Today’s Gospel reading is St. Matthew’s much shorter version of a story we heard just last Sunday, the healing of a woman and the raising of a little girl. In both the woman and in the official who asks Jesus’ help, we see people who are desperate for help. The woman has been struggling for years with a hemorrhage. The official’s little girl is dying.
The woman’s plight is complicated by the laws of ritual purity (cleanness). Her irregular menstrual cycles have created an unbearable situation that has left her isolated from family and neighbors. She is ritually unclean and cannot, therefore, engage in normal human activity. She cannot worship with the community. She cannot engage in any commercial enterprise. She must isolate herself from family and friends. Even the furniture on which she sits or lies is considered unclean. She is totally alone.
In the story of the official’s daughter, a different kind of desperation has gripped the parents of this little girl. St. Mark tells us that the girl is twelve years old. Although St. Matthew leaves out this detail, it is important to understanding the plight of the parents. Childhood diseases claim the lives of more than 60% of the children born in Israel at the time of Jesus. Parents begin to breathe a little easier when a child reaches the age of puberty as it seems that their child has escaped this deadly statistic. At the age of twelve, these parents might even have begun to have planned for the future of this little girl. However, all of that seems to have been in vain as the little girl now lies at the point of death.
First the woman is healed. When her flow of blood is stopped, she is not only restored to health, she is restored to her family. She can once again participate in normal family life. Her faith in Jesus’ power has won her happiness and health.
Then the little girl is restored to her parents. Their fears are set aside and their happy family life is restored.
In both of these situations, the faith that these people placed in Jesus has been rewarded. When we compare these stories to the one we heard yesterday, we begin to see how important faith is in breaking through the fears that have gripped these people.
The writings of St. Paul, all of which were written before the Gospels were composed, constantly emphasize that we are saved by faith and not be anything we do. God’s free gift of grace is what saves us from our sins. The Gospels preach this very same message by telling us these stories. Neither the woman nor the parents of this little girl had earned Jesus’ healing power. It was given to them because they believed. While St. Paul might be the one who first wrote about the saving power of faith, the evangelists certainly illustrated this throughout the Gospels. Jesus says it over and over again in the Gospels. “Your faith has saved you.” (Matthew 9:22b)
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator