Jesus Healing
(Mark 5, 21-24, 33b-43)
In Mark's gospel this Sunday we have two more examples of Jesus healings. One is of an unknown woman who has suffered for many years from a flow of blood. The other is of a daughter of a local synagogue official. In both instances, as with almost all of Jesus healings, we know little or nothing of the people who are cured. It also seems that Jesus himself was not acquainted with them.
What all the cured have in common is their belief in Jesus, or on occasion the belief of their friends or relatives who have brought them to him, that Jesus can help them.
From the very beginning of Jesus public life crowds of people flock to see him, to touch him, to do anything they can to get his attention. Jesus obliges them as well as he is physically able. It also seems that he knew very few of them. Exceptions that we know of are Simon Peter’s mother-in-law and the tax collector, Zacchaeus.
It's important for us to recall what a diverse and motley group were the individuals helped and touch by Jesus; e.g. there is the Samaritan woman who had had five husbands, and as mentioned the tax collector Zacchaeus, the prostitute who washes Jesus feet with her tears at the house of Simon the pharisee, the son of the widow of Naim, the 10 lepers, the crippled man at the pool of Siloam, and many, many others. The common denominator for all of them is that they or someone else close to them had faith and belief in Jesus.
At times there can be the temptation to think or wonder why would Jesus be interested in me or care for me? Well the answer is tied up in the incredible mystery of God's love. Moreover, the scores of people that Jesus cared for, cured, and helped during his public life can say to us, “Well he was interested in me, and I too was not sure why.
Jim Blumeyer, S.J
No comments:
Post a Comment