Faith in Jesus and modern medicine can heal us, and be a sign to bring others to Christ, Homily 13th Sunday, Cycle B

In today’s Gospel we find two people suffering from illness who sought the help of Jesus to heal them.   Jairus, the synagogue official, feared his daughter was at the point of death, and pled to Jesus help cure her. The women with the hemorrhage had been suffering from her affliction for 12 years without any relief and she heard of Jesus power to heal.  They both had faith in Jesus to heal.  Our own faith in Jesus can have a powerful effect on others and ourselves if we put our trust in him.

In the Gospel we have the faith of Jairus that led him to ask Jesus to heal his daughter.  This took a lot of courage on the part of Jairus.   He was a leader in the synagogue, and many people in the Jewish community were quite at odds with Jesus.  Jairus’ faith in Jesus could threaten his position in the synagogue.  But in desperation, Jairus fell at Jesus feet pleading with him to lay his hands on her to get well and live. This was a heartful intercession on behalf of his daughter, because Jairus had faith in Jesus’ power to heal. 

The woman with hemorrhage for twelve years had suffered a long time without any relief.   She had placed all her trust in doctors, had run out of money, and her condition got worse.  The woman endured more than physical ailment, but also spiritual and social suffering as well.  Her condition would make her ritually impure and anyone who encountered her or anything she touched impure as well.   This ritual impurity would prohibit participation in worship and socially interaction with anyone from the community.   After a period, people could return to worship, but the woman could not because of her chronic condition.  Could you imagine not be able to be able come to church or socially be with people for such a long time?   We all kind a went through this for a much shorter period during the pandemic, and it was quite difficult 

            Without any relief from her condition, she had heard about Jesus, and hoped that he could help her.  She had such faith in Jesus that if she could only touch his clothes, she would be healed.  It must have taken a lot of courage for the woman to seek out Jesus.  She

probably had to conceal herself to get through the crowd to approach Jesus.   But she was able to get close enough to Jesus’ clothes and experience immediate healing.    Imagine how this completely change her life, allowing her to return to the community.   Her healing was unique in that it was her faith that drew the power to heal.  Jesus did not know who touched him but recognized the power coming out of him.  Jesus acknowledged her role in the healing telling her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you.”

            Jesus gave Jairus hope in the faith he had, telling him, “Do not be afraid; just have faith”.   The people who were with the girl ridiculed Jesus, thinking she was dead.  But laying his hands on the girl and commanding her, “Little girl, I say to you arise”, she immediately arose and walked around.  And to show she was alive, he ordered that she be given something to eat, showing she had fully recovered. The faith of Jairus in Jesus’ power to heal, brought about this miraculous healing.  He provides us with a model of intercession in prayer to Jesus. 

Both healing stories have several common elements: asking for Jesus’ help and having faith in him.  The most important element of both healings was faith.  When Jesus healed the young girl, he only had people of faith present, her parents, and his disciples.  People of faith help to lift you up.  Prayer and faith in Jesus led to the healing of both women.   I think we can learn from them. 

Our world today has certainly been blessed through the advances of science and medicine to cure illnesses that were totally unheard of in the times of Jesus. The one problem with all these advances is that we can leave God out of the healing process.  We may experience physical or mental healing, but our spiritual healing is ignored.  As humans we are both body and soul, and our souls need healing as well.  Fortunately for us we have the Church and the sacraments to heal our soul in dealing with difficulties.  

When we encounter illness in our life one of the best things we can do is pray to Jesus for the help in our trials.  We can also intercede in prayer for our family and friends, who are struggling with illness to help them heal as well.  Some of them may not have faith in Jesus, but our faith in Jesus can be of tremendous help to them.

We also have healing presence of Jesus through the sacraments, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to perform His work of healing and salvation. This is the purpose of the two sacraments of healing: Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick. The anointing of the sick is not just for people who near death.   This Sacrament can be received by anyone who struggling with physical or mental illness or having surgery as well as their caregivers. When we are faced with these challenges our spirits need healing too. When our spirits are healed, it can help to strengthen our faith.  

I’d be remiss if I did not mention the living presence of Christ available to us daily, in the Eucharist, which can bring us healing as well. It is the source of where sacraments flow from. I think when Jesus told the people to give the little gift something to eat, he was also pointing us to the spiritual nourishment of the Eucharist.  Through the Eucharist we are fed and strengthened through the presence of Christ. If you are suffering from physical or mental illness, or emotional distress an encounter with Jesus, in the healing presence of the Eucharist, may be the best remedy to sooth your soul and help life your spirit, to help you heal.