13th Sunday in Ordinary Time Homily

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Desperation and faith)

By Rev. Rudolf Ofori

In today’s Gospel Jesus returns to the West shore of the Sea of Galilee, a journey from Gentile to Jewish territory. He is on home ground again. On his return a large crowd gathers round him, and out of the press of people one person comes forward, a Jewish official. Jairus has an important position in the local community, supervising services in the synagogue; but he hasn’t come to Jesus to talk about the process of ritual. In spite of his religious status, Jairus falls at the feet of Jesus and begs him to save the life of his twelve-year old daughter, who is seriously ill. 

Jairus is a desperate father: his love for his daughter makes him a beggar, craving the help of the one person who can restore her to full health. His dignity is cast aside; his longing is expressed in his whole body fallen at the feet of Jesus. Such is the quality of his desperation. Jesus says nothing, he promises nothing. His action speaks for itself; he goes with Jairus. The crowd presses forward into the new drama. 

The walk to Jairus’ house is interrupted by a secret sufferer. Out of the press of people a woman comes up behind Jesus. She suffers from an incurable hemorrhage, an affliction that makes her, and anyone she touches, ritually unclean. She has already exhausted all attempts at a natural cure, and the long and painful treatments have exhausted her savings. She jostles her way through the crowd that is heading somewhere else, hoping that if she can touch Jesus’ clothes, that contact will be enough. Such is the quality of her desperation. Such is the quality of her faith in the power of Jesus. 

When the woman touches Jesus’ clothes, she senses that she is cure of her complaint; but she is not allowed to disappear back into the crowd. Jesus insists on asking who touched his clothes. Clearly Jesus doesn’t want to be treated like a mobile relic, a magical touchstone that requires no relationship. He continues to look around the crowd. His question and his look bring the woman forward. She is frightened, falls at the feet of Jesus and tells him the whole truth. It is only when she meets the person of Jesus that her action is approved, and her cure confirmed. The purpose of the personal meeting is not to humiliate the woman but to commend her for her faith and let her go her way in peace. 

The bleeding of twelve long years has now stopped, but that good news is interrupted by messengers from Jairus’ house with the news that the life of twelve short years has come to an end. The beloved daughter of Jairus is dead. This time, Jesus does speak to Jairus: ‘’Do not be afraid; only have faith.’’ Taking with him only his inner circle of disciples, Jesus goes to the house and is greeted by the wails of the mourners. When he expresses his belief that the girl is not dead but asleep, the mourning becomes mockery. The scoffers are thrown out; only the girl’s parents and the three disciples accompany Jesus into the girl’s room. This small community of faith assembles to face the large loss. At the command of Jesus, the girl rises from the bed of death, and Jesus tells the astonished witnesses that a snack for the girl would not go amiss. For Jairus, after all, there was no need to be afraid. 

It is worth dwelling on the detail of the stories because they give us an insight into the mystery of Jesus. They tell us about a man who has a fierce kinship with those who suffer, who does not disappoint those who look to him for help. Like Jairus, there are many people who suffer on behalf of their loved ones and who feel powerless when they are confronted by the pain of those they love. Unlike Jairus, there are many parents who have attended the funeral of their young children. There are mothers and fathers who continue to grieve secretly, turning to their memory of loss long after everyone else has forgotten the source of their pain. Their children are no less precious to Jesus than the daughter of Jairus. To Jesus, these children are asleep in death. As the risen Lord he will come to awaken them. That is our faith. That is why the words addressed to Jairus are addressed to all of us: ‘’Do not be afraid; only have faith.’’ 

The Gospel story of Jairus’ daughter is given to all of us as Good News. It is offered to us today to nourish our faith in Jesus, to enliven our hope in his power over death itself. We know there are those who mock that belief, professional mourners who believe that death must have the last word in every human story. There is no place for that attitude in the community that gathers in the Lord’s name. In this Eucharist we support each other in our shared faith, we confront real loss with Jesus at our side. And when the loss is deeply felt, we too need to hear the words of Jesus: ‘’Do not be afraid; only have faith.’’