THE TEXT BELOW IS THE TRANSCRIPTION OF THE VIDEO COMMENTARY BY FR. FERNANDO ARMELLINI

Video Text Download version

A good Sunday to all. 

Today’s Gospel passage narrates two healings performed by Jesus: the first is the healing of the woman who touched his garment, and the second is the resuscitation of Jairus’s daughter, the ruler of the synagogue in Capernaum. The evangelist has included these two episodes in a single account, and we will notice that they share references to biblical images that clearly invite the evangelist to go beyond the pure data of the material account, namely the two healings he has done; he had this power. 

First, let us note that it concerns two women; therefore, the immediate reference is to life. The woman is the giver of life; in her, everything speaks of life. Let us remember that in the book of Genesis, when the man gave a name to his wife, he called her ‘favá,’ and the sacred text explains that he called her thus because she is the mother of all living. This is how the first man defines his wife’s identity: the giver of life, because everything in the woman recalls the welcoming of life. 

What about these two women in the Gospel passage? The first has suffered from blood loss for 12 years; therefore, she is considered impure; her husband cannot come near her; she cannot generate life. The young daughter of Jairus is 12, of childbearing age and marriageable; she can give life, but her life is interrupted, and she dies. What can Jesus do? Who do these two women represent? A significant number is attached to both, the number 12. Jairus’ daughter is 12, and the woman with blood loss has been sick for 12 years. 

There is too much insistence on this number not to recognize the reference to Israel. These two women represent Israel. The first represents Israel as the bride of the Lord, who abandoned her husband and became impure. Her husband no longer approaches her; she cannot bear children. Only when this wife finds Christ will she be cured of her illness and able to bear children again, to produce a posterity as numerous as the stars of heaven, the promise made to Abraham. The daughter of Jairus also refers to Israel. She is of marriageable age. 

We know that Israel is the bride of the Lord, and this young woman is of marriageable age, able to bear children. But if she does not meet her husband, if she is not taken by the hand of her husband, if the bridegroom does not raise her up, she remains dead. The evangelist Mark certainly wants to allude to the symbolism of Israel, the bride of the Lord, who is no longer fruitful if she does not meet Christ. Yet these two women do not only represent Israel; they symbolize the condition of all humankind, who is called to build a life but instead sees it stop and finds itself in a state of death. 

I want to recall one last symbolic detail essential to understanding the passage’s message: the meaning of blood in the Bible. As we know, blood signifies life. To lose blood is to lose life. The book of Leviticus says that the life of every living being is in the blood. This is why the pious Israelite cannot eat the flesh of a suffocated animal, because life is present in it and belongs to God; He is the Lord of life; therefore, the blood must always be returned to God; man cannot take possession of it. 

Today, we are faced with two women, one who is still losing her life and the other who has completely lost hers. Let’s keep in mind that these are two women with no names; they represent the condition of each of us, as we will try to understand in a moment. 

Let us now listen to how the narrative begins: 

When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed near 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 so she may get well and live.’ He went off with him, and a large crowd followed, pressing in on him. 

We remember that last week’s Gospel recounted the storm the disciples faced as they obeyed the Master, who had ordered them to go to the other shore to take him and his Gospel to pagan lands. The sea opposed this crossing; the boat even ran the risk of sinking and would have sunk if Christ had not been in it. Then, in a pagan land, things did not go well at all. When Jesus, with his word, began to expel the unclean spirits from that society, they cast him out; they preferred to remain in their condition. The Christian must keep this in mind: the Gospel that you proclaim can be received or rejected. One must behave like the Master, respect the people’s choices, and leave them free. 

Jesus returns with the disciples. When they arrive in Capernaum, a crowd is waiting for them, and Jesus begins to teach. At that moment, amid the crowd, an important figure appears: Jairus, the head of the synagogue, known to all. Jairus makes a significant gesture: he throws himself at Jesus’ feet, on his knees. He faces a problem he cannot solve; he feels helpless as death approaches and threatens to take his daughter. He gave her biological life, but now he sees that this life is ending and he can do nothing about it. 

This is what happens to our humanity; man does not generate any other life than the one destined for biological death; therefore, if we look at things from a material point of view, every birth only increases the number of mortals; death always comes and takes this creature away. The only thing a human being can do is postpone this defeat, but in the end, one must resign oneself to this fate. Jairus has understood that this is the condition of humanity; his daughter represents the reality of every human being; he has understood, however, that Christ can do something for her to prevent the victory of death. We shall see what Jesus will do: it will be the victory over biological death, but this is only a sign of the real victory. 

