When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment

 

 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, after crossing the Sea of Galilee in a windstorm, 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 is back on "home" territory, in Capernaum.  The esteem and familiarity with Him here is evident in Jairus' approach to Him, as Jairus is one of the rulers of the synagogue.  He is a desperate father, seeking to save the life of his little daughter who is at the point of death.  Notice how he humbled himself in pleading with Jesus for her life; he fell at His feet.  

 

 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."   In the Old Testament, my study Bible explains, hemorrhage caused ceremonial defilement, and imposed religious and social restrictions, as contact with blood was strictly prohibited (Leviticus 15:25).  This suffering woman accounts herself unclean, but nonetheless she approaches Jesus secretly, as it were, and with great faith.  Jesus, however, knew in Himself that power had gone out of Him.  Rather than shaming her, He exhibits her faith to all as the source of her healing.

 

 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.  My study Bible comments that authority over life and death is in the hand of God alone (Deuteronomy 34:39; 1 Samuel 2:6).    Being of one essence with the Father, Jesus has this authority (John 5:21).  

 

 Faith plays a crucial, central role in today's reading.  When Jesus calls out the woman with the bloodflow, He does so to exemplify her faith before all the people, to show her as an example.  For even though she approached Him in secret, thinking she was hidden by the crowd, He knew in Himself that power had gone out of Him.  This Greek word, translated as power, is frequently used in the Gospels as a word for Christ's miraculous works.  But it's quite intriguing that this power that goes out of Christ, specifically to heal in this instance, doesn't seem to be something consciously willed by Jesus.  It is as if it is her faith that has made a connection with Christ's power to heal in this miraculous sense, perhaps faith connecting with the divine in Him.  If we were to speculate, we might say that this divine/human Man, Christ, is operating within two realities at once, and so although He is both fully human and fully divine, that divine power has acted upon her faith, and the human Jesus rejoices with her before all.  If we look at her faith, we see that she has suffered for a very long time, and has sought answers over those twelve years of suffering.  The text says that she had suffered many things from many physicians.  She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.  So here is Jesus before her in the crowd, and she comes from behind Him simply seeking to touch His clothes.  But this also tells us something about holy power, something that has been known and understood in the Church for all of its history.  For holy power can also be conveyed through material things, such as oil for unction, water that's been blessed, the relics of saints, and any number of varied experiences with objects somehow touched by this power throughout the Church's history.  But it's faith that makes that connection, and enables this holy power to function.  The healing power itself is not meant to convey faith, not meant to convince people of one type of faith or belief or another.  But it acts upon faith, like a spark lights a flame, and in a sense that holy action is proof of the faith and not the other way around.  It's important that we not fall into the trap of thinking that our faith will conjure up like magic the miracles we want, nor on the other hand that our faith rests upon those miracles upon demand.  To have faith in God, in Christ, is to put our trust in God, which means also God's will.  To have faith is to say that we meet life -- and all our problems in it, all our blessings, all our endeavors and wishes, even our heartbreak -- with that faith, that trust in Christ.  For, it seems to me, this is the reason He has come to us as a Man, to live with us and to die for us.  This woman has suffered and has tried everything, investing her faith (perhaps) and all her wealth on many physicians, and she has only grown worse.  There is a spiritual interpretation to that story my study Bible also notes: that these other physicians who could not cure her stand for the various religions of the world, and also the Old Testament Law, which were unable to grant life to humanity.  My study Bible comments on this that it is only through Christ that we are freed from suffering and bondage to sin.  So, this is really a story of a woman who has at last found the proper place for her faith, the proper Person to trust in.  And this is the great discovery, the redeeming, enlightening, powerful evidence of finding that place at last, where even with His back to us, God saves.  Even through His clothes, His power is at work.  We might not all find precisely what we are looking for as she did, but nonetheless that hidden power of God remains and finds ways surprising to us to reveal its work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?

 

 Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.  Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off.  And they lifted up their voices and said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"  So when He saw them, He said to them, "Go, show yourselves to the priests."  And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.  And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks.  And he was a Samaritan.  

So Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed?  But where are the nine?  Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?"  And He said to him, "Arise, go your way.  Your faith has made you well."

 

- Luke 17:11–19 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus said to the disciples, "It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come!  It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his  neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.  Take heed to yourselves.  If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.  And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him."  And the apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith."  So the Lord said, "If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.  And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and sit down to eat'?  But will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink'?  Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him?  I think not.  So likewise you, when you have done all those thing which you are commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants.  We have done what was our duty to do.'"

 

 Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.  Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off.  And they lifted up their voices and said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"  So when He saw them, He said to them, "Go, show yourselves to the priests."  And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.  And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks.  And he was a Samaritan.  My study Bible comments that leprosy was one of the most dreaded diseases of the time.  This illness brought tremendous physical suffering, as well as complete banishment and isolation from society.  It is also considered to be a symbol of our sin.  Jesus tells these lepers, "Go, show yourselves to the priests."  This is because, in accordance with the Law, a certificate was necessary to rejoice community.  But, according to St. Cyril of Alexandria, another reason that Jesus gives this command is so that the priests will be convinced by a tangible miracle that He is superior to Moses.  The priests hold Moses to be greater than Christ, but these lepers are healed immediately and with Christ's own divine authority.  When Miriam, the sister of Moses, was struck with leprosy, Moses had to seek mercy from above, and even so she was only healed after seven days (Numbers 12:10-15).  

So Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed?  But where are the nine?  Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?"  And He said to him, "Arise, go your way.  Your faith has made you well."  Jesus asks, "But where are the nine?"  My study Bible comments that Christ came to heal all of fallen humanity, but only a small portion receive Him in faith and thanksgiving to give glory to God.  Thus, it says, "many are called, but few chosen" (Matthew 20:16).  The lesson for our faith is that worship is the number one priority.

 

In a recent reading, Jesus gave two parables in response to the Pharisees and scribes, after they complained because He received and ate with tax collectors and sinners (see this reading from a week ago).  At that time, He began His response to them with two parables, both of which had a theme of seeking out that which was lost.  These are the parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin.  In the parable of the Lost Sheep, a shepherd leave his flock of ninety-nine to seek the one that is still missing.  In the parable of the Lost Coin, a woman has a bridal necklace of ten coins, and she works tirelessly and diligently until she finds the one coin that was lost.  He ended that parable by saying that the woman called her friends and neighbors together, saying, "Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!"  He finished the parable by teaching, "Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."  Here in today's story, Jesus must travel through  Samaria (a Gentile region) and Galilee, His home region which consists of mixed populations, both Gentile and Jew.   We're told that He entered a certain village, but it's not made clear where.  We just know that  there were ten lepers, standing afar off (as they were required to be separate from community), who -- knowing who Jesus was -- called to Him from afar, referring to Him by name and calling Him Master, pleaded with Him to have mercy on them.  We note that the ten lepers are distanced from the community, in accordance with Jewish Law, and that Jesus also tells them to show themselves to the priests.  But only one of them, we're told, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at [Jesus'] feet, giving Him thanks.  And he was a Samaritan.  This is now, in a strange sense, the inverse of the parables Jesus taught to the Pharisees and scribes.  Whereas those parables of the Lost Coin and the Lost Sheep were given to express God's tremendous love in seeking out that which was lost, and so seeking a fullness or completion in God's creation, this story of the ten lepers is a very human one, and it describes the very human or worldly response to God and the good things of God for which we're meant to be grateful.  This story follows upon Jesus' teaching to the disciples that, when a disciple has done what is asked, in fulfilling the commands of Christ, we're to say, "We are unprofitable servants.  We have done what was our duty to do."  This notion of "unprofitable," as we discussed in yesterday's commentary, is meant to express the idea that as faithful human beings, we cannot possibly repay the grace of God.  We simply do not have any resources equal in substance or quality to what we've been given.  This story in today's reading illustrates that reality.  How can any human being possibly repay God for the gift of healing -- and from a disease symbolic of sin, thereby akin to being forgiven and released from sin, so to speak?  We don't have any kind of substance or capacity that is like that, with which to repay God.  So it is simply our gratitude that is appropriate to the gift of God's mercy, to grace, and to give glory to God.  To be healed of leprosy is an incredible reprieve from terrible suffering, but where are those others who failed to give any sign of gratitude to God?  This lack of gratitude gives us a sense of what is today called entitlement.  One thing is clear from this story:  it is the outsider, the stranger, the foreigner here who has come back to give glory to God and to give thanks to Christ for his healing.  Moreover, Christ tells him, "Arise, go your way.  Your faith has made you well."  Let's consider those words, "Your faith has made you well."  This seems to indicate the others are without faith, and given Christ's repeated teaching to others to "sin no more," their ailments possibly will return.  At any rate, given Jesus' response, we can perceive that the fullness of healing, or of any gracious action of God, is not complete without our gratitude and giving of thanks and glory to God.  This is what we should take with us from today's reading, and grasp that as Jesus directly says that it is this man's faith that has made him well, we need to live the fullness of our faith in turn.  The fullness of our faith, in accordance with Christ's remarks today, isn't complete without giving thanks, without giving glory to God.  As we are approaching a holiday season (at least in the West where I live) of official occasion to give thanks, let us take this very seriously.  For perhaps it is true that we cannot live good lives of faith without it.  Modern medicine often tells us that gratitude is a key antidote to depression and other ailments, both mental and physical.  Perhaps this tie with our faith provides the true key to that outcome, as this foreigner becomes the icon of faith.

