Today is the thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. For those of you who are counting we have just under six months until Christmas. Ho-Ho-Ho!
Today’s Gospel is unusual as it has two stories in one. Some call this a Markan sandwich. We hear about the daughter of Jairus, who is at the point of death, as well as the woman with the hemorrhage. These stories are all about faith and the role faith plays in Jesus miracles, as well as in our lives.
Jairus is a synagogue leader who comes to Jesus to ask Him to intercede on his 12 year old daughter’s behalf. Jairus asks Jesus to save her from death.
The woman with the hemorrhages has suffered for 12 years with no improvement. She is ritually unclean and unable to participate fully in the life of the community. She has faith that if she can just touch Jesus’ clothing she will be saved from her condition.
I find it really interesting that Jesus could feel the power go out from Him when the woman touched His clothing. I don’t think we hear about this anywhere else.
This is one of the more complex readings we get in the three year cycle. There are a lot of things happening and yet, there seems to be a connection, though it isn’t clear exactly what it is. One thing that jumps out is the 12 years the two have in common. At this time 12 was the age where a girl could be considered for marriage (yikes!). Both are women. Some of the original Greek text seem to point toward the resurrection (arise).
Another thing to notice is how Jesus interacts with the two women. That’s something that wouldn’t have happened at that time. Not unlike His interaction with the Woman at the Well in John 4.
Still another thing is that blood and dead bodies were two of the biggest things that could cause uncleanliness in Jews and yet Jesus overcomes those potential effects and gives life to both women. We’re reminded that Jesus is divine and has the power to overcome what man has deemed unclean. This isn’t unlike last Sunday’s Gospel where Jesus calms the stormy sea.
Yet another thing to note is the use of the Aramaic phrase ” Talitha Koum” which means little girl, arise. Why are we given the Aramaic instead of just the translation as we usually are? Perhaps it’s to emphasize Jesus original language connected to his power to save. I’m not sure. I found six other examples of the use of Aramaic in the New Testament:
Raka in Mt 5
Hosanna in Mt 21, Mk 11, and Jn 12
Eloi, eloi, lema sabaxthani Mt 27, Mk 15
Ephphatha Mk 7
Rabbouni Mk 10, Jn 20
Abba Mk 14, Rom 8, Gal
Another interesting thing is that this reading comes just before the story of Jesus rejection at Nazarath. Both in Scripture (Mk 6), and in our Sunday readings, we’re about to hear how Jesus was unable to perform miracles (mighty deeds) when the people did not have faith.
As I said this is a complex reading. I think the take away is the role of faith in our connection to God the Father through Jesus.
When I run into complex Gospel readings I refer to commentaries in order to get the view of scholars. A few of my favorites are:
Ignatius Catholic Study Bible. This isn’t really a commentary in the normal sense of the word but it has some good comments from the editors. It is New Testament only but it’s a good study Bible.
For the average reader who just wants a little better understanding of the Gospels I suggest the For Everyone series from N.T. Wright. These are very accessible paperbacks, one for each Gospel except Matthew, which has two volumes. N.T. Wright is an Englishman and a former bishop in the Anglican Church. He’s a noted New Testament scholar, especially regarding Paul. By the way. N.T. in his name stands for Nathaniel Thomas.
If you really want to go deep, including lots of Greek, the Sacra Pagina series is my favorite. The great (and late) Jesuit Bible Scholar Daniel J Harrington S.J. is the series editor but each volume (one per Gospel book) has other scholars as well.
Finally, this is my last This and That until the Sunday following Labor Day. I enjoy writing these posts each week but it’s good to take a break each summer and sharpen the saw as Stephen Covey wrote in the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. If something major happens before September I’ll jump back in but, assuming all goes as usual, I’ll “see” you in September.
That’s it for now. Thanks for reading.
I hope you have a great summer.
Peace, Bob
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