Hold onto your belief in Christ in life – and life everlasting
Reflections on the readings for the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (July 1, 2018): WIS 1:13-15; 2:23-24; PS 30:2,4,5-6,11,12,1; 2 COR 8:7,9,13-15; MK 5:21-43 or 5:21-24,35-43
MISSIO offers “Preaching Mission,” as a homily help, providing connections to mission from the readings of Sundays, Feast Days and Holy Days.
The Gospel for this Sunday is a magnificent statement of God’s love for us and His desire for our well being of body and spirit.
Jesus healed a number of people throughout His ministry and He brought three back from the dead. Today we meet one of them, the child of a respected community member who believed that Jesus was her only hope. “One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus,… 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’” (Mark 5:22-23).
When people from the household of Jairus came to say that the girl was dead, Christ encouraged the grieving father to keep faith. Then He rescued the man’s daughter from death. Our Lord wants us to trust Him no matter how dire the situation because He will always help us. God either heals our wounds and those of our loved ones, or He stays with us, giving us the strength and courage to deal with suffering. Because our Savior Himself experienced agony with every fiber of His being, He wants us to embrace His profound compassion. The Creator of all life appreciates the worth of our lives far more than we do. That is why He cares for each one of us – and He always will.
