Who touched Me?

 

 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 Jesus and the disciples, following a harrowing, stormy journey across the Sea of Galilee, 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 in 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.    Here Jesus has returned to Capernaum, the "headquarters" of His Galilean ministry, where all know Him.   We can see that Jairus, one of the rulers of the synagogue, is completely familiar with Jesus.  

 

 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."   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 Christ is of one essence with the Father, He has such authority (John 5:21).  This woman's healing, it says, is a demonstration of Christ's power to cleanse and heal (see Matthew 8:1-4).   In the Old Testament, hemorrhage caused ceremonial defilement, and it imposed religious and social restrictions, as contact with blood was strictly prohibited (Leviticus 15:25).  This woman has suffered for twelve years, not only from her ailment but also from the many physicians she's already consulted and only grown worse.  Although she accounts herself unclean, she nonetheless approaches Jesus secretly and with great faith.  Jesus tells her to go in peace, that her faith has made her well.  He corrects her thinking, as she could not hide her touch, neither was she excluded from Him because of her illness.  Finally, He exhibits her faith to everyone. so they might imitate her.

 

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.  The resurrection of Jairus' daughter is an affirmation of Christ's power over life and death.  According to my study Bible, this healing, together with other resurrections performed by Christ in the Gospels (such as the raising of Lazarus in John 11:1-44) 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).  My study Bible comments that while many people have exercised authority over the living, it's only the Son of God who "has power over both the living and the dead" (words found in the Eastern Orthodox funeral service).  Let us note here that while Christ has power through His word alone (John 11:43), he also touched the child in taking her by the hand, showing (as in the healing of the woman's blood flow) that His body is life-giving.  

 

Touch plays a significant part in today's reading.  That is, the touch that allows people to receive the power of Christ to heal, even to restore life.  We should not be surprised at this, for we are to understand that it is the Incarnation itself that restores us.  God became human to assume all the things of humanity, so that humanity could be healed.  Therefore (and thereby) His body is life-giving.  In the first instance in today's reading,  this woman with the twelve-years flow of blood comes behind Him, in a crowd, and believes, "If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well."  Surely the text indicates to us that this crowd was bumping into one another as it was, for the disciples are incredulous that He'd like them to tell Him who touched Him.  They say, "You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"  The impossibility for them of telling Jesus just who it was tells us how crowded this scene was.  But what is the difference between her touch and the possible accidental touch of others in crowd that throngs Jesus?  It is her faith that makes the difference.  Jesus tells her, and the crowd, and His disciples, and us as well that this is so, when He tells her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well.  Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction."  It's remarkable that we're also told she came and confessed to Him what she'd done, even as she feared and trembled, for this is a kind of face-to-face meeting with God.  It is the same sense in coming to repentance and coming before God for reconciliation.  She is reconciled indeed, even as "unclean" as her blood flow makes her, for He calls her "Daughter."  Then there is the case of the little girl, a daughter of one of the rulers of the synagogue.  She is just twelve years old, St. Mark tells us, the age of the number of years the older woman had suffered.  Jesus raises her up, taking her by the hand, commanding the little girl to arise.  In the first case of the woman with the blood flow, the faith was hers that made the difference, and effectively Christ felt His own power go out of Him to heal her.  In this case, the faith of the parents, so desperately needing to be strengthened by Jesus and His closest disciples, is what is at work.  This says to us that the prayers of the Church have an effect, even that we, in our prayers and in our faith, can take stewardship of a kind to help others to come to that healing touch of Christ.  Just as we pay even for the dead in the Church, so our prayers are heard for others even for God's mercy after death.  Surely the stories of resurrection in the Gospels teach us that as well.  (In addition to the story of the raising of Lazarus in John 11, see also the raising of the son of the widow of Nain at Luke 7:11-17).  Surely the power of God is everywhere, and thus our prayers to God are effectively without barrier.  Let us not forget that Christ's body, life-giving as it is for us, also was part of His Ascension, thus the power to heal humanity follows into territory we can't possibly limit nor predict.  Let us not forget our great gift of the Incarnation, feeding us in the Eucharist, and the tremendous and irreplaceable gift of faith.

 

 

 

 

 

If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well

 

 While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped Him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live."  So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His disciples.  And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment.  For she said to herself, "If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well."  But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, "Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well."  And the woman was made well from that hour.  When Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing, He said to them, "Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him.  But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose.  And the report of this went out into all that land.

