My friends, as we continue on in Ordinary Time, a good place it seems to start today is with the Wisdom writer who said, in the 1st reading that, [we] “are modeled [each of us] on the divine.” That seems to go along well with the writer, whose name I am forgetting, who said, “We are spiritual people here, having a human experience.”
The idea that we “are modeled after the divine” is not just a “static” fact, but one that comes with a responsibility to strive to be our best. The Wisdom writer goes on to say that “God created all things to be alive —[everything] is meant to be wholesome,” and additionally that, “justice lasts forever.”
Now, if it is true that, “justice lasts forever,” and that our brother Jesus, came to “show us the way,” it would seem that part of our responsibility as his followers would be to have an awareness of the times and places where “justice isn’t equally given out in the lives of others, and this, by the way, includes ourselves! Sometimes in our zeal to help others live a better life, we forget about ourselves. This is often the case in the lives of many women who tend for the most part to be the givers/helpers in society, not often remembering themselves.
Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians in the 2nd reading today, speaks about what really needs to be a “balancing” act in our lives. He quotes Scripture saying, “the one who gathered much had no excess, and the one who gathered little did not go short.” In perhaps more simple language we could say, “at present, I have a surplus, and I need to, as a follower of Jesus, view that against another’s present need” –one day the surplus may belong to another, and I may be in need, with the hope that others will share with me!
Earlier, I spoke of women not always remembering to include themselves in the equation of “giving to others.” Jesus, in today’s Gospel selection from Mark addresses this issue through the lives of two females. It’s important from the get-go that we be aware that neither Jairus’ daughter, nor the woman with the unusual blood flow are named—the same is often true in other stories where children of either sex are spoken of—neither women, girls or boys had any standing in the culture in which Jesus lived and ministered, so why name them was probably the thought.
Next, let’s look at how Jesus handles each situation: In a general way, wherever he finds injustice, his natural response seems to be, “to heal” –to bring understanding, compassion, and love.
In the case of the little, unnamed girl, Jesus hears with compassion the pain of her father, as he asks Jesus to heal her. Jesus, I believe, is also trying to address our human tendency, to see the “glass half-empty” as opposed to “half-full.” When the attendant arrives to say that “the little girl has died,” Jesus counters this with, “she is only sleeping.”
On one level—the surface that is, the child is dead, but Jesus wants to strengthen their faith—to see what may be beyond their human eyes.
In the second story of the woman with the unusual blood flow, he is again working at addressing and strengthening the peoples’ faith. The woman with the physical condition already believes in something she can’t explain—”if I can only touch him,” I will be healed, and she believes in the miracle the moment it happens!
Additionally, I believe Jesus is trying to uplift the injustice that women face in his society by the mere fact of how they happened to have been born, and as such, he cares for, touches and heals females who suffer not only physically, but emotionally, and spiritually by the lack of equal justice in their world that doesn’t even name them! These are acts he wouldn’t have to do in his society, but then we know that he is always about, “doing something new!”
Edward Foley, Capuchin friar, is well-known in his book, From Age to Age: How Christians Have Celebrated the Eucharist for addressing Jesus’ desire that all would be treated equally, especially when speaking of who was welcomed in the temple. As we know, women and children were relegated to a separate section apart from the men, and women experiencing any blood flow weren’t allowed at all along with anyone having any type of illness. Jesus, Foley says, “took the meal to the hillside where everyone was welcome!”
We can hardly miss the connection today to the hierarchical rules and regulations about who can present to receive the Eucharist. It must be remembered that the invitation to receive the Eucharist does not ultimately come from the clergy, but from God, thus it is not the responsibility of humans to decide who is worthy or acceptable! That is why we women priests hold up the bread before it is received by all and say, “This is the Body of Christ, how blessed are we who are called to this table!” instead of, in the traditional Church we hear, “O Lord I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I will be healed!” The difference in the two statements seems to be that, in the 1st, we receive with “gratitude,” rather than in the 2nd, our stance is more about “shame.”
In conclusion friends, I would direct us back to the Wisdom writer in the 1st reading who said so well that, “God created all things to be alive…wholesome,” and that each, could, should experience, justice. Jesus often addressed “fear” in his ministry, saying, “Don’t be afraid, just trust, and believe.” Our brother Jesus wants us to live and work in our world in like fashion, dispelling fear and shame, uplifting justice for all—touching and healing our world as he did his. Jesus’ primary mission in our world was to make clear that his, and our “God’s goodness,” is as the psalmist says today, “for a lifetime.” Our mission, like his, in our world, can be no less—or as Anglican Bishop John Shelby Spong is fond of saying, “over-the-top-love” for all, to the best of our ability. Amen? Amen!
All Are One Church 