.  Indeed, Christ's admonition that she is not dead, but sleeping is a phrase used in the Church for death -- indicating the spiritual reality of resurrection and judgment that awaits all who pass.  We're drawn, along with the townspeople, into a place where Christ can astonish and heal, and where we can receive the good news that the Incarnation and hence Christ's power can bring into our world.  Each episode is apt for its time and its place, each circumstance has a particular way to draw out Christ's power and to give us something that teaches us, something whereby God's love and nature may be revealed to us.  Everything, in some sense, depends upon the circumstances -- that within those circumstances Christ's power will astonish and surprise and teach us all, reveal God to us.  We are here to learn, and in this sense all are disciples, meaning, in the Greek, "learners" (mathetes/ μαθητής).  Let us think about our own circumstances.  How, through prayer or other forms of communion in faith, have you received Christ in times and periods of your life?  How has He come to you and what has been revealed about God through your faith?  Does the Holy Spirit reveal the things of God?  How do you come to understand compassion or love or sacrifice or grace?  What are the social restrictions that have been broken in that love in order to restore true health?  There is the insight we need to be true learners, disciples, and to know Him in the growth of our faith, even if others ridicule or seek to restrict that power in our lives.  When the crowd says "No," Jesus says, "Yes" to our faith, and He teaches us only that it is that faith that saves, and that it is only there we take our true peace.  For both women who need healing -- the woman with the twelve years' flow of blood, and the young woman of about twelve --  it means resurrection, new life, a rebirth made of and through faith.