Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 98

While he was still speaking, people from the  synagogue official's house arrived and said, 

"Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?" 

Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official, "Do not be afraid; just have faith."

Today's gospel from Saint Mark tells us about Jesus' attitude and acting principle toward women. Saint Mark has intentionally joined two stories together to make us notice the common thread in both. He uses this literary device, called a "sandwich," several times; always with the intention of our seeing a deeper reality. Today's gospel is not simply about Jesus' ability to heal or his ready kindness; it concerns his and the Church's ministry to women.

The story begins with the approach of Jairus, a synagogue official, who begs Jesus to come and heal his daughter. The Messiah's reputation has proceeded him; he is known both for his authority to heal and his willingness. Although the girl is just a child with little authority or influence in the adult world of politics, finance and religion, the official does not hesitate to ask. His father's heart is breaking as she lies near death. Nor does Jesus hesitate to interrupt his business to minister to the child.

Saint Mark then interrupts that story to tell us of an incident on the way to Jairus' house. A menstruous woman has pushed her way into the mob around Jesus to touch his clothing. It doesn't take much imagination for the germophobic, squeamish American to feel some revulsion about her action. Jewish men of that time felt the same way. But Jesus, feeling her touch, approves and rewards her audacity.

Finally the party arrives at Jairus' house where Jesus takes the girl's hand and calls her back to life.

We should notice the small details in these stories that Mark uses to accentuate their correspondence: the girl is twelve years old, the woman has suffered for twelve years; in Jewish culture, ritual uncleanness springs from the touch of a menstruous woman and of a corpse; the crowd laughs at Jesus for asking "Who touched me?" and the mourners laugh at Jesus for declaring the child is asleep; Jesus speaks of the healing power of faith in both stories; and both healed persons, of course, are female. The child may be old enough to menstruate; the woman is suffering some kind of menstrual affliction. The number twelve suggests a link around menstruation and fertility -- two female concerns men often abhor.

Twenty centuries later, as the world rushes into an unimaginable future, we struggle to articulate the place of women's fecundity​ in the new world order. (Declaring that men should have nothing to say on the topic does little for the conversation and may aggravate the problem.) The western world especially, as the vanguard of the future, wonders how to integrate their essential equality with the different biological roles of men and women. Technology might equalize their muscular and skeletal differences as heavy chores are handed over to robots and machines but that will not resolve the social problems.

Growing up in the fifties and sixties my psychic scars attest to the frustration of women who were trained through twelves years of schooling as equals of men and then relegated to secondary roles in every occupation.

In today's gospel Jesus gives us at least one vital clue as to how we should behave. He attends to the courageous woman who pushed herself into the crowd, and he went directly to the girl's bedside, rather than healing her at a distance as he did on other occasions. He also ignored the disciples who mocked his question, the messengers who told him, "Never mind, she's dead!" and the mourners who sneered at his late arrival. He would personally attend both women despite all opposition!

Jesus demonstrates courage as he heals the women, and he speaks of faith. Faith and courage are essentially the same thing and only faithful courage in the Spirit of Jesus can show us how to navigate the future as it comes at us. Clearly, the day had not come to champion the equal rights of women; nor could he and the nascent church oppose slavery. There is a time for everything and those times would not come for many centuries.

Now that the hour has come, courage and fidelity to the core values of our tradition will teach women and men how to support, protect, enable and honor one another as we usher our children into the future.