Daily Reflection – 7/8/19
Sacred Scripture
While Jesus was speaking, an official came forward, knelt down before him, and said, “My daughter has just died. But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live.” Jesus rose and followed him, and so did his disciples. A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the tassel on his cloak. She said to herself, “If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured.” Jesus turned around and saw her, and said, “Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you.” And from that hour the woman was cured. When Jesus arrived at the official’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion, he said, “Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they ridiculed him. When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand, and the little girl arose. And news of this spread throughout all that land. ( Matthew 9:18-26)\
Reflection
Today’s gospel is a beautiful presentation of two miracles, a healing and a revival and restoration of life. These miracles were worked by Jesus as reward for the trusting faith of a synagogue ruler and of a woman with a hemorrhage. Though the ruler trusted Jesus out of desperation and the woman’s faith may have been a bit superstitious, even their defective faith was amply rewarded.
To me, three distinct messages arise from this Gospel:
Christ the Teacher: Faith – belief in Jesus as Savior, trust in his goodness and omnipotence – unleashes the transforming power of God’s grace in our lives. God is not a soft drink dispenser – we don’t pay the price of a few rote prayers and rituals, press a button, and get divine grace in exchange. God is a person; faith is our relationship with that person. We are created to know and love him and to share in his knowledge and love, but to do that we have to trust in him.
Christ As A Friend: St. Matthew shows us a Jesus who is utterly approachable. A sick woman is unafraid to fight through the crowds so she can reach out and touch the tassel on his cloak, and her confidence is rewarded. A synagogue official feels perfectly comfortable inviting Jesus into his house to resolve a tragic family crisis, and Jesus complies, taking the little girl’s hand in his own and restoring her to life. This illustrates the message of the Incarnation. God is close to us; he is with us. He wants us to approach him – he wants us to open our hearts to him. If we are willing to accept the friendship of Christ, we never have to be alone.
Christ In My Life We recover slowly from “the hemorrhages” that disrupt our lives and our peace. Unlike the little girl, we typically are not brought back to life in an instant. Rather, this may take longer than we like. And while we are waiting and hoping to come back to life, we may feel hopeless and alone. Yet, if we trust in Jesus, he will take our hand and we will arise. More likely, the reality is that Jesus already is holding our hand. We simply are unaware of it.
Prayer of The Day
Lord, thank you for all that you have blessed us with and thank you for the gift of our lives. Help us to see every life as a great gift, no matter how young or old. Lord, increase our faith and hope in you, so that we too may have an unshakable faith, one in which no one could bring us down.
Daily Note
Today, will we reach out to touch Jesus’ cloak? Or will someone else intercede for us and beg Jesus to bring us back to life? Or we may intercede for another person and ask Jesus to heal the one who is in pain. Truly, Jesus is with us! Jesus is healing us and bringing us back to life! Do we trust Him?
