Examples of Faith

Homily for Tuesday of the 4th Week in Ordinary Time

In our Gospel today, we have two examples of individuals who approach Jesus to bring about healing in their lives. They know who Jesus is; they have seen all that He has done, or, in the very least, heard about Him. They have come to some sense of faith that He is who people are claiming Him to be. And they approach Jesus with courage for the healing that they desire.

Jairus approaches the Lord and shares that his daughter was deathly ill. He knew that saving his daughter was something out of his control. So he comes to Jesus and asks for a miracle. Not only did he have the faith that Jesus could perform the miracle, but he approached Jesus and begged the Lord to heal his daughter. In that moment, Jairus remembered that there was a higher power than him. It was that humility that brought the Lord to work a miracle.

In the second example, we have the woman with a hemorrhage for 12 years. She, too, had likely been seeking some kind of healing solution for years. And, yet, none of those things were able to bring that about. So she turned to the One whom she knew could save her. Even though she was terrified, she still found the courage to somehow respond to the faith that she had in Jesus, she still found the courage to reach out her hand and touch His cloak.

The humility of these two people in our Gospel allowed them to open their hearts to faith in Jesus. They both recognized that His power could overcome sickness and even death. It was their faith in Jesus that allowed the saving power of God to be unleashed in their lives.

The invitation for us is to consider whether we have that same faith. The Lord is asking us to reflect on whether we have the courage to humbly approach Him and bring Him our deepest pains and sufferings. What illnesses or ‘deaths’ or wounds or pains do we need to surrender to Him?  What fears do we need to overcome to say “Yes” to Jesus’ invitation to arise? Today, as we receive the Eucharist, let’s ask the Lord for the grace of simply letting Him in further. Let’s ask the Lord for the gift of faith to recognize that He is the One who can heal us and for the gift of humility to approach Him to seek that healing.