XIII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY
TIME – CYCLE B – 2015
·
We continue with
the theme of trust, trust in the healing power of Jesus, power even over death.
FIRST READING – Wis 1:13-15. 2,23-24
THE BOOK OF WISDOM
v The book of Wisdom belongs to the group of
Wisdom books.
v It is neither found in the canon of the Hebrew
Bible nor in the protestant. These books which are not included in the Hebrew
Bible are called Deuterocanonical, or belonging to the second list
v The original title of the book is Book of
Solomon Wisdom. The Wisdom books were attributed to Solomon because he had been
a wise king, but they were written long time after him.
v The author joins
in his book the Greek culture and the
Semite.
v This book is in reality about politics, it
develops the theme of justice in the government.
v We find in this book also the theme of
immortality of the human being, theme which is not found in the other wisdom
books.
Let us see what is the message of
today’s reading
God is the God of life and not of death; this
has not been made by him.
He does not
destroy his creation.
He has fashioned
the human beings to give them life and not to destroy them.
Truly if we look
around us we will realize how much God loves his creation, which is the work of
his love and of his willingness to share with us his happiness.
Today’s Reading
says that God has made man to be immortal. This belief will be preparing the human
race for the revelation of the resurrection, because we have been created for
immortality.
In the people of
Israel in the Old Testament, immortality was considered to be found in what you
had done during your lifetime, your good
works, your children, your writings, your wealth…
In this text we
find what the book of Genesis will tell us, that man (man and woman) is created
in the image of the divine nature.
It is difficult
to explain the existence of evil since God has made everything good, but man
discovers through shadows that there is evil, which can only touch those who
willingly accept it in their lives.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Ps
30:2.4.5-6.11.12.13
I
WILL PRAISE YOU, LORD, FOR YOU HAVE RESCUED ME
I will extol you, O Lord, for you drew me clear
And did not let my enemies rejoice over me
O Lord, you brought
me up from the netherworld,
You preserved me from among those
Going down into the pit.
Sing praise to the Lord, you his faithful one
And give thanks to his holy name
For his anger lasts for a moment
A lifetime, his good will.
At nightfall, weeping enters in
But with the dawn, rejoicing.
Hear, O Lord, and have pity on me
O Lord, be my helper
You changed my mourning into dancing
O Lord, my God, forever will I give you thanks.
o
The Hebrew edition of this psalm does
not say you have rescued me, but “you have pulled me up” which means that when
they were descending me into the pit, from above you pulled me up and gave me my life back.
o
When sickness was taking me, you
pulled me up and give my life back to me.
o
The recitation of this psalm can help
those who are sick.
GOSPEL Mk 4,35-41
We will reflect
on two miracles which Mark puts together:
o The healing of the woman afflicted with
hemorrhages
o The resurrection of Jairu’s daughter
We will try to
find the reason for these two miracles to be intertwined in a technique called
“sandwich”.
The narration
begins with Jesus surrounded by a large crowd and a synagogue official begging
him to come to his house because his little daughter is seriously ill.
o
It is interesting
to see this man coming to Jesus, I have heard several times people saying that
parents will do anything it takes for their children.
o
This man loves
his child and does not want her to die.
o
Jesus has healed
other people, why not my daughter?
o
Jesus walks
toward this man’s house.
o
But something
happens on the way.
An anonymous
woman, who we know only through her sickness, none of the gospels give her
name. She
approaches Jesus from behind.
She is also in
need of healing from Jesus
This story has
two sections:
o
The healing
§
Mark uses here
the popular believe of that time among the pagan cultures, that the healer has
an energy in himself, that is why the woman wants to touch him or his
clothing.
§
She does not want
to be seen
§
Maybe she is
ashamed of her sickness
§
Because this
sickness made her legally impure, and who touches her or is touched by her
becomes also legally impure, thus she cannot be among the crowd.
§
The doctors have
not been able to help her. Mark wants us to be aware of the great healing power
of Jesus, more powerful that all the doctors.
o
Dialogue between
Jesus and the woman
§
Jesus wants to make
that woman visible, and he begins to dialogue with her
§
It is as if this
woman had stolen a miracle from Jesus.
§
Jesus realizes
that someone has touched him in a special way, here Mark uses again the pagan
concept that a healing power comes out
from the healer.
§
The woman has
been healed, but Jesus wants to cure her completely, wants to save her.
§
To cure or to
save goes beyond the physical healing.
§
After the
resurrection, the followers of Jesus understood in this manner the
miracles
§
The usual words
of Jesus are, “your faith has saved you.”
After the
narration of this miracle, we go back where we began when Jesus was following
Jairus to his house.
o
His daughter has
already died.
o
Jairus is
distressed and those who surround him do not help him with is faith.
o
Jesus comes to
his help “do not be afraid; just have faith.”
o
When Jesus enters
into the house with James, John and Peter, nobody pays attention to them
because they are weeping and wailing loudly for the girl’s death.
o
Only the father
has faith in Jesus.
o
Jesus says that
the girl is not dead, but she is sleeping.
o
Jairus is asked
to believe that her daughter will wake up, the Christian community looks at
this event through the light of the
paschal event.
Relationship
between both miracles
o
The healing of
the woman has the purpose to lead the faith of the reader
o
Who is invited as
Jairus to believe in the resurrection power of Jesus.
o
To the words of
Jesus “do not be afraid…” the reader
feels the desire to add “you will see Jairus if you believe everything will go
well.”
o
The reader
understands that faith not only cures the sick, but it even kills death.
o
The whole account
is a catechesis on the resurrection.
In the whole
account there is a process of maturing in faith
o
The original
faith of Jairus who trusts in Jesus
o
The primitive
faith of the woman who is led by her own interest gives way to
o
Her faith
transformed as Jesus dialogues with her.
o
The faith of
Jairus, is now a faith in the one who raises the dead.
o
And this faith
has to be kept in secret.
SECOND READING 2 Cor 8:7,9,13-15
v
Paul writes to
the community of Corinth about sharing the spiritual and material goods we
have.
v
Thus he invites
them to reflect on what the Lord has done, being rich he has become poor, that
through his poverty we may become rich.
v
This does not
mean that others should have relief while we are burdened.
v
Rather it is a
matter of equality, of sharing.
v
Because the
material abundance of the community of Corinth may provide for the other poorer
community.
v
And thus the
abundance of faith of that community may help the community of Corinth.
|
The razor had cut clean through the
flesh and sliced into the bone of the upper and lower jaw. Blood was gushing
both outside and inside my mouth. I immediately pressed my right hand to my
cheek to stop the torrent of blood, and my left hand to the wound in my right
arm. We happened to be standing in front of an apothecary shop, and so I said,
"Let's go in here; they'll have the medicines we need." Because all
the civilian and military doctors had attended the sermon and had left the
church at the same time we did, word soon got around and they were there in a
moment. They were shocked at the sight of a bishop, vested in his mantle and
pectoral, all bathed in blood--especially a bishop who was also a friend they
all loved and revered. In fact, they were so overcome at the sight of me that I
had to cheer them up and tell them what to do for me, since I myself was very
tranquil and serene. Later the doctors said I must have lost no less than
four-and-a-half pints of blood. With the loss of blood I felt somewhat faint,
but I came to as soon as they gave me a little vinegar to smell. Anthony Mary Claret,
Founder of the Claretian Missionary Sisters, Autobiography 576.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
CLARET, Antonio María. Autobiography.
PARIS, María Antonia. Autobiography
La Biblia de nuestro pueblo, Introduction
and Commentaries by Luis Alonso Schökel.
