Homily

"God does not delight in the death of the living. For he created all things so that they might" (Wis 1:13-14). These words taken from the book of Wisdom help us read the long Gospel passage proposed to us on the thirteenth Sunday of ordinary time. In them God’s will for creation appears clearly, "God did not make death ... for God created us for incorruption, and made us in the image of his own eternity, but through the devil’s envy death entered the world." Consequently, ever since death entered into human affairs, it has been in God’s very "nature" to fight against death so that life, goodness, and happiness would prevail. Jesus’ work is nothing other than carrying out God’s will in this. And this can be seen on every page of the Gospel.
The scene that Mark presents to us is a rather common one in Jesus’ public life: a crowd of needy people gather around him seeking healing and comfort. Even one of the leading men of the synagogue of Capernaum makes his way through the crowd, approaches Jesus, and implores him, "My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live." Jairus - perhaps Mark calls him by name because he was still well-known in the community - almost certainly knew Jesus because of his attendance at the synagogue. He had come to appreciate his piety, his profundity of spirit, his goodness, and his extraordinary mercy. Finding himself totally desperate and not knowing to whom else to go, Jairus comes to Jesus. Perhaps he thought to himself, "all this man of God has to do is lay his hands on my daughter, and she will be healed." In front of the powerlessness of men and women, the Lord is the only hope. In this we are very close to the leader of the synagogue. In his desperation this man - one of the most powerful in Capernaum - strips himself of the pride of being a leader, the arrogance of power, and the security of social dignity. He kneels down and is not ashamed of asking for help. His words are not a long speech but a prayer that is both simple and dramatic. Jesus does not waste any time and "goes with him" immediately.
The singular episode of the healing of the woman with a haemorrhage occurs along the way. The evangelist seems to be emphasizing the fact that the Lord’s mercy is overabundant; it is poured out on all those who try to make contact with Jesus. When the Lord walks among men and women it is never without effect. A woman is desperate because she has been affected by a haemorrhage for twelve years and her doctors have been unable to help her. She thinks the only one who can help her is Jesus. Perhaps she is timid; she does not want to draw attention to herself and certainly does not want to bother anyone. She has so much faith in the young, good prophet that she believes she can be healed just by touching the hem of his cloak. It is a simple faith that expresses itself in an even simpler gesture. She makes her way through the crowd and manages to touch the hem of his cloak. It is not difficult to imagine her trepidation while she stretches her hand to touch not his body or even his clothes, but the hem of his cloak What a lesson for us, who often receive the very body of Christ out of habit and with far too much carelessness.
The woman thought she could do everything in secret. And in effect no one noticed her, just as no one had cared very much about her sickness. But it is not so for Jesus, who, "immediately aware that power had gone forth from him," turns to the disciples and asks them who had touched him. With their usual obtuse reasonableness, the disciples point out the absurdity of his question, "You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, ‘Who touched me?" Jesus looks around to see who touched him. Contact with Jesus is never anonymous; no sheep is identical to the others or nameless. It is necessary to look, to listen, and to talk. The woman responds to Jesus’ gaze, looks into the young prophet’s eyes, and throws herself at his feet. And Jesus responds, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease." At that moment the flow of blood is stopped; she is healed. "Your faith has made you well!" Jesus says, not "I have made you well." The Gospel suggests that it is the woman’s faith that does the healing more than Jesus’ power. This means that miracles happen when there is a personal relationship with Jesus, a bond of trust and total abandonment in him. We are not, in fact, in the realm of magic or esoteric practices, but in the realm of bonds of friendship and affection. Faith means trusting.
This is also what happens when the daughter of the leader of the synagogue is healed. As news of the girl’s death spreads, everyone loses all hope that she might be healed and Jairus is told not to disturb the teacher from Nazareth anymore. Perhaps Jairus was about to give into resignation. Galileans are much more familiar with their own powerlessness than with God’s great mercy. But Jesus has already answered the prayers of the leader of the synagogue, and he urges him not to lose hope. One could say that Jesus answers Jairus’ prayers beyond his expectations; Jairus wanted his daughter to be healed from her illness, but Jesus raises her from the dead. This is always what happens when a prayer is made with faith. Jesus says to the desperate man, "Do not fear, only believe." Having arrived at Jairus’ house and surrounded by the weeping and shouting of the crowd, Jesus tells Jairus to calm himself because "the child is not dead but sleeping." As often happens when the Gospel goes beyond our sensible, logical reasoning, everyone begins to mock and make fun of Jesus. But he sends them all away and enters into the house with the most intimate part of the family.
In biblical language, death is understood as falling asleep in anticipation of being woken up. The dead therefore lie as if asleep and wait for the voice of the Lord himself. And so Jesus stands in front of the girl. And he, the Word of the Father, is the one who calls her, "little girl, get up!" He takes her by the hand and helps her stand." It is written, "though [the just] stumble, they shall not fall headlong, for the Lord holds them by the hand" (Ps 37:24). "Immediately," the evangelist notes, "the girl got up and began to walk about." She has come back to life. Death is no longer invincible. God’s mercy is stronger. And it is on this mercy that we build our lives, like the wise man who builds his house on the rock.