The WORD in other words (2019) by Fr Nico Espinosa SVD – Rome, Italy
Tuesday 4th Week in Ordinary Time
Today‘s Gospel presents two miracles of Jesus that tell us about the experience of faith of two very different people: Jairus and a sick woman. Their stories make us perceive Jesus as the loving and compassionate God who sets his eyes on those who suffer exclusion in society. Jairus is rejected by Jesus followers for being the head of the Synagogue and the sick woman for being a woman and for being sick.
The first key word for understanding Jesus‘ encounter with Jairus and the sick woman is touching. Jairus asks Jesus to touch his child with his hands. The hemorrhaging woman seeks to touch Jesus. Touching symbolizes the loving and committed closeness of God to the outcast, the excluded and the rejected. He sends a message that God cares for them and loves them and that they are not alone.
Risking is the second key word in today‘s gospel. Faith in Jesus demands taking risks on our part. The head of the synagogue risks his future, because he might appear as a traitor to his group that opposes Jesus. The sick woman risks to be lapidated for touching a man and for contaminating him with her impurity. However, on both situations Jesus imposes himself as a giver of life.
We must follow the example of Jairus and the sick woman who seek to touch Jesus, that is, they seek to let themselves be touched by the love and mercy of God. To achieve this, and following their example, we must be willing to put to test our faith, that is, to risk everything to experience the love and mercy of God in our lives.
