June 30, 2024
Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)
The topic for today’s readings is not a pleasant one – death. It is a fact of life, something unavoidable. Every person experiences it one way or another, especially considering the fact that we are mortal beings. But, as always, even with such a bleak subject, the Author of life has the final say.
The First Reading for today gives the explanation for this plight of humanity. It comes from the book of Wisdom (Wis 1:13-15; 2:23-24), one of the less well-known writings of the Old Testament. Compiled in the first century AD, the unknown author writing in the name of Solomon offers a treatise on many questions of life, such as sin and death, immortality of the soul, and the final judgment.
This particular passage provides a synopsis of the origin of death in the world as a result of the sin of the first humans as found in Genesis 3. As described: “God did not make death, nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living. For God formed man to be imperishable; the image of his own nature he made him. But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world, and they who belong to his company experience it.” (Wis. 1:13, 2:23-24).
This is a reference to the well-known story of Adam and Eve who were created by God with only one restriction – not to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. But they gave in to the temptation of the serpent and consumed the forbidden fruit hoping to gain knowledge reserved only for God. As a punishment they were expelled from the Garden of Eden which prevented them from eating of the tree of life, thereby resulting in their mortality.
Although this punishment may seem harsh to us, this decision on the part of the Lord was actually an act of mercy. For if Adam and Eve had gained immortality, they would have lived an existence of eternal separation from God as a result of their disobedience. However, as mortals, they were given an earthly lifetime to make amends with God and, with contrition and reconciliation, regain the opportunity to live eternally in God’s presence in the next life. For, as the writer of the book of Wisdom reminds us, the Author of life “does not rejoice in the destruction of the living.”
When we turn to the Gospel for today (Mk 5:21-43), we see the Son of God also acting as the Author of life. Following the sequence of Mark from last week, Jesus has crossed back to the other side of the sea with his disciples. Here he is met by a synagogue official, named Jairus, who pleads with Jesus to come to the aid of his daughter who is near death.
When Jesus goes off with Jairus, the crowd follows and presses in from all sides. Present in the crowd is a woman who has suffered from an incurable hemorrhage for twelve years for which no cure has been found. She has heard about Jesus and bravely reaches out to touch his cloak knowing that he has the power to cure her. Jesus does not detect her presence, but senses that some power has gone from him and inquires as to who has touched him. The disciples are unaware of the woman’s actions and cannot identify her, but once she is healed the woman comes forward to fearfully admit what she has done. With this Jesus kindly reassures her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.” (Mk. 5:34).
As the action resumes, people from Jairus’ house come to inform him that his daughter has died. But Jesus reassures him, telling him, “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” (Mk 5:36b). Jesus then proceeds to the synagogue official’s house, where the mourners ridicule him for saying that the girl is not dead, but only sleeping. But Jesus sends them all out, taking with him only Peter, James, John, and the girl’s parents into her room.
Then we hear the details of the miracle performed by Jesus: “He took the child by the hand and said to her, ‘Talitha koum,’ which means, ‘Little girl, I say to you, arise!’ The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around. And at that they were utterly astounded.” (MK. 5:41-42)
Indeed, these are extraordinary miracles performed by Jesus – curing a woman of a hemorrhage when no doctor was able to do so and restoring the life of a young girl. But there is also a lot more going on here. The woman with the twelve-year hemorrhage would have been unable to bear children with her affliction. But due to the actions of Jesus and the restoration of her health, she will now have the potential to bring new life into the world.
There is a similar situation with the young girl who is twelve years old. She is at the age of betrothal and near to the age where she can marry and have children. If she had died, if Jesus had not resuscitated her, she never would have had the opportunity to have a son or daughter of her own, in effect, resulting in multiple loss of life. Again, as the writer of the book of Wisdom reminds us, the Author of life “does not rejoice in the destruction of the living.”
This is the definition of “The Author of life”- The Triune God – Father and Son, working through the power of the Holy Spirit to bring light and life into a world where there is so much darkness and death. As the Church, the kingdom of God here on earth, it is our duty to cooperate with His grace to bring the love of His light and life to those around us.
The question for each of us as Christians then becomes, “How do I demonstrate, by the way that I live, that God is the Author of my life? How does my faith affect my relationships with my family and friends? How do I bring my faith into my place of work or neighborhood? Am I letting God write the story of my life or am I using my own sinful free will to write it according to my own selfish desires? When daily I pray, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done…” Do I really mean it?
Remember – the Author of life “does not rejoice in the destruction of the living.”
