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 

 

Yesterday we read that, having set sail late in the evening across a stormy Sea of Galilee, Jesus and the disciples came to the other side of the sea, 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.  Jesus returns to Capernaum, the town of Peter and his family, where He is already well-known.  We can see that He is approached by Jairus, one of the rulers of the synagogue, in order to help heal his little daughter who is at the point of death.  

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."   Once again, Jesus displays divine authority in today's reading.  My study Bible comments that authority over life and death is in the hand of God alone (Deuteronomy 32:39; 1 Samuel 2:6).  As He is of one essence with the Father, He has this authority (John 5:21).  But here in the healing of this woman, He demonstrates the power to cleanse and heal (see Matthew 8:1-4).  In the Old Testament, hemorrhage caused ceremonial defilement, which imposed religious and social restrictions, as contact with blood was strictly prohibited (Leviticus 15:25).  My study Bible says of the suffering woman that, although she counts herself unclean, nonetheless she approaches Christ secretly and with great faith.  Jesus pronounces that her faith has made her well, and to go in peace, indicating that she is not excluded from Him because of her illness.  He exhibits her faith to all, so that they might imitate her.  There is also another interpretation of this text on spiritual terms which has been given by the patristic writers.  My study Bible explains that in this understanding, the woman symbolizes human nature in general.  Humanity is in constant suffering and is subject to death, which is symbolized by her flow of blood.  In this interpretation, the physicians who could not cure her stand for the various religions of the world, as well as the Law of the Old Testament, which were unable to grant life to humanity.  It is only through Christ in which we are freed from suffering and bondage to sin.

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.  As with the healing of the woman's flow of blood, in which Christ demonstrated His divine power to cleanse and heal, here He demonstrates divine authority over life and death.  My study Bible comments that this is one of three resurrections which was performed by Christ as recorded in the Gospels (see also Luke 7:11-17, John 11:1-44).  It notes that these confirm the promise given to the prophet Ezekiel that God will one day open the graves and raise all the dead (Ezekiel 37:1-14).  There are many who have exercised authority over the living, but only the Son of God "has power over both the living and the dead" (quotation from the Orthodox funeral service).  While Christ has power through His word alone (John 11:43), here He takes the girl by the hand.  As with the healing of the woman with the blood flow, a touch -- even to touch His clothing -- shows that His very body is life-giving.  It is a kind of foreshadowing of the Resurrection in the sense that Mary and the others would weep for her Child; but tears turn to joy at the Resurrection.  So here the weeping and wailing is silenced by the One who gives life and His power of Resurrection.

It's always interesting to observe the people who ridicule Jesus.  They are the ones who are sure of the girl's death, who weep and wail, already mourning her.  But Christ teaches us about the power of faith, and here there is no denying that the power of faith in Christ's word is paired with the power of life.  The ones who weep and wail are certain of the things they know on worldly terms; by all signs this girl is dead, and death is not to be argued with.  But our own certainties about death and disaster -- on any number of levels, symbolic and otherwise -- might not always prove to be the case.  The deeply important thing here is communion with God, keeping our faith strong, through His word, through worship, through prayer, through the Eucharist which He has called His body and blood, through all the means of our faith.  It reminds us that there are times when we are ready to call something lost to us, finished, a deep cynicism and despondency or depression that only seems to give us a picture of death.  We might want to give up on ourselves, when there is a future that He has awaiting us that we just can't see or understand on worldly terms. or reconcile with our past experience.  We can think of both of these women -- one an older woman who's spent all she has on doctors and a twelve-year-old illness, and the other who herself is just on the verge of maturity at twelve years of age -- who are at particular stages in their lives when it seems that all is lost for them.  These "signposts" of maturity are important, because they indicate significant stages of growth, especially in women's lives.  Both seem to be connected to life and life-giving, as the older woman is likely in the period of menopause but with significant signs of illness through bleeding, and the other is on the eve of beginning the reproductive period of a woman's life.  In both cases, it is Christ who corrects and heals, and resurrects the young girl so that she in turn may mature into the possibility to give birth one day.  Christ's power to heal and to resurrect in both cases opens up life to new growth, new future, a new period of life to look forward to.  And so it is with faith.  What I find in my own life is just such encouragement through faith and prayer to look forward to a future I can't see, and in which I find myself becoming frequently pessimistic.  It is hard to move on to new stages of life when one period has ended, or a relationship terminates, or a job is over.  Simply getting older comes with stages of life we can't foresee or clearly know, especially in times of more generalized uncertainty.  But I find that it is faith that keeps me looking forward, that encourages me to new things and new growth, not to look back or try to reclaim the past -- and the loving relationships sustained in that faith that are so paramount in importance to do so.  Jairus comes to Christ in the first place because he has a small hope for his daughter, and it is Christ who nurtures his faith through various means.   First, He brings His disciples with the strongest faith, that inner circle of Peter, James, and John, to help to shore up the faith of the parents.  Second, He puts outside all those who weep and wail, separating Jairus and his wife and child from all from the ones who are certain of death.  And before that, while Jairus waited and no doubt watched anxiously, let us note that Jesus brought the healed woman in front of all the crowd and praised her faith before everyone.  All of these are acts to shore up faith, to encourage to look forward to renewal and resurrection, in whatever form that might take, to new periods of growth ahead.  Both in the case of the mature woman and also of Jairus' daughter, neither is restored to her previous life.  That is, each will go ahead to new growth, new life, new things.  Neither of Jesus' healings in today's reading restore an old life, a return to old ways and old things.  Rather, both indicate a future of new things to look to, new life to build, new experience going forward.  As Jairus' daughter is not restored to childhood but to the maturity that lies before her. so the older woman also is restored to her future period of maturity, without the blood flow.  Each is given the future and new growth.  So, I find, it is also true in my life.  There may be things which are behind me, but it is Christ and my faith that always asks me to look in front of me, to live life in the best way to build up what is good going ahead, to make the most of the time of the future in faith and through all the means at our disposal to live a life of faith.  The woman is told, "Daughter, your faith has made you well.  Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction," while Jesus' touch uplifts the girl (she arose) so that she walks forward and must be given something to nourish her for her life ahead.  Let us rely on our faith to keep us moving forward and to do so in peace.