 

- Matthew 9:18–26 

 

Yesterday we read that, as Jesus passed on, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office.  And He said to him, "Follow Me."  So he arose and followed Him.  Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in that house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples.  And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, "Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"  When Jesus heard that, he said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  But go and learn what this means:  'I desire mercy and not sacrifice."  For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."  Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, "Why do and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?"  And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?  But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.  No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse.  Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined.  But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."

 

 While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped Him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live."  So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His disciples.  And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment.  For she said to herself, "If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well."  But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, "Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well."  And the woman was made well from that hour.  When Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing, He said to them, "Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him.  But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose.  And the report of this went out into all that land.  My study Bible comments on today's passage 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, Christ has this authority (John 5:21).  The healing of the woman with the flow of blood demonstrates His power to cleanse and to heal (see Matthew 8:1-4).  In the Old Testament, we must understand, hemorrhage caused ceremonial defilement.  This imposed religious and social restrictions, as contact with blood was strictly prohibited (Leviticus 15:25).  This suffering woman counts herself unclean, my study Bible says, but she nevertheless approaches Jesus secretly and with great faith.  Jesus brings her good cheer because of her faith.  He also corrects her thinking, because she could neither hide her touch from Him, nor is she excluded from Him because of her illness.  Finally, Christ even exhibits her faith as an example to all, that they might imitate her.  

 

One interesting thing about today's passage is that the healing of this woman with the flow of blood is always placed "in between" the story of the healing of Jairus' daughter (the ruler of the synagogue is identified as Jairus in the Gospels of St. Mark and St. Luke).  It's interesting to juxtapose the stories of the woman and the girl.  Here we're told that the woman's flow of blood had lasted for twelve years.  Again, in the other Synoptic Gospels, we're told that the girl is twelve years old.  So there are some interesting contrasts and comparisons in this story.  The woman, an outcast because of her illness, comes to Jesus in secret and yet with great faith.  Contrast her actions with the ruler of the synagogue, who boldly comes to Jesus himself and tells Him that his daughter has just died, and asks for Christ's touch to heal her.  The woman with the blood flow has such great faith that her healing is effected through the touching of Christ's hem.  In the ruler's household, Jesus is ridiculed for saying that the child is not dead, but sleeping.  (The flute players and the noisy crowd wailing are mourning her.)  But of course, we notice that Christ's healing happens in both circumstances by touch:  in the first, she touched the hem of His garment; in the second He took her by the hand.  Perhaps the pattern in this story is suggesting to us that there is no "right" way that Christ can heal, no right person Christ can heal.  In some sense, we can say that everything in one story is inversed in the other, for Christ inhabits all dimensions. There is nothing and no place where He is not.  There is nothing in creation that is separate from His rule (John 3:31-36).  And His rule is supreme:  He is the Giver of the Law, and His mercy declares healing and love and responds to faith.  This reminds us of the righteousness of Abraham, accounted to him by his faith (Genesis 15:6,Romans 4:1-22, Galatians 3:6-9, Hebrews 11:8-10, Hebrews 11:17-19).   This woman comes to Christ in great faith.  In the other stories of the Synoptic Gospels, Jairus must be encouraged by Christ to have faith, and we see in today's reading that Jesus must put the people out of the house who ridicule.  In the Jewish culture of the time, public relations between men and women could make touch scandalous, but here in both cases, touch is the means by which God's healing comes.  

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.  Here Jesus returns to the "home country" of His ministry, having returned from the country of the Gadarenes (see yesterday's reading, above).   After healing a man oppressed by a legion of demons there in that country across the Sea of Galilee, the people there begged Him to leave them.  Here He returns to crowds who welcomed Him, as they were all waiting for Him.  Among them also is a ruler of the synagogue in Capernaum, Jairus, who seeks Jesus out as his young daughter is dying. 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 Jesus is of one essence with the Father, He has this authority (John 5:21).  

