Homily Thirteenth
Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B: Fr. Michael Ufok Udoekpo
- Wis 1:13-15;2:23-34;
- Ps30:2,4,5-6,11-13;
- 2 Cor 8:7,9,13-15;
- Mark 5:21-43
Lord, Our Rescuer and Giver of Life
In the
responsorial Psalm of today, “I will praise you, Lord, for you are have rescued
me” (Ps 30.2a) lies the historical essence of our relationship with God. In
history, and as presented in today's scriptures, God remains our savior, our
rescuer, our healer, the giver of life, who deserves our praise.
In the Gospel
of Mark, today, God’s Son, Jesus not only ministers his Father's kingdom- values to the multitude (oxlos),
in the neighborhood of the sea of Galilee, but he rescues many people from
illnesses, including Jairius 12 years old daughter, and the woman who was
afflicted with hemorrhages for a complete 12 years. To the 12 year girls, the
dying daughter of the synagogue official, he said to her, “Talitha koum,”
meaning “little girl, I say to you arise!” She arose to the amazement of the
on-lookers, and walked. To the woman afflicted for 12 years with hemorrhage, he
said, “daughter your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your
affliction. In each of these healing episodes in Marks Gospel faith is involved
in the part of those rescued from death to life and from illnesses to
wholeness.
By faith, we
mean “assurance of things hope for, and the conviction of things not seen” (Heb
11:1); faith that with God everything is possible—the progress we need to make
in life is possible, the gift of life and good health is possible.
This is why we are been assured in the 1st
reading, the Book of Wisdom that our “God did not make death, nor does he
rejoice in the destruction of the living. For he fashioned all things that they
might have being, and the creature of the world are wholesome.”
Saint Paul also
attested to this graciousness of God in the 2nd reading, that,
though Christ was rich, for our sake he become poor, so that by his
poverty we might become rich (2 Cor 8:7, 8, 9,13-15). He went to the cross
that we might have life; that we might be healed like woman and synagogue’s
official daughter of today’s gospel.
No doubt there
are moments today that we find ourselves in the situation of this synagogue official
and the woman of today’s Gospel. Sicknesses as we all know are not limited to
the materially poor. Children and relatives of the synagogue, church and
government officials do fall sick. Even though, some can afford to take their
relatives to expensive and specialist hospital, here and there, faith must be
part of this process. Do we realize that
there are illnesses that money, positions and the best hospitals in the world
may not necessarily be able to cure? Even
in the medical treatment we receive we must in faith, as believers see God touching
us through them- the doctors, and nurses. Do we have faith? What challenges our
faith? What are the enemies of faith?
The synagogue official of today’s gospel
seemed to be aware of this fact. I want to believe, the more reason he
came to Jesus for the healing of his 12 years old daughter. Interestingly, the
other woman, for good twelve symbolic years, perhaps may have travelled
everywhere, seeking for healing but found none but, until she touched Jesus’s cloak with
faith, as we saw in today’s gospel
In our
today’s desperate moments of loneliness, wars and threats of wars,
terrorism, and threats of terrorism , gun violent and threats of gun violent,
poverty, oppression, injustices, illnesses, and loss of a loved ones, may we
imitate with gratitude to God, the synagogue official, Jairius and the sick woman of today’s
Bible readings. We have other models of faith including those listed in the Letter to the Hebrews
11----- such as, Abel, Enoch, Abraham, Sarah, Moses, some of the Judges, the Prophets
Kings, as well as our mother, Mary. They
found healing and their wholeness in God.
Also when we
find our healing, life and wholeness in Christ may we in the spirit of Christ’s
generosity, as preached by Saint Paul in Corinth(2 Cor 8:7, 8, 9,13-15), be
willing to share the love, the wholeness and the life-given Christ with our
neighbors, especially the poor and the immigrants of our communities.
Reflection
Questions:
- Do we see Christ as our healer, rescuer and source of wholeness?
- How often do we share God’s healing generosity and wholeness with members of our faith community?
- In the spirit of today’s readings who is your faith model, the synagogue official or the woman who suffered hemorrhage for 12 years?
