+ Here is the famous miracle within another miracle story.
“On the way” to perform one miracle, a spontaneous miracle happens. And not only one not planned. It happens because the person who was healed reached out to touch Jesus, not the other way around.
This could be compared to reaching out and taking a cookie from the cookie jar as opposed to your mom giving you a cookie.
+ It must be noted that Mark tells the same story but in much more detail (Mark 5:21-43). But one of the differences in Mathew’s account is that an unnamed “official” (in Mark, his name is Jairus and he is a synagogue official) comes forward and tells Jesus that his daughter has just died (in Mark, she is “at the point of death”).
This is quite a difference from Mark, for although in both stories, when Jesus arrives at the house, she is described as already having died.
Matthew’s story, however, begins with an assertion that Jesus has power to bring life from death.
+ The differences in the second spontaneous healing story are many, but one thing that is clearly the same is that the healing is not directed by or even intended to happen on the part of Jesus. He doesn’t do the healing; the healing is snatched from him — like the cookie from the cookie jar.
Nonetheless, because of his power, the healing happens. This healing story within another healing story is all about power — Jesus’ power.
And it is also about people seeing that power, believing in that power, and approaching Jesus to seek it out as their lives needed it.
Raw faith! “If I can just touch him.” “If I can just touch the ‘tassel’ of his cloak” — just his tassel.
+ In contrast, there were people mourning the dead girl who not only did not believe Jesus’ assessment of the situation (“the girl is not dead but sleeping”) but they ridiculed him.
Not faith, but a lack of faith!
+ Here is the point of this scripture, and really, all scripture. It is meant not just to tell a story of the past, but to encounter our spirit, our soul, our mind, our heart.
Just as Jairus and this unnamed woman had an encounter that they created, they approached Jesus.
Should that not also be what happens in our lives?
We approach Jesus the Christ! We seek out his glorious power. We believe that he can and he has conquered death — both his own and others.
Do we have their raw faith? Do we seek with all of our heart for the power of Jesus to fill us, deep in our spirit?
Like in confirmation, when we receive the gifts of the Spirit, do we ever use them? Do we even know what they are? Do we believe they make any difference if we call upon the Lord and dare to touch the tassel of his cloak?
Father Perry D. Leiker is the 14th pastor of St. Bernard Catholic Church. Reach him at (323) 255-6142. Email Father Perry at perry.leiker@gmail.com. Follow Father Perry on Twitter: @MrDeano76.