 

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 comments here that for the Jews, contact with blood caused defilement and led to religious and social isolation (Leviticus 15:19-27).  This woman displays bold faith as she approaches both Christ and also Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, in a crowd, thereby 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."  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 notes that Christ's question, "Who touched Me?" does not simply mean a physical touch, but rather, "Who touched me in faith?"  It comments that, just as "the temple sanctifies the gold" (Matthew 23:17), so also matter is sanctified by Christ's Incarnation; the power of Christ works even through His garment.  To touch Christ's garment in faith, therefore, is to touch Him.  In the Church, my study Bible says, we touch Christ through icons, oil, water, bread wine, etc.  When this is done in faith, the power of Christ is received.  Jesus calls this woman forward to take away her fear and trembling, to bring her good cheer because of her faith, to correct her thinking that she could hide her touch from Him, to dispel the idea that she is excluded from Him due to her illness -- and also to exhibit her faith to all, so they might imitate her.

 

 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 hi, 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.  Note the trouble that Jesus takes to shore up faith.  First, He has made an example of the woman healed because of her faith, which would strengthen Jairus for the news of his daughter's death.  Second, He tells Jairus, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well."  Then He permitted no one to come in to the house except His three closest disciples (those strongest in faith), Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl.  All those who weep and mourn and ridicule Him for saying that she is not dead, but sleeping, He puts outside.  It's only after all of this that He takes the girl by her hand, and tells her, "Little girl, arise."   

 

There are interesting parallels between this little girl and the older woman with the blood flow.  The girl is inside the house, and needs even to be further separated from the "crowds" and company all around her in order to strengthen the faith of her parents enough so that Jesus can truly heal her.  The woman with the blood flow wades through the crowds who throng Jesus so that He has no idea who touched Him, but in secret she reaches for His hem through that crowd, and He feels His healing power go from Him, due to her faith.  "Your faith has made you well," Jesus tells her.  The girl is twelve years old, and the woman has had a blood flow for twelve years.  The woman is presumably past the point of childbearing, and has spent all her livelihood on physicians to no avail; Jairus' daughter is just on the cusp of maturity and eligibility for marriage and her future.  But both stories share in common a kind of protective bubble of faith around the recipients of Christ's healing, old and young woman alike.  The secret and hidden nature Christ requires for the girl's healing (to protect her from the ridiculing and wailing crowds) is in a sense similar to this woman anonymously coming through the crowd to touch Jesus.  Had she consulted others -- particularly a whole crowd or community -- about approaching Jesus they would have been appalled at the suggestion; she could theoretically "pollute" all of them with her blood flow.  So, in both cases, secrecy and privacy, used to empower and protect faith from those who would tear it down, become important tools to reach God, and to reach the healing of God.  One thinks of the privacy of a confessional (or for that matter the confidentiality of a doctor's office or other professional), necessary for a therapeutic approach for people with problems.  Solitude for prayer is often a must, for it is in solitude we find those voices and ridiculing crowds cannot reach us as easily as otherwise.  It is often that we need time alone with God, or to restrict our spiritual surroundings to those that shore up faith in order to find the place where our prayers are effective, where God can be reached and we are healed.  We seek a little solace in a crowd with silent prayer, or perhaps the comfort of a church pew surrounded by those who come to worship in a liturgy.  We might light a candle before an icon, or take the time before bed to sit in prayer.  All of these things are ways in which the power of our prayer reaches in to help us heal, to know that we talk with God and are heard, to be soothed and comforted -- with the jostling, ridiculing, carping crowds far away.  Let us cherish that privacy and put it to go use, for so our Lord does also.  Faith is not found in great clamorous groups and excited crowds, otherwise Christ's miracles would have abounded upon demand by those who didn't believe.  Let us take this to heart, and remember the woman with the gumption to reach through the crowd in secret, the little girl whose parents needed to be separate from friends and crowds to help heal her, and mostly the Man who praises and preserves and protects our faith. 

 

 

Do not be afraid; only believe

 

 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 sailing through a fierce storm, 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 so 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 in 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.  My study Bible comments here that authority over life and death is in the hand of God alone (Deuteronomy 32:39; 1 Samuel 2:6).  As Jesus is of one essence with the Father, He has this authority (John 5:21).  

