In today’s gospel we encounter the well-known stories of the Daughter of Jairus and the hemorrhaging woman. In the Gospel of Mark Jesus is closely involved with women nine times. Today’s gospel captures two of those interactions. with two of Jesus’ more moving encounters with women. Both stories begin with someone seeking out Jesus, the healer. Both stories end in the cure of a person who had been hopelessly sick.
I would suggest that even the way Mark intertwines the two stories shows that Mark wants his readers to hear one important message common to both: “Do not be afraid; just have faith” (v. 36)! As I often point out, the underlying word in Greek that we translate as “faith” or “belief” has a primary meaning of “trust.” The father of the little girl trusts Jesus even after hearing the report that she is dead. The woman shows her trust by touching Jesus and by coming forward in spite of her fear. She learns that her faith is rewarded by peace and lasting health. Like Jairus and the woman, Christians of every age are urged by Mark to approach Jesus confidently with earnest appeals on behalf of the sick and dying.
Even as he reports Jesus’ miraculous power, Mark preserves the human side of Jesus. For example, the one who has more healing power than the physicians of his day did not know who touched him. Likewise, the One who raises the little girl from her deathbed is also sensitive to her need for something to eat. Such details make Mark’s Jesus very approachable. While he did not know everything – and maybe some might say he wasn’t the “perfect human being” he was perfectly human in the compassion he showed to those who approached him. Jesus is sensitive to the needs of those who seek him out.
Is there something that prevents you from approaching Jesus? A continuing message in Mark’s Good News is that even when life’s confusion and tragedies get us down, we are reminded: that fear is useless. What is needed is trust in God, who brings life, even from death. Who restores those exiled and outcast.
Image credit: The Daughter of Jairus (La fille de Zäire), 1886-1896 | James Tissot | Brooklyn Museum, | PD-US