Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according Saint Mark 5, 21-43

When Jesus had crossed again in the boat
to the other side,
a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea.
One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward.
Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying,
“My daughter is at the point of death.
Please, come lay your hands on her
that she may get well and live.”
He went off with him
and a large crowd followed him.

There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years.
She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors
and had spent all that she had.
Yet she was not helped but only grew worse.
She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd
and touched his cloak.
She said, “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.”
Immediately her flow of blood dried up.
She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.
Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him,
turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who has touched my clothes?”
But his disciples said to him,
“You see how the crowd is pressing upon you,
and yet you ask, Who touched me?”
And he looked around to see who had done it.
The woman, realizing what had happened to her,
approached in fear and trembling.
She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth.
He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you.
Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.”

While he was still speaking,
people from the synagogue official’s house arrived and said,
“Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?”
Disregarding the message that was reported,
Jesus said to the synagogue official,
“Do not be afraid; just have faith.”
He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside
except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.
When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official,
he caught sight of a commotion,
people weeping and wailing loudly.
So he went in and said to them,
“Why this commotion and weeping?
The child is not dead but asleep.”
And they ridiculed him.
Then he put them all out.
He took along the child’s father and mother
and those who were with him
and entered the room where the child was.
He took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum,”
which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise!”
The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around.
At that they were utterly astounded.
He gave strict orders that no one should know this
and said that she should be given something to eat.

Touching Jesus

1) Jairus. He is a man of faith; he comes to Jesus out of desperation, praying for his daughter to be healed. He comes to Jesus because he is looking for the divine in the face of the limits of what is human and medical. It makes me think of so many parents who make promises so that their children might be healed. I think of those ‘Jairus’ who are sitting in a hospital chair waiting for their child to get better or asking for the miracle of an organ donor to give hope to a family member. Those ‘Jairus’ who seek Jesus because they have resorted to whatever was possible and now go before the Lord, because there is nothing impossible for Him.

2) The woman. St. Augustine presents a beautiful commentary on this Gospel, saying “the people press him, the woman touches him”. She seeks to touch the Lord; her faith leads her to move and seek him. The crowd is close to the Lord but does not make contact with Him, but she does, she touches him, and Jesus heals her and draws her out of her impurity and her pain. There is a turning point for those who come into contact with him. It changes their life. Jesus not only heals you but restores your dignity so that you can walk with your head held high, remembering that you are worthy.

3) The little girl. We see how people demoralize her dad. Many times, those around us pull us down and discourage us, they spread bad omens. But those who have faith know that there is nothing impossible for God! If you have faith you know that with Jesus you can get through the daily struggles of life because God will touch your heart and give you hope. The little girl receives the order to get up. And today Jesus comes into your life and into mine and tells us to get up. Come on! Let’s not live with a “dead expression” on our face because we are more alive than ever and those who live, strive and those who strive, love and those who love, give themselves to others . God brings you back to life! God can turn your difficult situation around! Have faith! Have hope! With Christ, all things are possible.Remember that something good is on the way! God bless you and be with you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.