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."   Here, Christ's power to cleanse and to heal is demonstrated.   In the Old Testament, my study Bible says, hemorrhage caused ceremonial defilement, which imposed religious and social restrictions, as contact with blood was strictly forbidden (Leviticus 15:25).  This woman was suffering from a flow of blood for twelve years, even suffering many things from many physicians, and finding no relief.  She accounts herself unclean but nonetheless approaches Jesus secretly and with great faith.  My study Bible notes that there is also a spiritual interpretation to this encounter in patristic commentary, which sees this woman as representing human nature in general.  We are in constant suffering and we are subject to death, which is symbolized by the flow of blood.  Those physicians who could not cure the woman stand for the various religions of the world, as well as the Old Testament Law, which were unable to grant life to humanity.  Only through

 Christ we're freed from suffering and bondage to sin.  In this double sense, her faith has made her well, and she may go in peace, reconciled to God, and healed of her 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.  Here is another story of the power of faith.  For we must note how those who are permitted to follow Jesus are only His "inner circle" of Peter, James, and John his brother.  That is, the disciples with the strongest faith.  Jesus defies the consensus, who ridicule Him for saying the child is not dead, but sleeping.  The weeping and loud wailing of this group of people is their mourning for her death.  Jesus puts all outside, and takes only the father and mother to the child with Peter, and James and John Zebedee.  He takes the little girl's hand, and tells her to arise, healing by touch and by command of His voice.  Note that she is twelve years old, at the beginning of life, the same number of years that the woman in our story was suffering from a continuous flow of blood.  Note that the child immediately resumes a normal life; she arose and walked, and Christ commands that she be given something to eat. 

We don't know exactly what caused this woman's twelve year flow of blood.  For that matter, neither do we know from what affliction Jairus' daughter was suffering.  There are many things that can cause the blood flow, such as a deep and unresolved infection, for example, or perhaps a particular uterine condition; and of course children may suffer from a whole host of ailments.  But in both cases, as my study Bible notes, the flow of blood is a vivid symbol of loss of life, loss of vitality and energy and human spirit.  So it is also with a dying child.  Who is not moved by loss of life at such a young age?  At any rate, both conditions teach us not only of suffering, but of a loss and outflow of life force, a dissipation of what would otherwise be healthy human life.  Viewed from this angle, Christ's intervention in both the woman and the child's life is one that is powerfully life-giving.  As my study Bible indicates, these stories tell us that it is only He who can restore this life, who has the power to give life.  So, healing in this sense in which the divine Christ offers us life, is a healing that doesn't simply restore to health, but rather a condition in which life itself is given to those with faith.  On the one hand, great faith is shown by the woman who even braves a fear of this crowd turning upon her when they discover her condition, and on the other we have the parents of the girl, buoyed only by Christ and then also by the disciples whom He calls to accompany Him.  In the woman's case, she has such faith that she believes that by touching His clothes, she might be made well.  Such was already the image and stature of Christ, and this is affirmed by the power that had gone out of Him in response to that faith.  And certainly it is only Christ who could defy the ridiculing crowd at the home of Jairus, and persuade the parents to follow Him in faith, and not to fear.  Both the woman's longterm blood flow, which has been treated by many physicians (the treatment itself causing further suffering), and this child's death which is so certain in the eyes of the crowd that wails and mourns and ridicules Christ, also suggest to us a level of despair that is present in each case.  Anyone who has suffered together with parents who agonize over a child's dissipating condition, or has struggled with similar problems in adulthood, knows the struggle with faith and hope, and what a difference faith can make under such conditions, even to persist in seeking healing.  This is a story, in short, in today's reading, of the struggle for human life, and the things we ultimately struggle against.  That is, those influences that would seek to take away from us the power of faith and the power of life within us.  Such a very physical story might also serve to remind us, ironically, of St. Paul's words, that "we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12).  For while we can struggle against the ironies, difficulties, and uncertainties of human health and medicine, we also struggle against those products of "darkness" that rob us of hope, of faith, and of life itself on so many levels, so that we are robbed of our capacity to try, and to persist., and to endure.  Let us consider these stories, hopeless as they must have seemed to those who lived them, and how they teach us about endurance, and faith, and about fear.  For each faced fear, and struggled to meet fear with faith.  Let us do all we can to shore up our strength for that particular battle as well, when we focus on the things that dissipate our life in any way -- and remember the power of Christ's faith for us.  Let us believe in His word.

 

Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well

 

 While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped Him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live."  So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His disciples.  And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment.  For she said to herself, "If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well."  But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, "Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well."  And the woman was made well from that hour.  When Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing, He said to them, "Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him.  But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose.