 

 

Receive your sight; your faith has made you well

 

 Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.  For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon.  They will scourge Him and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."  But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken.

Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging.  And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant.  So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.  And he cried out, saying, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him.  And when he had come near, He asked him, saying, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  He said, "Lord, that I may receive my sight."  Then Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has made you well."  And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God.  And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

 

- Luke 18:31–43 

 

Then they also brought infants to Him that He might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.  But Jesus called them to Him and said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.  Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it."  

Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God.  You know the commandments:  'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother.'"  And he said, "All these things I have kept from my youth."  So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, "You still lack one thing.  Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."  But when he heard this, he become very sorrowful, for he was very rich.  And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!  For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  And those who heard it said, "Who then can be saved?"  But He said, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God."  Then Peter said, "See, we have left all and followed You."  So He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life."

 

 Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.  For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon.  They will scourge Him and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."  But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken.  My study Bible says that the saying was hidden not by God, but because the disciples could not comprehend its meaning until the events of the Passion had taken place.  We might pause to consider the unthinkable quality of the events that are to come, from the perspective of Christ's disciples.

 

 Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging.  And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant.  So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.  And he cried out, saying, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him.  And when he had come near, He asked him, saying, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  He said, "Lord, that I may receive my sight."  Then Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has made you well."  And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God.  And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.  As Jesus comes to pass through Jericho, He is on the road to Jerusalem in earnest.  This blind man greets Jesus as Son of David, a title which my study Bible says was deeply associated with the Messiah.  It notes that although Jesus knows what we want before we ask, He calls us to ask freely so that we might learn of His mercy.  Note the repeated pleas, or prayers, of the blind man, indicating our own persistence in prayer.  My study Bible says that in patristic literature there is also a spiritual interpretation to the similar miracle reported in Matthew's Gospel (Matthew 20:29-34), only differing in that two blind men are reported in Matthew.  It says that in this interpretation, the blind men symbolize future generations would will come to faith only by hearing, and without the benefit of seeing Christ in person (see John 20:29).  Those who call for silence are persecutors and tyrants who, in every generation, try to silence the Church.  Nonetheless, under persecution, the Church all the more confesses Jesus Christ.

