Our witness is a support of others

2 Sam. 15:13-14:30.16:5-13, Mk 5:21-43. While it is be negative to call this world a “valley of tears”, today's readings remind us of the frailty of human life and of the setbacks that are unavoidably part of it. No other text more poignantly captures the loving grief of parents for their children than David’s mournful words over his dead son in the first reading: “My son Absalom. Oh Absalom, my son. If only I had died instead of you, Absalom, my son, my son.” The anguish of life is again shown in the story about the woman who spent twelve years seeking a cure, by all sorts of expensive treatments, until her savings ran out. Another mixture of anguish and hope is seen in Jairus who begs for a cure for his twelve-year-old daughter.

David could not celebrate the fact that the rebellion against him was crushed. Instead he dearly longed that his rebellious son, Absalom, could have survived the battle. Jairus would not have wanted another girl in place of his dead daughter. In the case of the woman with the debilitating illness, today’s Gospel reflects the personal concern of Jesus: “Who has touched me?” He asks, wanting to speak with that woman face to face. Today's Gospel includes two quite different personalities, one of them confident, the other one very shy. Jairus, who spoke up on behalf of his daughter, was a Synagogue official and the other person was the unnamed woman who was probably embarrassed by her illness, which rendered her ritually impure and excluded her from the Synagogue. They were two people of very different backgrounds, but both showed deep faith in Jesus as healer. Though their approach is so different, their faith is equally strong. We need to publicly put our trust in Him, for our witness is a support to the faith of others.

May the Lord be gracious and bless us so that we may remain steadfast in our resolve to do His will and forgive others who cause us pain! Amen!! Good morning, it is well with you!!!