Jesus shows his love for the exploited
People of status must wait while Jesus attends to faith-filled anonymous woman
Readings for the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time, June 27, 2021
Wisdom 1.13-15; 2.23-24 | Psalm 30 | 2 Corinthians 8.7, 9, 13-15 | Mark 5.21-43
Today’s Gospel is one of the longer stories in Mark’s Gospel – 23 verses. Because of its length, the compilers of the Lectionary invite pastors to exclude the middle of the story, a decision which would destroy the story’s meaning.
The story is that of a double healing: that of the daughter of Jairus, a leading synagogue official and that of an anonymous woman in the crowd which follows Jesus. Mark sets up his story with Jairus approaching Jesus to heal his daughter. On the way to her bedside, a woman who has been suffering from hemorrhages for 12 years reaches out and touches Jesus and is healed. After this interlude, Jairus learns that his daughter has died while Jesus has been busy with this woman in the crowd. Nevertheless, Jesus continues to Jairus’ house where he raises the synagogue official’s 12-year-old daughter.
The stories are interrelated, and to read one without the other is to miss the point, which is an affirmation of Jesus’ preferential option for the poor.
The crowd is mentioned five times in this story. The crowd gathered around Jesus, followed him, a woman touches his cloak, Jesus addresses the crowd and the disciples suggest it is preposterous to try to identify the person who touched Jesus’ cloak.
Jairus is a man of status. The crowd might well have parted to allow him access to Jesus. The woman with hemorrhages has no status. The medical system has jerked her around for years, taking all her money and leaving her sicker than ever. But she has heard of Jesus and believes that if she but touch his cloak, she will be made well. Which is what happens.
Jesus could have ignored her touch as he had an important duty – to save the life of the daughter of a synagogue official. Instead, he stops and tries to find the woman. She is not just a number in the crowd, but a person with dignity. When she emerges, falling before him “in fear and trembling,” Jesus says, “Daughter, your faith has made you well.”
When he arrives at Jairus’ house, he finds nothing resembling faith. The people there laugh at Jesus when he says the girl is not dead but sleeping. Jesus sends the faithless brood outside the house and then turns to the girl saying, “Little girl, get up!” Immediately, she stands up, and Jesus asks the family to give her something to eat.
In my view, the anonymous woman’s 12 years of suffering relates to the girl’s age, 12. Both numbers stand for the 12 tribes of Israel. On one hand, the common folk of the 12 tribes have faith; on the other, the elites of Israel lack such faith. Their high status in society blinds the elites to the authority of Jesus. Without faith, Israel will die. Only Jesus can give life.
The anonymous woman, however, has no status. Powerful social systems have exploited her, and no one advocates for her. All she has is faith in Jesus. Yet, that faith is of greater importance than all the worldly systems of wealth and power.
The Second Reading echoes what Jesus has done by becoming human and walking with simple faith-filled people: “though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor so that by his poverty you might become rich.”
Jesus stands with the weak and exploited of society because without him, they have nothing. The man of status must wait to see his daughter healed. The true Israel is those who have faith in Jesus. Those without faith must take their place in line.