What does Jairus say to Jesus: “Please, come lay your hands on her so that she may get well and live”?Jesus departs and goes with him. A great multitude follows him and gathers around him. It is important to notice this great multitude that crowds around Jesus, following him, pushing him. Some want to attract him to their side; some cultivate false expectations of him and expect what he has not come to give. It is not enough to be around Jesus or be enthusiastic admirers of Jesus… NO. It is necessary to understand what he can give us. 

Amid this crowd, we find a woman who approaches Jesus. She is seeking something he can offer in a different way than the others. Let’s hear what she expects from Jesus: 

There was a woman who had been 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 and only grew worse. She had heard about Jesus, 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. 

We have already seen that blood is the symbol of life, and to lose blood is to lose life. This is the condition of this woman who is losing life, and it is the image of humanity’s condition. From the moment we are born, from the moment we receive biological life from our parents, every passing moment is a loss of life. We can try to hold on to it a little longer; we turn to doctors, but still, life is gone. And all humanity’s attempts, with all its capacity, cannot end this loss of life. They try hibernation, cloning, hybridization, man-robot, trans-humanism, and post-humanism. 

People are willing to give all their money to avoid losing their lives, but as Psalm 49 says, “No matter how much you pay, it will never be enough to redeem your life and live forever.” So, if life goes on like a candle that is consumed little by little until it is finally extinguished, it is over; there is nothing left. What can be done to hold on to life? For many, it means enjoying it, thinking of oneself, and doing what one likes. This woman has heard of one who can stop the loss of life; she believes in him and says to herself: “If I succeed, even if only to touch his mantle, I will be saved”; ‘I will stop losing my life.’ She does not say ‘healed’ but ‘saved.’ Salvation means no more loss of life. 

Here, attention is directed to the robe of Jesus, the cloak, and what this robe represents is important. The robe is the extension of our body, of our person, and the very symbol of the person is our outward appearance, actions, and how others see us. Let us remember that Paul insists strongly that the disciple must put on the garment of Christ, his person. Whoever meets a disciple must recognize in him the garment of Christ, the likeness of Christ; and Jesus says in the Gospel of Mark, in chapter 2, that this garment must be completely new, not an old garment with some new cloth. This garment, this robe, is none other than humanity with which the Son of God has clothed himself. 

We see God in this humanity; this is his robe; this is the humanity that must be touched if life is to remain and not be lost. A little further on, it will be said that it will be enough to touch even a fringe of this mantle. Everywhere, in the villages, in the towns, in the cities, in the countryside, they put the sick in the squares and prayed to be able to touch even the fringe of Jesus’ cloak. What does it mean? To stop losing life, you must touch this humanity of Christ and unite your life to his life, which is a donated life. If you live united in this life, the time that passes is not a waste of life but true life that will never be destroyed; if you keep it for yourself, life will be lost; if you donate it, it becomes love, the divine in us. And this donated life is no longer lost. 

This is what Jesus says: Whoever loves his life, whoever keeps it for himself selfishly, loses it, but every gesture of love you make in giving yourself preserves life. Then the life of the one who has touched the mantle of Jesus is not a candle that burns and then goes out without a trace, but it is like a tree that grows evermore until it is fully mature, bearing firm fruit in every season. To be wise, therefore, means to lose no more life. 

This woman acted secretly; she was behind Jesus’ back; she did not want to be seen; she did not want anyone to know. Why? Because she was afraid and ashamed, having made a gesture that the religious institution condemned in the name of God. Jesus disagrees with this religious institution and wants to do away with this image of God that marginalizes impure people. Let’s listen to what he does: 

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, ‘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 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.’

I believe that in Jesus’ place, we would have behaved differently. We would not have called that woman over there in front of everybody. She had acted in secret, trying to make sure nobody would notice, because she was ashamed. She knew her condition, and people considered her an impure person to be avoided. And she is also afraid because she violated the rules that oblige her to keep away from everyone, like lepers, because if she touches anyone in the marketplace, she makes them unclean. And she also feels far from God because God is the God of life, and she is marked by death. Because she loses blood, she loses a life. But Jesus calls her before the whole world. 

The text says that she was afraid and kept trembling. Jesus wants her to be seen so that, in front of everyone, Jesus can say that we must put an end to the idea that a person is impure; one can do impure things, but the person is never impure; they should not be ashamed, neither of physical diseases nor of moral diseases. It must come to an end, says Jesus, with this pagan image of God that keeps people away and does not want to have any contact with those who are considered impure. These are beliefs instilled by religious authority, and Jesus wants them to disappear. 

