Daily Reflection for Tuesday, February 4, 2020
Peace and Blessings, Friends and Parishioners,
We encourage you to reflect on Tuesday’s readings at this link:
http://usccb.org/bible/readings/020420.cfm
If you prefer to use your own Bible, the readings are:
First Reading: 2 Samuel 18:9-10, 14B, 24-25A, 30–19:3
Responsorial: Psalm 86:1-6
Gospel: Mark 5:21-4
Our reflection on Tuesday’s readings:
He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you.
Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.” Mark 5:34
My father was a devout Catholic and a man of profound faith. I would often hear him speak of faith as a tangible asset. “That person has faith,” or possibly more often: “That person has lost their faith.” He died when he was forty-nine and I was in my twenties. It took me decades to understand his faith and love of Catholicism. As I grow as a Deacon I feel closer to him now than when he passed.
Today’s Gospel is about the power of healing through faith. First, a synagogue official named Jairus comes forward and falls at the feet of Jesus pleading with Him to lay His hands on his daughter to save her from dying. For Jairus to fall at the feet of Jesus demonstrates total faith in Jesus’ ability to heal his daughter. Jairus’ faith was not shaken, and he remained steadfast in his faith even when he was told that his daughter had died and that he shouldn’t bother the teacher any longer. Jairus listened to Jesus when he said, “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” The reward of his faith was that Jesus healed the child with His words.
The second healing through faith is the woman with hemorrhages who thought, “If only I can touch his clothes I shall be healed.” This woman had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors, but she had faith that Jesus would heal her. She did manage to squeeze though the throng of Jesus’ followers and touch Him. Instantly Jesus knew that healing power had flowed from Him and asked: “Who touched me?” After the woman fell at Jesus’ feet he tells her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.”
I can almost hear my father saying that Jairus and the woman had great faith. I hope that when I am stressed, sick, or dying I remember to turn to Jesus in faith and allow Him to heal me. The immediate challenge for me and probably for all of us is this--do I fall at the feet of Jesus and give myself to Him fully so that He may lead me home? Amen.
Deacon John McShea