The spiritual interpretation given to this miracle is interesting, because today we might find that there are ways in which faith seems to be suppressed; or rather, we find fairly vocal calls for curbing the influence of faith in public life.  While the relative freedom in the West remains despite the politicizing calls for less influence, we can look to other areas of the world where Christian faith is quite violently suppressed and under threat, even by forcible conversion, and so give thought to this spiritual interpretation reported by my study Bible.  What does it mean for us?  How do we feel this sense of those who call for the faithful to "be quiet" about their faith?  During the previous century, under communist systems, religion also underwent a systematic kind of silence.  In Russia, and other countries of Eastern Europe, many priests were killed or persecuted at different times, put into prisons and what were called gulags, and often under great hardship and even systematic torture in some cases.  A famous Russian writer (and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970), Alexander Solzhenitsyn, wrote novels set within this prison system.  He is famous for an essay titled, "Live Not By Lies."   In it, he argues that violence always dissipates itself.  He writes, "To prop itself up, to appear decent, it will without fail call forth its ally—Lies."  He explains, "For violence has nothing to cover itself with but lies, and lies can only persist through violence. And it is not every day and not on every shoulder that violence brings down its heavy hand: It demands of us only a submission to lies, a daily participation in deceit—and this suffices as our fealty."  What he advocates is that, in circumstances where we feel we can do no more, we can at least not participate in lies.  We can agree not to advocate things we can't agree with; in this way one begins to break out of the social prison that locks people within ideas that are truly lies and suppress truth.  In our faith in Christ, we put our trust in the One whom we call Truth, who has said of Himself, "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6).  Christ came into this world as Savior and Liberator, and part of that liberating, freeing action is to free us from oppression of various kinds, especially that which is spiritual and which oppresses the mind and heart, but which often accompanies, as Solzhenitsyn indicates in his essay for his own time and place, violence and coercion of every kind.  So, in the service of Jesus, the Son of David, who is our Savior and Liberator, we also must always consider these words of this essay, and find and live our truth.  There may be things which we are unable to express in certain settings.  There may be ways in which we are somehow shouted and oppressed into silence.  But we can choose that we will not support lies, we won't participate in them, and we will retain the freedom we're given by God because we remain free in our hearts, our prayers, our mind, our soul.  When we live by His teachings, in whatever way we can, we are participating in Christ's truth.  We are declaring it for ourselves and for those around us, and this is most important, for we must understand Christ's teaching that the kingdom of God is within us and among us.  When He sent out the disciples on their first mission, and repeatedly at other times, Christ declares to the people, "The kingdom of God has come near to you" (Luke 10:9).  Over and over again in Luke's Gospel, Jesus preaches the kingdom of God, and how we may participate in that Kingdom.  There are over thirty times this phrase is used in Luke's reporting of Jesus' ministry.  He clearly did not come preaching a political kingdom, one that works only by violence and rebellion, but one that lives and dwells within us and among us, through our faith and participation in it, through living His commandments, and keeping ourselves alert to the life He teaches and offers, growing in that faith and strengthening it among ourselves and for ourselves.  Whatever our circumstances, this is what we are called to do, to endure in our faith.  For the earliest Christian martyrs, it was a question of not participating in the sacrifices to false gods.  For us today, let us not participate in whatever our modern sacrifices might be that we are called to participate in to false gods.   Christ said that we must make a choice and cannot serve two masters, we cannot serve both God and mammon.  In the world of vast material resources, of great coercive power -- be it violent or simply persuasive through lies and half-truths (which are also lies), political slogans, or just the power of the mob in new forms, let us consider how we may not participate in lies, but rejoice in the truth, and enduring in His truth, as He has asked of us.  We must be persistent in our prayers, like the blind man, and not let the coercive power of the crowd silence our faith, or the voice in the heart that stirs and becomes a flame through the love of Christ.  If we rely on God, God will provide ways for us to live that faith and to express it one way or another, even in a simple gesture of care or love that others don't consider (Matthew 25:40).  Sometimes the simplest action may be a bold way to participate in and declare our faith, even in the midst of coercive lies.  We must live our faith.  Let us pray that we, too, may receive our sight to do so, that He illuminates the way for us.

 

 

 

 

Do not be afraid; only believe

 

 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, following a storm on the Sea of Galilee, 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.  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 explains that, for the Jews, contact with blood caused defilement and led to religious and social isolation (Leviticus 25).  The woman shows a bold faith by approaching both Christ and a ruler of the synagogue in the 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?'"  But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me."   My study Bible comments that "Who touched Me?" does not simply mean a physical touch.  Rather, this question means, "Who touched Me in faith?"  Just as "the temple sanctifies the gold" (Matthew 23:17), so also matter is sanctified by Christ's Incarnation.  The power of Christ therefore works even through His garment.  To touch His garment in faith is to touch Him.  In the Church, my study Bible explains, we touch Christ through many means such as icons, oil, water, bread, wine, etc.   When this is done in faith, the power of Christ 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 says 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. 

