HOMILY FOR MONDAY {08/07/2024}, 14TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME B
[Hos 2:14bc-16.19-20; Matt 9:18-26]
The Catechism of the Catholic Church re-echo the definition of faith in Heb 11:1 as the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen. 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.
The ruler of the synagogue supported Jewish orthodoxy, and he could have despised Jesus who befriended sinners. But he bravely approached Jesus as a last resort when all the doctors had failed, and his daughter was dying. Since the Jews believed that one was not actually dead until three days had passed, when word came that the child had died, the ruler showed courage and Faith in staying with Jesus, ignoring the ridicule of fellow-Jews. In the same way, the woman with the bleeding disease was ritually unclean, and she was not supposed to appear in public. She had the courage and Faith to ignore a social and religious taboo in order to approach and touch the garment of Jesus from behind. Both the ruler’s daughter and the sick woman were brought back to life and to the community.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Jesus accepts us as we are. Hence, we need not wait until we have the correct motive and strong Faith to bring our problems before Jesus. Let us bring our bodily and spiritual wounds to Jesus asking for the Lord’s healing touch.
We do our share in Christ’s healing mission by visiting the sick, praying for their healing, and boosting their morale through our loving presence, words of encouragement, and inspiration.
Pax Vobis
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