 

- Matthew 9:18-26 

 

Yesterday we read that, passing on from healing a paralytic, Jesus saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office.  And He said to him, "Follow Me."  So he arose and followed Him.  Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples.  And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, "Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"  When Jesus heard that, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  But go and learn what this means:  'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.'  For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."  Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?"  And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?  But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.  No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse.  Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined.  But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."  

 

  While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped Him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live."  So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His disciples.  And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment.  For she said to herself, "If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well."  But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, "Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well."  And the woman was made well from that hour.  When Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing, He said to them, "Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him.  But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose.  My study Bible comments here that authority over life and death is in the hand of God alone (Deuteronomy 32:39; 1 Samuel 2:6).  As Christ is of one essence with the Father, He has this authority (John 5:21).  The healing of the woman with the blood flow is an expression of Christ's power to cleanse and to heal (see Matthew 8:1-4).  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).  Even though this woman, having suffered so long, accounts herself as unclean, she nonetheless approaches Jesus secretly and with great faith.  Jesus brings her good cheer because of her faith, and also corrects her thinking.  She could neither hide her touch from Him, nor is she excluded from Him because of her illness.  Finally, He exhibits her faith to all, so that they might imitate her.  

What are we to make of this woman who has suffered so long (twelve years) with a flow of blood, a hemorrhage?  Twelve is a significant number in the Bible; there are twelve tribes of Israel, descended from the sons and grandsons of Jacob, also named Israel.  There are twelve disciples named by Jesus who will go on to found His Church and its bishops who descend from them.  Twelve is a type of building block of time, as there are twelve months to the year.  So this number of the years of her suffering defines her in a way, in this sense of her shame and uncleanness, and her lack of healing.  But encountering Christ does something entirely different for her than anything she has known.  In St. Luke's Gospel, she has "spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any" (Luke 8:43).  Everything she knows or understands has in some sense sentenced her to this life as one who is unclean and cannot be helped, her suffering and isolated status unalleviated by anything she knows.  But here is Jesus in Capernaum in the crowd, approached by Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, who seeks help for his daughter (in St. Luke's version, she is also twelve years old), and although the woman according to the law is unclean because of her flow of blood, nevertheless she approaches Christ with great faith.  What we notice is that her faith enabled her even to run the risk of being caught in this crowd, also forbidden to her in the law as she would have been excluded from community.  But let us observe that there is a sense in which Christ's healing power works seemingly despite Himself; He does not see this woman, but power goes out of Him to heal nonetheless in response to her faithful touch.  That faith of hers connects with Christ as Son, with the power of the divine to heal, and makes the connection.  Again, in St. Luke's Gospel, Jesus asks, "Who touched Me?"  (Luke 8:45).  Thus far in St. Matthew's Gospel we have had several occasions to ponder the Lord's ultimately healing aim in all things, whether we speak of the Law or the many teachings and healings of Jesus in the New Testament.  But here He affirms, and exhibits before the whole world, the faith that heals, that is here an essential component to healing.  We have had occasion to read of friends' faith helping to heal the paralytic, we have heard Christ referring to Himself as Physician (in yesterday's reading, above), we have seen His healing of two demon-possessed men among those without faith (see this reading), we have read of His healing of the Gentile centurion's servant, and the healing of a leper by touch (also forbidden in the Law).  All of this followed upon His teaching of the Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5 - 7 of St. Matthew's Gospel), showing us that in Christ there is a new birth, a renewal of all things, a New Covenant.  And all of this is true in His healing of this woman, no longer sentenced to her twelve-year identity as unclean, with an unremitting affliction casting her out of the society.  She is, instead, put on display by Christ for her exemplary faith, which He says has made her well.  Moreover, He proclaims her "daughter" in so doing.   In the Revelation, the Lord on the throne says, "Behold, I make all things new" (Revelation 21:5).  In the Greek, we should understand that it effectively means, "I am always making all things new."  And then He adds to St. John, "Write, for these words are true and faithful."  True and faithful; these must be the themes we seek and know for today, for they are exemplified in this woman's healing, in her transformation to one returned to community and healed, in her faith to which Jesus testifies to the whole community for all of us.  Let us remember that faith is trust, and where better shall we put that trust than in Him, the faithful and true?

