XIII Sunday in OT:2012:Wis 1:13-15; 2:23-24;IICor 8:7, 9, 13-15;
Mk5:21-43
Introduction: Today’s
readings speak of the gift of life, both physical and spiritual, that God has
given us. They urge and challenge us to be grateful for our health in body and
soul and to use God’s gifts of life and health responsibly.
Scripture lessons: The first reading from the Book of Wisdom
tells us that God gave us life and health and it was the jealousy of the Satan
that produced illness and death. The reading also suggests that the goal
of our lives on earth is to know, to love and to serve God here with perfect
health in body and soul, and to share God’s immortal life forever.
In
the second reading, St. Paul asks the
Corinthian Christian community to show the kindness and compassion which Jesus
expressed in his healing ministry to their Jewish brothers and sisters in
Jerusalem living in poverty and sickness, by raising a fund for them. The
generosity of Jesus is the central theme here also, because Paul describes
Jesus’ life, death and resurrection as “the gracious act of our Lord Jesus
Christ.”
Today’s
gospel describes two of our Lord's
miracles, the healing of a woman from her chronic bleeding disease
and the revival of the dead daughter of Jairus to life. These
healings teach us that Jesus willed life, and willed full life for all God’s
children. The two healings also reveal Jesus as a generous, kind and
compassionate God Who wills that men should live their wholesome
lives fully. They also give us further proof of the divine power and the
infinite mercy of our Savior. These miracles were worked by Jesus as reward for
the trusting faith of a synagogue ruler and of a woman with a hemorrhage,
although the faith of the ruler may have been defective and the woman’s faith
may have been a bit superstitious. But Jesus amply rewarded their defective
faith by granting them health and life.
Anecdote: "This
is where I found Christ." Here is a beautiful old story about
Zacchaeus, the tax collector. It tells how in later years, he rose early every
morning and left his house. His wife, curious, followed him one morning. At the
town well he filled a bucket... and he walked until he came to a sycamore tree.
There, setting down the bucket, he began to clean away the stones, the
branches, and the rubbish from around the base of the tree. Having done that,
he poured water on the roots and stood there in silence, gently caressing the
trunk with both of his hands. When his amazed wife came out of hiding and asked
what he was doing, Zacchaeus replied simply, "This is where I found
Christ." I can just imagine that for the rest of their lives, that woman
who touched the tassel of Jesus' robe that day on the street... and the
daughter of Jairus who was raised up in that room in her home, continually
brought people back to those sacred spots and said, "This is where I found
Christ! This is where Christ loved me into life!" Do you have a sacred
spot like that? This is the Good News of our Christian faith, isn't it? Love
has the power to heal, to reconcile, and to redeem.
Joke: One Sunday at Mass as the priest was giving his
homily, a little baby in the front row suddenly started crying loudly.
The mother did her best to pacify the child but nothing worked. So
finally she got up and started to walk down the aisle to take the baby into the
cry room. The priest stopped his preaching, and very compassionately
called out to the mother, "That's OK! You don't have to leave.
The child isn't disturbing me." The young woman turned around and
said, "No, pardon me Father, but you're disturbing my child!"
Life
Message: We need to continue
the healing mission of the Church: As members of the Church, we are not
excused from our vocation to be healers. We do our share of
Christ’s healing mission by visiting the sick, by praying for their healing,
and by boosting their morale with our loving presence, words of encouragement and
inspiration. Thus, we may enable them to experience the compassion of Jesus.
Introduction : XIII
Sunday in Ordinary time;
Message: Because of sin, sickness and death have entered the
world, but are overcome through the resurrection of Jesus. He hears the cry of those in need, healing
the sick and raising the dead to life.
He made himself poor that we might become rich.
Saints
in this week: Tue-3: Saint
Thomas , Apostle, Patron saint of India . Wed-4: Independence Day.
Thu-5: Saint Anthony Zaccaria, priest; Saint Elizabeth of Portugal(USA). Fri-6:
Saint Maria Goretti, virgin, martyr