Gospel of Mark narrates two stories of healing: a woman afflicted with hemorrhages
spent all her money for a cure but doctors gave up on her, she touches Jesus and is
healed; Jesus touches a little girl and brings her back to life. In both instances power
goes out of Jesus to heal. Jairus, the Synagogue official and the woman are examples
of faith; both were desperate to receive healing and they knew Jesus is the
compassionate one and he is concerned about the suffering of others. Often we
wonder why doesn’t God listen to our prayers; why doesn’t God save us from the
pandemic; why tragedies happen? Many shadows follow us, that of health problems,
fear of death and things in us not at peace! Gospel teaches that faith is an encounter,
moving to the presence of God with love, trust. It is to be with God, taking our
weakness, pain, sadness to God, to his will and simply saying, ‘may your grace work in
me as you wish’! Turning to the woman Jesus says, ‘my daughter’ and to the child
‘little girl’ [addressing with affection], how God feels about us when we are in pain, in
tears, that we are God’s beloved; God is Emmanuel, he is with us.
Book of Wisdom in the first reading says we are created for immortality because we are
created in the image and likeness of God. Faith reminds us of this truth about who we
are. This gives an insight into our destiny, life with God. God is love and he doesn’t
rejoice in the destruction of his creation. God’s breath, touch, design is in everything he
created. There is a Native American creation story: God the earth-maker took some
clay mixed it with water and carefully shaped man and woman. They were beautiful but
unfinished for they did not have hands. God asked the other creatures what kind of
hands they should have. The turtle said, ‘like mine, so they can swim’. The coyote
spoke up, ‘no, like mine, so they can run fast’. God thought and thought and then said,
‘thank you all, but I have decided to make their hands like mine so that they can make
things. Because God gave men and women hands like his own, they became the most
beautiful of all creatures; they could create things with their hands. Our hands are godly
in design [image of God] to do things as God does. they should not be hands that hold
others back or hands that hold others down, or heavy hands that deny freedom, even
freedom to make mistakes. They should be hands making peace not clenched in anger
but healing hurts and giving forgiveness. Our hands must be busy caring for all God’s
creation because the earth-maker’s hands left his fingerprints of beauty on all creation.
We are invited to touch Christ and present ourselves to be touched by Christ that we
may not be shaken by trials of life but in faith leave to God things we are not able to
control, trusting in God’s wisdom for our wellbeing. Our hands are Christ’s hands,
anointed in our baptism, to be comforting and healing hands; to be generous hands
like God that we may live the beauty and worth of being created in the image of God.
Paul said, we are hidden with Christ in God; our spiritual journey is to discover God’s
movement in us. The closer we get to Christ the light, we see our shadows [daily
crosses] more clearly, that they are passing. Faith is our yes to God, joining God to
initiate the change we desire in us and that our hopes may be fulfilled as God’s will for
us. We see our life and death in the death and resurrection of Christ. Christ will raise us
up to eternal life! Fold the arms of your faith and wait in the quietness of prayer until
light dawns on your darkness!