Talitha Cumi!

Gospel Reflection for June 30, 2024 - Mark 5:21-43

And when Jesus had passed again in the ship over the strait, a great multitude assembled together unto him, and he was nigh unto the sea.

And there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue named Jairus: and seeing him, falleth down at his feet.

And he besought him much, saying: My daughter is at the point of death, come, lay thy hand upon her, that she may be safe, and may live.

And he went with him, and a great multitude followed him, and they thronged him.

And a woman who was under an issue of blood twelve years,

And had suffered many things from many physicians; and had spent all that she had, and was nothing the better, but rather worse,

When she had heard of Jesus, came in the crowd behind him, and touched his garment.

For she said: If I shall touch but his garment, I shall be whole.

And forthwith the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the evil.

And immediately Jesus knowing in himself the virtue that had proceeded from him, turning to the multitude, said: Who hath touched my garments?

And his disciples said to him: Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou who hath touched me?

And he looked about to see her who had done this.

But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.

And he said to her: Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole: go in peace, and be thou whole of thy disease.

While he was yet speaking, some come from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying: Thy daughter is dead: why dost thou trouble the master any further?

But Jesus having heard the word that was spoken, saith to the ruler of the synagogue: Fear not, only believe.

And he admitted not any man to follow him, but Peter, and James, and John the brother of James.

And they come to the house of the ruler of the synagogue; and he seeth a tumult, and people weeping and wailing much.

And going in, he saith to them: Why make you this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.

And they laughed him to scorn. But he having put them all out, taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying.

And taking the damsel by the hand, he saith to her: Talitha cumi, which is, being interpreted: Damsel (I say to thee) arise.

And immediately the damsel rose up, and walked: and she was twelve years old: and they were astonished with a great astonishment.

And he charged them strictly that no man should know it: and commanded that something should be given her to eat. (Mark 5:21-43 DRA)

The readings for this Sunday act as an interesting counterpoint to last Sunday's readings. Last week, we learned that God does allow bad things to happen, even to good people, according to His just Providence, and that it is our place to accept His will and seek to remain holy, even if we cannot see or understand the good that God intends to work through our sufferings. In so doing, we participate in the redemptive sufferings of Christ and learn to love others, through self-sacrificing charity, as He did.

Today's readings highlight another side to this issue. Beginning with the passage from Wisdom, one of the most fascinating in all of Scripture, God reminds us that He did not create death, precisely because death is not a “thing” at all - it is a privation of the being which God gives and sustains. For living things, this is the being of unity between body and soul. Although God does allow death, making material beings subject to decay, He cannot properly be said to “make” death.

This applies even more so, and in a special way, to humans. God created us in His image and intended us from our beginning in Eden to share in His spiritual immortality, in both body and soul, to be preserved from the death which naturally afflicted other living creatures. However, due to the influence of Satan and the original sin of Adam and Eve, we forfeited this special, supernatural grace of God, a “bonus” which accorded with but also exceeded our nature as material, composite beings. Without this grace of original justice, we would have died like any other animal; now, historical man has lost this grace by our own sin, through succumbing to the lies of the devil.

So, even though it can be said, as in last week's readings, that God does allow death and the myriad effects of it we experience every day, it is also and more profoundly true that God intended humanity from the beginning to be shielded from death and to live forever, yet, because of our disobedience to God and voluntary enslavement to Satan, we are now afflicted with death. Critics of the Faith tend to deny this explanation as an argument from faith, which does not make it any less true, but it also substantiates natural reason which proves that God allows evil for the sake of free will; this is the basic answer to the problem of evil. Revelation further tells us that only by the grace of Christ can we be saved from death, being resurrected in soul through Baptism and in body through the final resurrection at His Second Coming.

One of the most common questions people ask, whether directly to God in prayer or to Christians in defense of their faith, is “why does God allow so much evil in the world?” Every day, we are haunted by sin, whether death and its previews in bodily afflictions or mental disorders, the evils committed by others (both publicly and personally), and our own sins, as well as the temptations of Satan and the weakness of our flesh in concupiscence. Most of our time is spent struggling against sin – even those who are enslaved to habitual sins will still work to be healthy, to stave off hunger, thirst and fatigue, to protect themselves from harm by others and to repair their broken relationships. Sin is a constant reminder that we, and all of life, are not as they should be, that, as St. Paul wrote,

For the expectation of the creature waiteth for the revelation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him that made it subject, in hope: Because the creature also itself shall be delivered from the servitude of corruption, into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. For we know that every creature groaneth and travaileth in pain, even till now. And not only it, but ourselves also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption of the sons of God, the redemption of our body. (Rom 8:19-23)

All too often, however, especially in the modern world, we are ruled by a sense of entitlement. We believe that sin and death have been forced onto us against our will and that, accordingly, we are justified in our sins, excused from culpability by the difficulties of life. From this, most people today ascribe to universalism, presuming that they are guaranteed of salvation and thus there is no need to “Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Mt 5:48) Nor are we required, as instructed by St. Paul, to “with fear and trembling work out your salvation.” (Phil 2:12) We can just “get by”, be a “nice person” within the limits of modern liberal tolerance, and we will be saved.

Through this prideful self-righteousness, practiced both by Christians and non-Christians today, we forget that each time we sin, we participate in death, we serve Satan and thus contribute to all the ills of the world which we blame for our wrongdoing. By sinning, we reject God and His goodness just as our first parents did, and, like them, we continue to blame the devil or one another for our own actions. In so doing, we cut ourselves off from the only true source of happiness: Jesus Christ. He alone is our salvation and only by imitating Him, by participating in His redemptive suffering, rejecting Satan and all his glamor and serving God and neighbor with all our heart, mind and strength, can we receive eternal life.

The modern world, with its entitlement and universalism, has forgotten not only the fear of God, but also the hope that comes from Him alone; without Him, we are doomed to eternal death, but with Him, we can finally escape, as the woman with the hemorrhage and the daughter of Jairus were given a foretaste in today’s Gospel. Christ's miracles correct and fill in the emptiness of death and its effects - only by obeying His command to arise from our spiritual death can be share in His divine life. Pleasure and power can only distract from death, they cannot ultimately defeat it, and when we stand before the judgement seat of God, only He can be our advocate.

Sts. Peter and Paul, ora pro nobis!