Do not be afraid; only believe

 

 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 crossing 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.  Here Jesus has returned from what we might call the strange experience in the country of the Gadarenes, and returned back to His ministry's "home" territory in Capernaum.  Jairus is an important man, one of the rulers of the synagogue.   We note yet again that St. Mark tells us that a great multitude was gathered to Jesus by the sea.  This same "great multitude" follows Him and throngs Him as He goes toward Jairus' house.  

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."   My study Bible explains that the healing of this woman demonstrates Christ's power to cleanse and to heal.  In the Old Testament, hemorrhage caused ceremonial defilement, and imposed religious and social restrictions on a person, as contact with blood was strictly prohibited (Leviticus 15:25).  Yet, even so, in this midst of this thronging crowd, this woman who considers herself unclean nonetheless approach Jesus secretly and with great faith.  Jesus corrects her thinking here, as she could not hide her touch from Him, and neither is she excluded from Him because of her illness.  He positively declares her powerful faith and its results to all by saying, "Daughter, your faith has made you well.  Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction."   She is not only called a "daughter," but is sent with both a blessing (Go in peace) and 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.  Here  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 Jesus is of one essence with the Father, He has this authority (John 5:21).

After word comes that Jairus' daughter has died, Jesus tells him while they are still on the way to his home, "Do not be afraid; only believe."  These words remind us of Christ's words also to His disciples as they were sailing across the Sea of Galilee, and in the middle of a terrifying windstorm, "Why are you so fearful?  How is it that you have no faith?"  Once again, Jesus juxtaposes faith and fear, emphasizing the importance of giving faith the upper hand.  We should remember that the word in Greek for faith has as its root the word that means "trust."  This does not mean simply an intellectual decision to accept a certain proposition, but an all-in kind of choice to trust in someone; specifically, to trust in Christ and His words.  So often this choice to trust comes down to love.  We trust in God, or we trust in Christ, or we trust another human being, out of a sense that we trust they love us.  Regarding human beings, of course, this doesn't mean they are not fallible.  But when it comes to Christ, we trust at another level, and for greater things than other human beings can do for us.  Our choice to trust Christ may begin at perhaps a shallow level, but the depths of trust go to the foundational levels of who we are, a kind of disposition or orientation of the heart at levels we might not even consciously know or understand.  This is because our relationship or communion with Christ extends far beyond what we know of the world, even of our experiences, but into soul and spirit.  St. Paul writes, "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12).  If we look at her carefully, we'll see that this woman with the twelve years blood flow embodies Christ's words teaching us not to fear, but instead to believe.  For she must have had terrific fear as she approached Christ, not only in this very close and mingling crowd, but of the state of her uncleanness according to the Law.  And yet, she trusted Christ enough so that her great faith was possible; she seems to have been certain that if she could just touch His clothes, she would be made well.  We can also see at what deep levels this power of Christ works, for she did not have to make herself easily known to Him on conventional terms.  The power within Him made a kind of connection through her touch of faith, and He felt that power go out of Him in response to her.  By contrast there is the young girl, the daughter of Jairus, who is completely without a say in the matter of her healing.  She lies at home on the point of death, and so her father comes to find Jesus and to plead with Him for help.  Notice that this child's healing also depends upon faith in contrast to fear.  But in this case, it is the faith of the parents that make the difference.  In the face of discouragement from his servants, Jesus tells Jairus, ""Do not be afraid; only believe."  Faith is so essential to this little girl's healing that Jesus takes His closest disciples with Him into her room.  These are the three disciples whose faith in the strongest (James, John, and Peter) -- and notably, He puts out all those who ridiculed Him.  Effectively, the faith of these together was enough for the young woman to be healed, even for the power of life and death to be at work in Christ on her behalf.  Note how the work of faith, and also the power of Christ are unseen.  But somehow we see their effects; these are at work in a kind of field that remains invisible to us although we are invited to share and to participate in it and know its effects (John 3:8).  In our own times of struggle, let us remember the juxtaposition that Christ gives to the disciples, to the woman with the blood flow, to Jairus the ruler of the synagogue and father to the girl.  Faith or fear.   One asks us for trust in the One whom we know loves us; the other simply asks to undo hope.

