Trong bài Tin Mừng, chúng ta nghe hai câu chuyện thần kỳ đã được đan dệt lại với nhau, câu chuyện người phụ nữ bị hoại huyết và cô gái trẻ, con gái của Jairus. Cả hai phép lạ đều là phản ứng của Chúa Jêsus đối với người có đức tin vững mạnh. Chúa Jêsus an ủi người phụ nữ bị hoại huyết: "này chị, đức tin của chị đã chữa lành cho chị. Hãy đi bình an. "Với ông Jairus, Chúa Giêsu khẳng định:" Đừng sợ, cứ tin rồi sẽ được. "
Trong cả hai trường hợp, Chúa Giêsu khuyến khích người ta đừng sợ. Ngài nói điều này trực tiếp với Jairus: "Đừng lo sợ." Và nhỏ nhẹ trìu mến với ngời phụ nữ.. "này chị đức tin của chị đã chữa lành cho chị. Hãy ra đi bình an ". Với Đức tin chân thật hay lòng tin vững chãi sẽ lấy đi tất cả sự sợ hãi ngay trong tảm hồn của chúng ta và mang đến chúng ta một đặc ơn An Bình sâu sắc.
Lạy Chúa Giêsu, xin ban cho chúng ta được ơn là luôn có được một đức tin vững chãi biết lấy đi những sự sợ hãi ra khỏi lòng trí của chúng con và cho phép chúng con được sống trong sự bình an vì đó chính là món quà Phục sinh của Chúa ban cho chúng con
In the Gospel, two miracle stories have been woven together, that of the woman who suffered from a hemorrhage and that of a young girl, Jairus’ daughter. Both miracles are Jesus' response to great faith. Jesus consoled the woman with the hemorrhage: “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.” To Jairus, he asserted: “Do not be afraid, only believe.”
One message is very clear in these two stories and in the other miracle stories in the Gospels: praying for a miracle can only be effective when it is accompanied by great faith. From a superficial point of view, the woman’s act of touching the hem of Jesus’ garment might seem superstitious, but the whole story, especially Jesus’ response to the woman, affirms the faith encounter between the woman and Jesus.
In both instances, Jesus encourages the person not to be afraid. He says this directly to Jairus: “Do not be afraid.” He addresses the woman gently and affectionately “Daughter” and says to her: “Go in peace.” True faith takes away all fear from our hearts and brings us the gift of deep peace.
Lord Jesus, grant that the gift of faith may always drive all fear from our hearts and allow us to live in that peace which is Your resurrection gift to us.
While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official’s house arrived and said, “Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?” Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” Mark 5:35–36
This short line is one worth pondering every day. “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” This statement can apply to many situations we experience throughout our lives. It is a command of love from our Lord and is a command that we all need to hear, especially when hardships come our way.
First, it should be noted that this was a grave situation in which extreme emotion and temptations to fear would be understandable. The father in this story had a young daughter at the point of death, and he came to beg Jesus to heal her. Jesus agreed. But while they were on their way, Jesus and the father received the heartbreaking news that the daughter had just died. As any parent would know, this news must have been incredibly difficult to hear. So begin by trying to understand the grief that this father was experiencing. Try to especially understand his grief at that moment as he heard this devastating news.
A s you ponder his grief, try to also ponder the heart, thinking, emotions and words of Jesus. Jesus had no fear. He knew that this would end very well. But because He also had deep empathy and love for this grieving father, Jesus turned to him to give him hope. Hope in the midst of a very difficult and painful experience in life is hard to come by. When faced with grief, it is very tempting to give in to despair. Despair is a complete loss of hope. Despair keeps us from God and strips us of faith. But despair is always avoidable if we follow Jesus’ command of love. “Do not be afraid; just have faith.”
What is it that tempts you to fear in life? What is it that tempts you to lose your hope? Perhaps you struggle with the death of a loved one, and you find it very difficult. Perhaps your grief comes from small sources and is only minor right now. The truth is that all of us will experience small temptations to lose hope every day. And most will also experience grave temptations at one time or another. For these reasons, we must all constantly listen to Jesus’ words and work to dispel every fear in life as we invite God to bestow upon us the gift of hope that comes from unwavering faith in His plan for our lives.
Reflect, today, upon any struggles you have with despair, fear or anxiety in life. As you do, know that all things are possible when you turn to God with faith. Faith does not necessarily remove the hardships of life; it does something even better. It transforms hardships so that you can endure them with grace, joy and supernatural hope. When this happens, everything in life has the potential to be used by God for our good. All we need to do is continually reject fear and “just have faith.”
My compassionate Lord, You consoled this grieving father and instilled within him the gifts of faith and hope. Please also speak your command of love to me, calling me to trust in You no matter what I struggle with in life. May I always have faith in You and never fall into despair or fear. Jesus, I trust in You.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Divine Authority over Disease: In the first five chapters of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus cured many people. He began his healing ministry in Capernaum by curing Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever on the Sabbath (1:29-31), by healing many sick people after the sabbath rest concluded at sunset (1:32-39), and by cleansing a leper (1:40-45). These deeds of power and authority manifested the presence of the Kingdom of God inaugurated by Jesus. When Jesus healed a paralytic (2:1-12) and a man with a withered hand (3:1-6), the healings provoked the opposition of the religious authorities and led to them plotting to kill Jesus. Today’s healing, which took place on the way to cure a little girl of 12 years, forms part of the training of his apostles, who will soon be sent out on mission and given a share in Jesus’ divine authority. The woman who was healed had suffered hemorrhages for 12 years. This put the woman perpetually in a state of ritual impurity and prevented her from entering the temple to worship with the community of God’s people (Leviticus 15:25-33). The healing anticipates how the apostles, after the death and resurrection of Jesus, will heal people bodily and spiritually through the Sacraments of the Church and reintroduce them into the liturgical community of worship. In chapter six of Mark’s Gospel, the apostles will be given a share in Jesus’ authority and be able to drive out demons and to heal the sick by anointing them with oil (Mark 6:7-13).