The woman confesses to everyone what has happened. Jesus’ answer: “Daughter”… this is how God considers this woman who was sick, but this sickness, in the symbolism of this narrative, indicates the loss of life condition of the people. Even those in this situation are always sons and daughters of God. Moreover, let us note that she is called this way, no one else among the multitude. 

God does not consider anyone impure, and He doesn’t want anyone to feel marginalized because of losing one’s life. People can be sick, but God loves them; people have invented these separations, and God wants to erase them. And she is praised for her faith. She came to Christ not by pushing or force; one can be part of the crowd, an admirer of Jesus, or participate in a religious festival, but this still does not touch Christ. To touch him with faith means to unite one’s life to his, and then one stops losing life. 

Jesus, in the end, says to the woman: ‘Go in peace, ‘shalom,’ to joy, to the fullness of life.’ You know that God loves you, so you are at peace. Then the narration continues with the story of Jairus. Let’s listen: 

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?’ Ignoring the report, Jesus said to the synagogue official, ‘Do not be afraid; just have faith.’ He allowed no one to accompany him inside except Peter, James, and John, James’s brother. When they arrived at the synagogue official’s house, he saw a commotion, with 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. 

He who believes in Christ touches his mantle and trusts his proposal. He tells you to surrender your life so you may stop losing it. You build a life that endures. Also, in the believer, doubts can arise because he sees that life passes quickly and ends in death, and that the destiny of all is the grave, the end of everything. 

Doubt may also arise in the believer, and he may wonder, ‘Will I have no regrets if I have given my whole life? Wouldn’t it have been better if I, too, had enjoyed it as so many do?’ Friends tell Job this: ‘Resign yourself; death has conquered, and your daughter is dead.’ To Jairus and to us believers, Jesus answers: “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” This fear may arise, but ‘do not listen to it, do not be afraid of death, keep trusting in my proposal.’ Jesus, accompanied by Peter, James, and John, goes to the house of Jairus. In this house, there are cries of pain, lamentations, weeping… a typical scene of Oriental practices. In the face of death, people only lament or curse the sad fate… that has befallen humankind, a destiny from which no one can escape. 

How does Jesus see death? He enters this house and says, “Why all this commotion and weeping? The girl is not dead but asleep.” This image is used by Jesus and later adopted by primitive communities; Paul also uses the image of death as sleep; it is not the end; it is an awakening. It is a feeble image, but if the Lord touches the deceased, they are no longer dead but alive. It concludes a form of life that is biological, but who gave his own life has kept life because it remains eternal in love. “They ridiculed him.” They mean, ‘Here comes another with a soothing, with a new imaginary proposal of an answer to the riddle of death.’ 

Let us hear how Jesus acts: 

Then he put them all out. He took the child’s father and mother, along with those 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 began to walk. At that, they were utterly amazed. He ordered that no one know this and said she should be given something to eat. 

When Jesus arrives at the house of Jairus, he throws them all out. He cannot bear the cries of despair, weeping, and wailing in the face of death. This form of mourning was practiced before he came; Qoheleth was right when he said, ‘The fate of plants and animals and man is the same.’ It is the same biological life that is destined to end, but now Jesus has come and invited us to see death in a different way. It is not a bad thing; it is the destiny of human beings. 

The person cannot be different, cannot be immortal, because they would no longer be human. The Son of God has now touched this humanity; no longer is there only a biological life that ends, but a life he has brought about and delivered, just as he touched this humanity when he became one of us.

Let us see how Jesus now relates to death: He enters the room where the child lies and brings witnesses with him, both parents, that is, those who gave birth to this life destined to end. They must verify their inability to preserve life; biological life is destined to end; it cannot be made eternal, not even by God, because it would dehumanize us; we would no longer be human. Then he brings the disciples, who must witness what happens when he touches this humanity. 

“He took the child by the hand and said to her, ‘Talitha koum,’ which means, ‘Little girl, I say to you, arise!'” ‘Egeirein’ means ‘arise.’ Since the Son of God touched humanity, death has been de-dramatized; it has lost its sting; it has been definitively defeated. Let’s pay attention: Jesus made a healing gesture; he brought this girl back to this world, to biological life, as doctors do. 

Jesus made a prodigious gesture, but this is not the victory over death. Victory over death means giving life by touching humanity, by giving it a life that is the Eternal’s. When biological life ends, the Eternal’s life continues; this is the victory over death. Jesus’s gesture is only a sign of his power to give a life that conquers death. 

And the last recommendation he makes: “Then he said that she should be given something to eat.” This life that he gives when he touches humankind, the life of the Eternal, must be continually fed by his word; his word, which tells us that this life of the Eternal is nourished when you give your life out of love, that is, when you resemble the life of the heavenly Father. I wish you all a good Sunday and a good week.