Little girl, I say to you, arise!

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Collect

O God, who through the grace of adoption chose us to be children of light, grant, we pray, that we may not be wrapped in the darkness of error but always be seen to stand in the bright light of truth. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Wis 1:13-15; 2:23-24

By the envy of the devil, death entered the world.

A reading from the Book of Wisdom

God did not make death,
   nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living.
For he fashioned all things that they might have being;
   and the creatures of the world are wholesome,
and there is not a destructive drug among them
   nor any domain of the netherworld on earth,
   for justice is undying.
For God formed man to be imperishable;
   the image of his own nature he made him.
But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world,
   and they who belong to his company experience it.

The word of the Lord.

Ps 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11, 12, 13

R. :

℟. (2a) I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

I will extol you, O LORD, for you drew me clear
   and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
O LORD, you brought me up from the netherworld;
   you preserved me from among those going down into the pit.

℟. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

Sing praise to the LORD, you his faithful ones,
   and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger lasts but a moment;
   a lifetime, his good will.
At nightfall, weeping enters in,
   but with the dawn, rejoicing.

℟. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me;
   O LORD, be my helper.
You changed my mourning into dancing;
   O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.

℟. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

2 Cor 8:7, 9, 13-15

Your abundance should supply the needs of the poor.

A reading from the second Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians

Brothers and sisters:
As you excel in every respect, in faith, discourse,
   knowledge, all earnestness, and in the love we have for you,
   may you excel in this gracious act also.

For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ,
   that though he was rich, for your sake he became poor,
   so that by his poverty you might become rich.
Not that others should have relief while you are burdened,
   but that as a matter of equality
   your abundance at the present time should supply their needs,
   so that their abundance may also supply your needs,
   that there may be equality.
As it is written:
   Whoever had much did not have more,
      and whoever had little did not have less.

The word of the Lord.

Acclamation before the Gospel
Cf. 2 Tim 1:10

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

Our Savior Jesus Christ destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

Mk 5:21-43 or 5:21-24, 35b-43

Little girl, I say to you, arise!

✠ A reading from the holy 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 and pressed upon 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 Jesus,
   “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.

Or: [Short Form]

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 and pressed upon him.

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.

At the end of the Gospel, the Deacon, or the Priest, acclaims:

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Reflection

I think that sometimes, although we say we believe, Gospel stories like this leave us speechless. We do not realise that something very important is being revealed to us, we who are the Lord’s disciples.

In the first reading, taken from the Book of Wisdom, we find this statement: “But as a result of the devil’s envy, death entered the world, and those who follow him experience it.” The solution to overcome the devil who envies humans is not any programme or strategy but a person: Jesus.

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.

(1 John 3:8).

This Gospel, in which we find a women afflicted with an illness for twelve years and a 12-year-old girl who had died, challenges us. Do we believe that Jesus can still heal sicknesses and raise the dead today? Through his death and resurrection, Jesus proved that he is God and that all that he accomplished has eternal consequences. Both forgiveness and freedom have been experienced by millions of people who believe in Jesus.

It is as though, through this Word, the Holy Spirit is telling the Church to believe like the woman and like Jairus and his wife. To believe that Jesus can heal physical sicknesses. It sounds as if we are listening to a fable, but this is not a fable. This is a fact which strengthens our faith in Jesus, Son of God and Messiah. He is the Messiah who heals all sicknesses, who forgives all sin, who is merciful because he is good.

“Who touched my clothing?” 

We can imitate the disciples and be stunned by Jesus’ question, or we can imitate the woman who affirmed her faith before she experienced the miracle:

“If I simply touch his clothing, I shall be made well.”

Mark 5: 28

That is a declaration of faith. When I am confronted by illness, the illness of those around me, do I believe that Jesus can heal?

“My little daughter is at the point of death. I beg you to come and lay your hands on her so that she may recover and live.”

This is another declaration of faith in Jesus who heals. Here we clearly see an element of certainty in his faith, a guarantee that Jesus is able to grant his prayer. But has Jesus changed through the centuries? Did He used to heal but doesn’t anymore? Of course, he still does! We should not be like the people at Jairus’ home who upon hearing about what Jesus was able to do and why he came to Jairus’ home began to laugh at him. Jesus sends out those who do not believe. We will not see any miracles if we have amongst us those who make fun of Jesus’ power to heal physical illnesses even in our present time. Jesus gave this ministry of supernatural healing to his disciples. We are his hands that are placed upon the sick. Ours the faith that moves mountains. But there must not be any doubts. As a disciple of Jesus, how important do you feel it is to believe that Jesus can heal even today? What are you doing to obtain or increase this type of faith?

 

Ara l-Qari tal-Ħdud li għaddew