2. Divine Authority over Death: While Jesus was on the way to cure Jairus’ daughter, people arrived to tell Jairus that his daughter died. Jarius didn’t get angry at the woman who caused the delay, but listened to Jesus’ invitation to put aside fear and have faith in him. Jesus invited the three apostles who formed Jesus’ inner circle to accompany him inside and witness the restoration of the girl to life. Mark emphasizes the contrast between the growing faith of Jesus’ three apostles, who followed Jesus, and the lack of faith of the hired mourners, who mocked Jesus. “The raising of Jairus’s daughter is the climax of the series of miracles recounted in this section of Mark (Mark 4:35-5:43). Each one increasingly reveals Jesus’ power to overcome death. He has rescued his disciples from near-certain death in the storm on the lake, delivered a man whose existence was a living death among the tombs, restored to health a woman whose life was draining away, and raised a dead girl to life. In each case the way to experience Jesus’ saving power is to reject fear and yield to faith, a deeply personal faith that comes into living contact with him” (Healy, The Gospel of Mark, 110).
3. Christian Life as an Endurance Race: The Letter to the Hebrews presented Jesus as our great high priest who is faithful and mercifully compassionate toward us. In Chapter 11, the author of the letter exhorted us to imitate the faith of our ancestors and trust in Jesus. In Chapter 12, the author exhorts us to endure in hope and to imitate Jesus, “the leader and perfecter of faith” (Hebrews 12:2). Jesus “is the only perfect model to imitate, the only one who has persevered in total fidelity to God and attained the glorious reward. But Jesus is not merely our example; he is also the source of our faith and the one who brings it to completion (see Phil 1:6)” (Healy, Hebrews, 257). We need to fix our sight on Jesus as the goal and press on toward that goal. Our Christian life is like an endurance race in which we are striving toward the finish line, cheered on by the great cloud of witnesses who have gone before us (Hebrews 12:1-4).
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you are the Life and the Resurrection. I am running and striving toward you each day and am strengthened by the witness of so many saints.
1. Absalom’s Rebellion and Death: The Second Book of Samuel tells us that David failed to punish his son, Absalom, for killing Amnon, David’s firstborn son. Things got worse when Absalom mounted a rebellion against his father and proclaimed himself king. David was somewhat slow to respond but eventually mustered his army, attacked Absalom’s troops, and defeated the rebellion. When Absalom realized he was going to lose, he fled the battle but was caught by his hair in a tree. One of David’s mighty men, Joab, defied David’s orders not to harm Absalom (2 Samuel 18:5) and killed Absalom. The irony here is that Absalom’s long and beautiful hair was a source of his pride but was also the cause of his downfall.
2. Absalom and Judas: The death of Absalom prefigures the death of Judas: just as Absalom lifted his hand against David, the Lord’s anointed, and died suspended from a tree, so also Judas, who lifted his hand against Jesus, the Lord’s anointed, and died suspended from a tree. David’s response to his son’s death manifests the love of God who loves even those who rebel and reject him. David is the model of a pastor who grieves over the suffering of his flock and desires to take their suffering upon himself. We can imagine how Jesus grieved the loss of Judas, his Apostle and friend, who gave into despair rather than seek the mercy of God.
3. Jesus Restores Jairus’ Daughter to Life: Mark narrates how Jesus brought Jairus’ daughter back to life. Sandwiched in the story is the healing of the woman with a hemorrhage. Jesus tells the woman that her faith saved and healed her. Jesus exhorts Jairus to not be afraid and to have faith. The two stories, then, are invitations to faith, but also manifest the deep human desire to be freed from sickness and delivered from death. The way Mark narrates the story of Jairus shows especially how Jairus is invited to go deeper in his faith. In the first part of the story, Jairus believes that Jesus has healing power. In the second part, Jairus is asked to believe that Jesus can conquer death. We are called to imitate Jairus’ growth in faith.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you restored the daughter of Jairus to life. I believe and trust that you can heal me and that one day you will raise me to eternal life with you, your Father, and your Holy Spirit. Increase my faith! I will strive to be faithful to you and follow the guidance of your Holy Spirit.
Tuesday 4th Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer:
Encountering Christ:
1. Simeon—Righteous and Devout: Well before this moment in the Gospel, Simeon had persevered through a long journey. Like anything worth fighting for, this moment of encounter required effort on Simeon’s part. We are told in Luke 13:24, “Strive to enter through the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.” Righteousness comes by way of humility and sacrifice, and by placing God first in our life. How willing are we to sacrifice comfort sometimes to make more room for the Holy Spirit in our life?
3. A Sign That Contradicted: On this feast of the Presentation of the Lord, the church celebrates those who are living the vocation of consecrated life. In a culture that embraces norms of sexual promiscuity and material luxury, someone living a life of joy without these things is surely a sign of contradiction. Living a joy-filled life–set apart in service to God and others–speaks loudly to many restless hearts trying to fill the emptiness of a life without Christ. May the Lord bless consecrated souls and help us all to live a joyful life that honors Christ.
