It has taken me most of my life to learn how to be patient. I still struggle with it but have adopted a better perspective. This new found approach comes from watching and admiring mothers rearing of small children, whether they have help or do not.
What does this have to do with our readings and Gospel today?
Most moms make a choice when they decide to have children that they will devote their lives to raising those children as best they can. They are the caretakers who are there for whatever their needs are, whether they are real or just an egotistical outburst by a child. Being present for them is their number one priority; no matter how many times their lives are interrupted.
It’s no wonder that Jesus is always there for us. He with His Father and the Holy Spirit created us out of their love so they can spend eternity with us. That’s why Jesus went with Jarius in St. Mark’s Gospel today to heal his daughter and stopped on the way to heal the woman who suffered for 12 years with hemorrhaging. They reached out to Him because they had faith and trusted that He would answer their call and need for healing.
As practicing Catholics we have promised by our initiation Sacraments of Baptism, Eucharist and Confirmation to be present like Jesus to those in need whether they call out or not. If that means it interrupts what we have going on in our lives, then we are to find a way to work it out. But we should do it not just because it is an item to check off our list of Good Samaritan choices, but because there is a need to be met.
Another aspect of being present and offering healing in this equation is how to overcome fear; especially in times of great adversity. Those in need are always aware that what is happening could end badly. Jarius and the hemorrhaging woman feared that without receiving help from Jesus, that death would be the outcome for Jarius’ ill daughter and the woman struggling to touch Jesus’ cloak. It is because of their deep faith to throw aside everything else that gave them the courage to reach out.
Our presence for someone in dire straits may not be the difference
between life and death, but it could help the person to realize that God is
there for them if they have faith to trust in His ways. The first reading from The Book of Wisdom
reminds us in Chapter 1, Verse 13 that “God did not make death, nor does He rejoice
in the destruction of the living.” With
that belief, it might give them enough to acknowledge God in their lives and bring
them the salvation they may have thought would never be theirs.
All of us need God in our lives. We who are practicing Catholic Christians realize that without God, there is no hope because we are not strong enough to avoid sin and defeat Satan. Jesus did that for us already by His death on the cross for our sins. But for those who are struggling with great difficulties in their lives, it may not be as apparent. They may not know how to call out for spiritual help and may need someone to lead them to a path of relationship with the Lord.
So, in essence, we have been called to be present to help those who need God in their lives to put aside whatever else is distracting them from a life of peace, joy and salvation. Let us, as St. Paul urges us in his Second Letter to the Corinthians, abound in charity to those in need. And, though he is writing about monetarily support for those in poverty, we also can expand this to reach out to all in need, no matter what the specifics.
Jesus said in St. Mark’s Gospel today: “Fear is useless. What is needed is trust.” Let us reach out to help those in need to end their fears to trust in God. Though it may be an interruption in our lives, it may help bring someone to salvation. I certainly believe we can take time for that. As I wrote earlier, that’s what God is calling us to do. He even provides the venue in which we can work: All the people He created that Satan is attacking.
Reading 1: Wisdom 1: 13-15; 2: 23-24
Reading 2: Second Corinthians 8: 7, 9, 13-15
Gospel: Mark 5: 21-43
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