TUESDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - Gospel (Mark 5:21-43) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

“Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.” (Mk 5:34)

FIRST READING - 12:1-4

A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews

Brothers and sisters:

Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,

let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us

and persevere in running the race that lies before us

while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus,

the leader and perfecter of faith.

For the sake of the joy that lay before him

Jesus endured the cross, despising its shame,

and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God.

Consider how he endured such opposition from sinners,

in order that you may not grow weary and lose heart.

In your struggle against sin

you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY - Mark 5:21-43

From the Gospel according to Mark

When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side,

a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea.

One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward.

Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying,

“My daughter is at the point of death.

Please, come lay your hands on her

that she may get well and live.”

He went off with him

and a large crowd followed him.

There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years.

She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors

and had spent all that she had.

Yet she was not helped but only grew worse.

She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd

and touched his cloak.

She said, “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.”

Immediately her flow of blood dried up.

She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.

Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him,

turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who has touched my clothes?”

But his disciples said to him,

“You see how the crowd is pressing upon you,

and yet you ask, Who touched me?”

And he looked around to see who had done it.

The woman, realizing what had happened to her,

approached in fear and trembling.

She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth.

He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you.

Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.”

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.”

He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside

except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.

When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official,

he caught sight of a commotion,

people weeping and wailing loudly.

So he went in and said to them,

“Why this commotion and weeping?

The child is not dead but asleep.”

And they ridiculed him.

Then he put them all out.

He took along the child’s father and mother

and those who were with him

and entered the room where the child was.

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.

At that they were utterly astounded.

He gave strict orders that no one should know this

and said that she should be given something to eat.

TUESDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - Gospel (Mark 5:21-43)

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

Dear People of God,

In today's Word of God, God shows all humanity how great His power and might are. It is only God the Father who can raise the dead, and no other person can do it like He does.

God wants all humanity to know that whoever has absolute faith in the Supreme God, He will heal, and He will give grace and healing. Whoever asks for anything, He will grant graces and blessings according to a person's faith in God.

Through that, He wants humanity to see the power of faith.

When humans put their faith in God, they will be healed by Him both in body and soul.

As the Word of God in today's Gospel tells us: a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years, when she heard the holy name of Jesus, she sought to come and touch Him, hoping and asking Him to heal the illness that she had suffered for so long in her body and that no medicine could cure.

She only knew to trust in God alone.

It was because of that faith that she overcame all fears and barriers to find a way to touch Jesus; it was because of her faith that she was touched by God and given the grace of healing.

The special thing in today's Gospel is that God wants to tell all humanity that only God is the One who can raise the dead; no one can do this, because God is the God of life; He is the master of everything over humans because He is the One who created of mankind.

No one has power over life and death, but only the Most High God has the authority. Therefore, whoever He wants to give life to, is his power. Whoever believes and runs to call upon the holy name of God, He will grant grace.

Today's Word of God, God the Father also wants to emphasize eternal life. He calls on humanity to live in such a way that God heals both soul and body so that God can give us eternal life; that is the main goal that we need to achieve and seek, which is to be happy in the Kingdom of Heaven, as in today's Word of God, Jesus brought the girl back from the dead.

God also wants to emphasize to mankind that He came into the world, not so that people can live forever in this world, but His purpose is to save our souls so that after God the Father calls everyone out of this world, He will save our souls to have eternal life; that is the power of God, who is the master of life, the master of both the soul and body of all humanity.

Thanks be to God. Amen.