Painting by Paolo Veronese, c. 1548.
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus performs two distinct miracles—He heals the sick and raises the dead. And though this is certainly not the first time He does either of these marvels, there is something here that resonates with each one of us.
You see, after the official kneels down, confesses his daughter is dying, and tearfully tells Our Lord, “Lay your hand on her, and she will live,” Christ follows him home, the disciples trailing after them. But then something unexpected happens.
A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind Jesus and touched the tassel on His cloak, desperately thinking, “If only I can touch His cloak, I shall be cured!”
If only I can touch His cloak, I shall be cured.
This woman was, to put it simply, an outcast in Jewish society. Her sickness meant she was “unclean” in the eyes of the law, and she was barred and excluded from participating in the faith. She was essentially shunned by the world. Exiled, if you will, and it was all because of her condition. It is sad to think the Pharisees and other high-ranking Jews considered her to be an anomaly when she had no control over her illness.
But for a split second, she believed.
She felt dirty and unworthy and unwanted, but the fact remains: she believed in the Lord. She believed she could be healed. And she knew, with all her heart, that all that misery, all that pain, all that suffering would disappear the moment she simply touched His cloak.
And Jesus knew that. He knew her. So, He turned around and saw her, saying, “Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you.” And from that moment on, she was cured.
Scripture then goes on to say that when Christ arrives at the official’s house, there is a multitude outside, comprised of mourners and flute players. They immediately mock Him for saying that “the girl is not dead but sleeping,” but He is soon left alone, and only then does He take the child’s hand and raise her from the sleep of death.
In the end, the bleeding woman and the Jewish official’s situations are very, very different, but they did have something in common: they both had great faith in Jesus, and because they believed in Him, faithfully and completely, He healed them both.
What truly matters, then, is our faith, the foundation of all knowledge. How strong is it? Do we truly believe God is our lamppost, our beacon, our hope? Can He really soothe our ailments, both spiritual and physical?
The answer to that is yes.
“The Lord is gracious and merciful,” says today’s responsorial psalm. And it is in His mercy that we understand what He truly wants us to do. If we approach Him, He will answer our call. Though not always in the ways we expect. Life is difficult, and each of us has different crosses to bear. It is in that bearing that God allows us to grow closer to Him.
While it is true we will always have our “hemorrhages,” God will never fail to heal us. So, touch His cloak! If we trust in Christ, we will be raised from the darkness and brought back to life. All we have to do is hold on. He will never disappoint us!