 

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.  At the moment Christ is still speaking to the healed woman, news of the death of Jairus' daughter comes.  Let us again take note of the role of faith here.  Jesus takes careful pains to bring in with Him only Peter, James, and John (the disciples with the strongest faith) and the mother and father of the girl.  This is how He dealt with those who ridiculed Him.   The text notes that Christ acts to put them all outside.  This is one of three resurrections in the Gospels (see also Luke 7:11-17, John 11:1-44).  In the earlier story of the widow of Nain, Jesus touched the coffin of her son; at the raising of Lazarus, Jesus called out to him.  Here again Jesus uses a life-giving touch (He took her by the hand) and also gives a command ("Little girl, arise").

 

 There is an important understanding given in Scripture about things which are set apart for the glory of God, things given over and sanctified for holiness.  This applies to the temple and all of its services and functions in the Old Testament, to the workings of the Mosaic Law, and various other ways of understanding holiness.  In the New Testament it applies also to the people of God, the faithful, whom Jesus says at the Last Supper He has called out of the world.  See John 15:19, in which Jesus tells the disciples, "I chose you out of the world" in explaining that they are not "of the world."  See also 1 Peter 2:9.  In yesterday's reading and commentary, we read about the man afflicted by a "Legion" of demons, and his healing by Jesus.  As part of the context of the story, the people by whom that man was surrounded were fine with the circumstances in which they freely raised their swine, and he lived among the tombs -- but they were sorely troubled both with fear at his healing and by the loss of their swine.  This man had to return to his home where he could proclaim the great things God had done for him; clearly the environment among these people allowed no room for what was healthy, and there was no welcome for Christ there.  In today's reading, we may observe the importance of setting apart what is spiritually healthy from what is not.  Christ heals through touch which works via faith, is effective together with the faith of the individuals involved.  He goes so far as to separate all the people in the household of Jairus away from the girl and His act of healing, and He takes only Peter, James, and John with Him into her room (besides the mother and father, whom He's counseled "Do not be afraid" and "only believe").  While the woman with the blood flow took a great risk herself in being a part of that crowd, and had great faith to touch the hem of His garment, He separates her to display her faith and make her an example to the others, adding, "Your faith has made you well."   Although she has violated the law regarding contact with blood and interaction with community, He tells her to "be of good cheer" and, "Go in peace."  In taking specific steps to set people apart in each scenario in today's reading, Jesus is doing so to protect and to shore up faith.  We are given a teaching, through Christ's acts, about how important it is to take all the steps necessary to protect our faith -- and by doing so, effectively to protect our health, be that spiritual, mental, or physical.  In whatever ways we are healed through Christ, it becomes essential to understand this notion of being set apart as that which guards our strengths, and helps to have boundaries against that which will in some way harm faith -- and therefore well-being.  Since healing depends so much upon the quality of faith, and the associated characteristics with faith, such as strength of character, persistence, joy even amid suffering, and especially hope, we are given examples whereby we may take positive steps to protect the real gains for well-being that our faith helps to bring about.  The person struggling with addiction who is helped through prayer and the "Higher Power" of Christian faith, the one who must get healthcare for a family member and struggles with despair or depression but is taught persistence via their faith, or the person who struggles with their own sense of purpose which is fed by faith -- and so many other possible examples -- all must take steps to protect positive forward movement for healing, and this means taking all steps necessary to protect and cultivate faith.  It means surrounding ourselves with those who may help build our faith, who affirm the positive outcomes of prayer and its effect in us, who will not tear down the things we do to help ourselves within a struggle for well-being.  Jesus gives us an affirmative courage to do as He did, and to remember and protect the one thing needed.  Let us take steps to protect our identity as those whom He has called out of the world that offers despair and defeat -- and hold firm to the hope He gives for our lives.