Faith is belief in what we cannot see. As followers of our God-made-man who walked the earth more than 2,000 years ago, faith is at the core of our journey. Today’s Gospel is a celebration of that faith. In it are three stories of what belief in the promises of Christ looked like in His time, and what that belief looks like today.
First, we see Jairus, the synagogue official. His heart is aching because his child is sick. Jairus recognizes Christ, falls to his knees, and pleads for help. Jesus hears him and responds.
Second, in the hustle and bustle of the crowd is a woman suffering and alone. She is an outcast, isolated. She believes she is unworthy of His attention and doesn’t dare speak to Jesus, but she believes with her whole heart that if she can just draw near to Him, just touch His cloak, somehow, He can help her. He calls out to her and heals her.
Third, Jairus’s family is broken and despairing. The child is lost and they think there is nothing anyone can do. Jesus comes to them in their sorrow and offers them hope; they doubt Him, even ridicule Him. Despite that, He steps in and performs a miracle. The child rises and all rejoice. In the holy name of Jesus, death has lost its power.
Although faith is generally defined as belief in the unseen, the virtue of faith, one of our three foundational theological virtues, is even greater. Faith is the virtue “by which we believe in God and believe all that he has said and revealed to us … because he is truth itself.” (CCC 1814)
When we face heartache, sorrow, illness, suffering, and loss, we face it with faith. We, like Jairus, seek out Christ, fall to our knees, and pray for His intercession. And we believe Christ responds immediately. Even when we feel irredeemable like the hemorrhaging woman, we strive to just be near Jesus. Broken, weary, still we reach out saying to ourselves, “if I can just touch his cloak …” and Christ turns to us, knows us, and heals our brokenness.
When our hearts are broken by unimaginable loss, like Jairus’s family, and we ridicule the promises of Christ and can’t imagine how He can help, He comes to us even then. He quiets our fury, calms our anguish, and reminds us that death is not the end. Hard-fought hope returns only in faith.
All that Jesus told us is true: He hears our prayers, He knows us when we seek Him, and He has conquered death. Believe Him. Reach out to Him. Have faith.
La fe es creer en lo invisible. Como seguidores de nuestro Dios hecho hombre, que vivió en la tierra hace más de 2000 años, la fe es la esencia de nuestro caminar. El Evangelio de hoy celebra esa fe. En él, se presentan tres historias sobre cómo era creer en las promesas de Cristo en su tiempo y cómo es hoy.
Primero, vemos a Jairo, el jefe de la sinagoga. Su corazón está afligido porque su hija está enferma. Jairo reconoce a Cristo, cae de rodillas y suplica ayuda. Jesús lo escucha y responde.
Segundo, en el caos de la muchedumbre, hay una mujer que sufre y está sola. Es marginada y aislada. Cree que no merece su atención y no se atreve a hablar con Jesús, pero cree con todo su corazón que si tan solo pudiera acercarse a Él, si tan solo tocara su manto, de alguna manera, Él podría ayudarla. La llama y la sana.
En tercer lugar, la familia de Jairo está destrozada y desesperada. El niño está perdido y creen que nadie puede hacer nada. Jesús se acerca a ellos en su dolor y les ofrece esperanza; dudan de Él, incluso lo ridiculizan. A pesar de ello, Él interviene y obra un milagro. El niño se levanta y todos se alegran. En el santo nombre de Jesús, la muerte ha perdido su poder.
Aunque la fe se define generalmente como la creencia en lo invisible, la virtud de la fe, una de las tres virtudes teológicas fundamentales, es algo aún mayor. “La fe es la virtud teologal por la que creemos en Dios y en todo lo que Él nos ha dicho y revelado…porque Él es la verdad misma” (CIC 1814).
Cuando enfrentamos angustia, tristeza, enfermedad, sufrimiento y pérdida, los enfrentamos con fe. Nosotros, como Jairo, buscamos a Cristo, nos arrodillamos y oramos por su intercesión. Y creemos que Cristo responde de inmediato. Incluso cuando nos sentimos irredimibles como la mujer con hemorragia, nos esforzamos por estar cerca de Jesús. Quebrantados, cansados, aún así extendemos la mano diciéndonos: “Si tan solo pudiera tocar su manto…” y Cristo se vuelve hacia nosotros, nos conoce y sana nuestro quebrantamiento.
Cuando nuestros corazones están destrozados por una pérdida inimaginable, como la familia de Jairo, y ridiculizamos las promesas de Cristo y no podemos imaginar cómo Él puede ayudar, Él viene a nosotros incluso entonces. Calma nuestra furia, calma nuestra angustia y nos recuerda que la muerte no es el final. La esperanza, tan duramente buscada, regresa solo en medio de la fe.
Todo lo que Jesús nos dijo es verdad: Él escucha nuestras oraciones, nos conoce cuando lo buscamos y ha vencido a la muerte. Créele. Acércate a Él. Ten fe.
Pamela Kavanaugh is a grateful wife, mother, and grandmother who has dedicated her professional life to Catholic education. Though she has done her very best to teach her students well in the subjects of language and religion, she knows that she has learned more than she has taught. She lives, teaches, and writes in southwest suburban Chicago.
Feature Image Credit: Marc-Olivier Jodoin, unsplash.com/photos/landscape-photography-of-persons-hand-in-front-of-sun-TStNU7H4UEE
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