June 27 - 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Wis 1:13-15; 2:23-24; 2 Cor 8:7, 9, 13-15; Mk 5:21-43)
The death referred to in today's reading from Wisdom is not physical death of the body. This reading refers to spiritual death – eternal separation from God. This is the death that really matters. Physical death by comparison is insignificant. We read “God did not make death.” This is emphasized in several different wordings in today's reading. By this we know that God intended for all to come to know Him and never be separated from Him. “But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world, and they who belong to his company experience it.” So let us avoid the company of the devil & his ways and embrace the company of our Lord who is constantly inviting us with open arms.
In today's Gospel, a woman with a hemorrhage surreptitiously touches Jesus's cloak to obtain healing. Because she was bleeding, according to Jewish law she was ritually unclean. Touching a rabbi would have been unthinkable. But when Jesus confronts her, he calls her “daughter” and blesses her. The story of the woman with the hemorrhage is told in the middle of the story of Jarius and his daughter who was dying. This shows that opportunities for good works can arise at any time – even while another good work is in progress. The woman had tried to be healed by doctors for twelve years and all of them failed her, so Jesus was her last resort. In the case of Jarius, his desperation is evident by his falling at the feet of Jesus to implore him for help. Jarius was a man of some importance in the synagogue and falling at the feet of some itinerant preacher was probably an embarrassing thing to do. Jarius is also turning to Jesus as a last resort.