July 1, 2018

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time B Wisdom 1: 13-15; 2: 23-24; 2 Corinthians 8: 7, 9, 13-15; Mark 5: 21-43 Today’s reading helps each one of us who have the courage to be honest with ourselves to ask point blank ‘God questions’? Am I important to God? Do I feel that God cares about me? Do I feel that God plays favorites? When I was growing up it seemed that many times my other siblings were ‘more important’ because they received some honor, or some accomplishment, or made some team or got their name in the paper? I felt left out. That is not a foreign feeling…do I feel left out by God? Is He concerned with the important people which certainly leaves ‘little old me’ out in the cold? How has the lack of self worth or self accomplishment come into my relationship with God? Do I feel that I am being punished for not being ‘at the top of the class’ or being too ‘slow’ or being a dud in the ‘tech’ world? Do these ‘failures’ made me feel that I can no way compare to the ‘accomplished’ people in my life? Why does it seem that ‘bad things happen to good people’ and I seem to be on the losing end? So many negatives…Yet often we think in negatives and we live on the negative side of things. We live in the ‘poor me’ syndrome. We end up on the ‘fear’ side of things. One of my favorite passages helping me in my understanding of God’s love is from John’s first letter, chapter 4: 7 - 12 “Beloved let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent His only Son into the world so that we might have life through Him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and His love is brought to perfection in us.” It is obvious that the ‘devil within us’ is trying to set our lives in negatives so that we cannot see that we are loved. And we even add: and it’s all my fault. Today’s first reading from the Book of Wisdom is an interesting rereading on the creation story of Genesis 1-3. The author of Wisdom tells us that wisdom is living in right relationship with God. The very first line challenges us to love ‘righteousness’ and to think of the Lord. Its author, believed to be King Solomon, contrasts the advantages of serving God with the disadvantages experienced by those who resist serving God, which the author calls ‘folly’. In Genesis 3, the serpent, man and woman are describes as all at fault for disobeying God. Wisdom places the blame on the devil. Today’s passage starts out, “God did not make death, nor does He rejoice in the destruction of the living.” So if neither death or suffering are God’s intent, both must be derived through the devil. Wisdom, King Solomon, is responding to this age old question as to why the wicked prosper and the good suffer. He introduces the concept of heaven, the after life ,which is where the just, the honest, the loving will receive their eternal reward because …”justice is undying. For God formed man to be imperishable; the image of His own nature He made him.” God’s purpose in creation is for every person to live forever in His divine presence. What destroys a person’s relationship is when people replace God with some created thing. The devil definitely wants to lead me down this path and he does it so effectively by the ‘poor me syndrome’…I’m just not good enough for God. John continues a few verses with these words. “God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. In this is love brought to perfection among us, that we have confidence on the day of judgment because as He is, so are we in this world. “There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love. We love because He first loved us.” The most extraordinary gospel story Mark gives us today has so much to reflect on. Women were not honored, respected or even ‘looked on as people’. Here an anonymous woman approached Jesus. She was not turned away even by all Jewish custom and religious precepts she could have been. She was at her lowest. No one would fault a rabbi for refusing contact with an ‘unclean’ woman. Look what Jesus does: this woman is important…you are, I am…Jesus is on His way to heal the daughter of a ‘leader of the synagogue’ who probably was not a spiritual figure. He gets right down on his knees and begs Jesus to help. Now the crowd became sympathetically disposed toward this important man in the community. He begs for help for his little girl…another totally insignificant person. BUT Jesus continues with the woman, affirming God’s love for her no matter how she felt about herself. There is no indication in this account that Jesus is annoyed when she delays His going for an important man in the community. Yet in spite of her ‘fear and trembling’, she twice comes up to Jesus. “Daughter your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.” “Daughter”…she wasn’t a nobody, Jesus is identifying her as a daughter of Abraham and a member of Jesus’ new family. We only have to look back to Mark 3: 34-35, “And looking around at those seated in the circle. He said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” Then Jesus continued on to Jairus’ house and ignores the report that the girl has died. “Do not be afraid, just have faith.” Mark doesn’t tell us what happens to the crowd that followed Jesus, these ‘professional mourners’. Two beautiful stories showing God’s care, His mercy, His love. The answer to my opening questions is the focal point of the gospel, another question: ‘How deep is my faith?’ This hemorrhaging woman has spent time and money on failed remedies. Her faith in this ‘miracle man’, maybe her last hope stirred her on. Actually it was the grace of the Holy Spirit filling her with courage, hope and faith. This synagogue official was humbled and brought to his knees, his faith and love for his daughter…the Holy Spirit did this too. Sunday Homily Helps concludes: “The Gospels, particularly the Gospel of Mark, were written to bring the good news of the power of Christ to people suffering persecution and even death for their faith. Sometimes we need to look hard to see this good news in our own lives. Bur if we search in good faith, we will discover God’s healing touch perhaps where we least expect it—and often in spirit of ourselves.” So I reflect on: • How has healthy touch made a difference in my life? • When has Jesus touched me in concrete ways? How? • What do I need to ask the Lord to heal in me? Am I afraid to do this? Why • In what situations is the Lord asking me to have faith? • What promises do these readings hold for me? Sacred Space 2018 states: “Here we find situations where human solutions fail. “She is at the point of death’…’She grew worse’…She is dead.’ But Jesus confronts human hopelessness. The needs of the sick and the faith of those concerned evoke a compassionate response from Him. He is tender to the two women. He calls one ‘Daughter’ and the other, ‘Little girl’ (literally ‘Little lamb.’) In my need, I too can turn to Him and find healing. That healing will focus on my heart: my negativity, bad moods, hurtful responses, and hardness. He is always trying to help me grow in love. Then I can in turn become a tender and healing presence to those around me.