In today’s Gospel, we hear about a young girl and a woman who both had been deprived of life. The young girl had died, and for twelve years, the hemorrhaging woman suffered from the loss of blood, which notably, is a symbol of life in the Bible.
Despite their growing desperation, both the father of this dead young girl and the suffering woman approached Jesus in faith, believing that simply His touch would be enough to heal them. It is important to note, however, that under the law of Moses, both the bleeding of this suffering woman and the body of this dead girl were considered unclean, and were not to be touched by others. Yet, the suffering woman did not let her uncleanliness keep her from Jesus, knowing that He would not become defiled by touching Him, and that doing so would heal her. After she touched His cloak,
Jesus turned around and saw her, and said, “Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you.” (Mt. 9:22 NABRE)
Further, when Jesus approached the corpse of the young girl,
“…he came and took her by the hand, and the little girl arose.” (Mt. 9:25)
This passage teaches us that Jesus makes all things new and that we must not lose hope in seemingly desperate situations, as God can turn them around. Further, we must never be tempted to think that we are too sinful to approach our Lord, or that we must hide from Him because we are “unclean.” Rather, like the suffering woman, we must always strive to get closer to Jesus and faithfully trust that He will deliver us from our pain and suffering, even if we must wait until the life to come.
Jesus is ready and willing to meet you where you are, to take your hand, and to restore you to life. Don’t hesitate to courageously take His hand and to be made new!
Endnotes
New American Bible, Revised Edition. Washington, DC: World Catholic Press, 2011.
As a Jewish convert to the faith, a key detail to note is that the woman did not touch his cloak, she touched his tassel. This is important for several reasons. The tassels were tzittzit, part of a Jewish prayer shawl and would not have been part of the cloak. "They are widely considered a reminder, not unlike a string around one’s finger, to think of God at all times." (See) https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/tzitzit/. There is an instruction in the Old Testament in Numbers 15:38 to wear these.
For me, the significance to this is that tzittzit are a holy item, almost like a sacramental, and certainly women would not be touching it back then. I think that small detail is important because it shows how desparate she was for healing. The scripture said the woman thought, "if only I could touch his cloak. " She thought she had to go even further. But Jesus felt her touch through that sacramental, the desparation she felt. It shows that just a little bit of faith goes a long way.