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 Jesus and the disciples came to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, 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.   By this time in Mark's Gospel, we see the great fuss made over Jesus wherever He goes in His Galilean ministry headquarters:  the moment He arrives back from the other side of the Sea of Galilee, a great multitude greets Him.  At this stage, despite Jesus having already had a dispute with the Pharisees, one of the rulers of the synagogue now approaches Him, for the healing of his little daughter.  He expresses faith that Jesus can heal her and she will live, but we will observe Jesus' approach to that faith.  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 Christ is of one essence with the Father, He has this authority (John 5:21). 

 

 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."  My study Bible comments that the healing of this woman demonstrates Christ's power to cleanse and heal.  In the Old Testament, hemorrhage caused ceremonial defilement, which imposed religious and social restrictions, as contact with blood was strictly prohibited (Leviticus 15:25).  This suffering woman, who has accounted herself unclean, nonetheless approaches Jesus secretly and with great faith.  Similarly to Jairus, she is desperate for help.   We observe that Jesus blesses her with peace, as her faith has made her well.  Her thinking is corrected in that she could not hide her touch from Him, nor was she excluded from Him because of her illness.  Finally, my study Bible says, He exhibits her faith to all, that she might be imitated.  There is another note in which we are given to understand that there is also a patristic spiritual interpretation to this miracle.  In that spiritual understanding, this woman symbolizes human nature in general, as humanity is in constant suffering and subject to death, which is symbolized by the flow of blood.  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 human beings.  Only through Christ, it says, are we 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.  My study Bible notes that this is one of three resurrections which were performed by Christ as recorded in the Gospels; see also Luke 7:11-17; John 11:1-44. 

There are important ties which we can observe between these two stories in today's reading.  We might observe first the desperation of the father, Jairus, who is a ruler of the synagogue.  Although he holds an important position, his need for the healing of his daughter is extreme, as she is at the point of death.  Note how Christ becomes a focal point for authority and trust (faith) as Jairus faces the possible death of his daughter.  On the other hand, there is the woman who reaches in secret, in the midst of this jostling, thronging crowd, to simply touch Jesus' clothes.  Imagine her desperation, as we're told that she 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.  There is another parallel to be observed here, as Luke 8:42 tells us that Jairus' daughter was about twelve years of age.  The number twelve is clearly significant in the Bible in a number of cases, but what might it signify here?  Perhaps it has something to do with maturity and suffering, a kind of hallmark of experience as both the young woman and the old are at the limit of suffering and receive Christ's healing as an answer to desperation.  We might assume that the older woman's flow of blood is linked to childbearing, while the young woman is simply on the verge of her reproductive years.  Most importantly, the tie between these two intertwined stories is faith, and lessons about faith.  Although both represent exhausted and desperate cases, each one is about persistence and the importance of shoring up and maintaining faith.  Jesus ascribes the older woman's healing to her faith, for which she is rewarded not only with health but the praise of Christ, an astonishing blessing indeed.  As for the young girl, her parents, and her whole household, are taught a lesson in faith by Christ, as He puts out those who ridicule, and takes in only the parents and His disciples of greatest faith (Luke 8:51).  Here we also have a very useful contrast, as the faith and courage of the woman who's exhausted all of her savings and her search for doctors is hers alone -- but Jairus' daughter is saved by the courage and faith of her father and mother, Christ's closest disciples, and the intervention of Christ Himself to separate them from the scoffers and those who ridiculed.  It's an important distinction, because each "works" to bring about healing, but each teaches us about the varied possibilities of the ways that faith can work, even through friends and loved ones and strangers.  And in each case, we might consider the force of faith as a sort of network.  The woman's faith draws power from Christ, so that He understands it but not where it went or who touched Him.  Jesus deliberately creates a circle of faithful, concerned people around Jairus' daughter which suggests a circuit or network through which faith is effectively powerful (and powerful enough to reject the unbelievers' ridicule).  These are all ways in which we can look at today's reading and its central message about faith.  Let us take most heart in Christ's praise for courage and persistence through both.  We are not to lose heart when a struggle becomes difficult, but to persist in our faithful efforts nonetheless, using all means at our disposal to strengthen that faith, even putting aside those who challenge and hinder our chosen faith, and therefore its peace and its joy.  Finally, Jesus calls the older woman "daughter," while it's clear that Jairus' daughter is indeed a "daughter."  We have in His words Christ's loving care, like words of protection for His children.  We note how faith works together with His compassion, and in this we are His family indeed.