B: 13th Sun of OrdTime (1 July 2018) - RESILIENT FAITH AMIDST THE CROWD - Mk 5:21-43

Much of the discussions on our gospel today is centered on the admirable faith of the synagogue official Jairus and the woman suffering from hemorrhage. Both exhibited resiliency as they fought for life, the former for his daughter and the latter for herself. They were willing to do the impossible just for that. The synagogue official, despite adhering to traditional Judaism, was willing to transcend his Mosaic-based belief to a faith in Jesus: he fell down before Jesus begging him repeatedly to lay his hands on his daughter (v. 22-23). Meanwhile, the woman fought her way towards Jesus, aiming just to touch the end of his cloak in order to be healed (v. 27-28).

Both of them were successful and Jesus equally showed compassion on them (vv. 24, 34, 40). Jesus was their last resort, and they gambled for this lone chance for survival. They were blessed because Jesus granted and listened to their pleas. In fact, they were convinced from the very beginning that Jesus would never fail them. And he never did. What jeopardized their request though is the annoying presence of the great crowd who gathered around Jesus (v. 21) pressing him in their following of him (v. 24). This made it difficult for the woman to reach him (v. 27) and even for Jesus to acknowledge her (vv. 30, 31). Likewise, the people around Jairus’ daughter doubted on Jesus’ power and even laughed at him (vv. 35, 38, 40). While Jesus never fails, the crowd and the people blocked him from reaching out to the needy.

God is the poor’s last resort. We can never blame them. God for them is the only cause for continuing to survive and fight for life when all human institutions have failed them. While they remain poor, the rich continue to get richer, widening the gap between them. How can you blame poor people from the Global South to risk their lives embarking on improvised make-shift boats with the slim chance of crossing the Mediterranean? Call them war-survivors, asylum-seekers, or economic opportunists, they are doing this to live. But the European “crowd” is too adamant to offer any aggressive assistance. While they cater those who reach their harbors, albeit hesitant, they do not proactively reach out to them as Jesus did. In fact, since 2016, around 10,000 perished in the open seas despite Europe’s advanced naval and coastal technologies. While God continues to give them a glimmer of hope, the un-Christian “crowd” continues to slam their doors to them, except for a very few: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8cg5hhHJlA&t=1144s.

Our First Reading beautifully wraps this humanitarian (not migration) crisis.

“Death was not God’s doing,

he takes no pleasure in the extinction of the living…

Yet God did make man imperishable,

he made him in the image of his own nature;

it was the devil’s envy that brought death into the world,

as those who are his partners will discover. (Wisdom 1:13; 2:23-24).”

God is always there for man, seeking his survival and longing for his perpetual happiness. It was the devil’s envy reflected in humankind’s selfish attitudes that brings death and perdition.

Hence, God can never be stupid… it is humankind who is!

- Rex Fortes, CM