Helping that Heals

Homily: Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

27 June 2021

Mark 5:21-43 

Fr. Ricky Cañet Montañez, AA

Throughout the past year, I have witnessed numerous outreach projects spearheaded by parishes, barangays, LGUs, private entities, and individuals. So many people wanted to help soothe the wounds of a world suffering from the scourge of the pandemic. Many were motivated by genuine concern for society while sadly, others used it as an opportunity to further their personal agenda. They prioritise the posting of their photos on social media or highlighting their names on banners and containers of dole outs. 

On this Sunday’s gospel from Mark, we see how Jesus responds to those in need around Him. We find two miracle narratives that highlight Jesus’ extraordinary capacity to empathise with the plight of others. First, Jesus shows compassion to the haemorrhaging woman who received healing by merely touching his clothes. Second, is an account of the raising of Jairus’ daughter who was believed to have died. In both stories we observe consistencies in Jesus’ response — He is sensitive to their suffering, He is gentle in His dealings, He communicates compassion through touch, and He acts with no regard for His personal inconvenience. 

In the first story, Jesus is practically mobbed by people who are pushing against Him, touching Him. But that one touch of His cloak from the sick woman was something He was acutely aware of. He felt her suffering and desperation for healing. He was in a rush to heal Jairus’ daughter but He still stopped to address the woman.  He gently tells her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.”  In the second story, on His way to Jairus’ house Jesus is told that the girl had died and that He should not bother to come. However, He is so sensitive to the pain of Jairus that He takes pity on Him and proceeds to see the little girl.  Despite, the taunting and ridicule from the crowd that had no faith in Him, He took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum”, which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” (Mark 5:41) To everyone’s shock, she wakes up and is healed!  Jesus goes a step further, by asking them to give her something to eat. This, to me, also reflects that He was very aware that the child needed to replenish the strength she had lost because perhaps while sick she had not been eating at all. Nothing escapes the sensitivity of Jesus. He is most sensitive to the needs of people!  

Reaching out to help others was so much a part of who Jesus was that even during his great suffering and darkest hour he still instinctively reached out to others. Even in His own suffering, Jesus was still sensitive to the needs of others around Him. We recall how Jesus healed, comforted, forgave, and instilled hope in others not only during His public ministry but also during His passion. In spite of his own life being on the line on the cross, He still managed to give life to others! This is what the passage from the Book of Wisdom reminds us of God: “He fashioned all things that they might have being.” (Wisdom 1:14)

These days when there is still much difficulty going about in public and because of physical distancing, people think it’s not easy to feel the pulse of a neighbour in need.  It is already a challenge to be fully present with one another even just in our conversations. Nevertheless, I urge you to see with the eyes of your hearts because then you will find the many opportunities to be of service to others. Our cook in London once told me how appreciative she was of Filipino nurses who took care of her during her hip replacement surgery. She related how kind and sympathetic they had been to her by taking time to talk to her and treat her as a “person”. They made her feel as though she was the only patient they had by painstakingly attending to her every need very meticulously. They always spoke kindly to her and most importantly, addressed her by her first name — Brigid. In that experience she came to know first-hand the gentleness and compassion of Jesus through the Filipino nurses.  In my former parish, one of the lectors, a senior citizen was heartbroken that she could not attend mass at church and fulfill her ministry as a lector. However, while stuck in her condo unit, she was able to continue her Cenacle group via zoom and augment the spiritual needs of her friends. She also started cooking meals for the security guards and receptionists who could not go home to their families. Malaking bagay na libre ang pagkain nila kasi kulang ang budget at wala namang malapit na mapagbibilhan ng pagkain. You don’t have to look far to find people who are in need. A small gesture of kindness and compassion goes a long way. 

For Jesus, it was never about Himself… when people needed Him, sila ang bida for Him… He paid them attention. He gave them importance.  He affirmed them and consoled them as if no one else mattered. Minsan tutulong na lang tayo, andami pang satsat. Magsesermon pa o may kasamang guilt trip lalo na sa mga taong paulit-ulit na humihingi ng tulong.  Sino ba ang tunay na kawawa? Ang nagpapakumbabang humihingi ng tulong o ang naglilimos ng tulong?  Pinapamukha lang natin na tayo ang bida na inaagrabyado nila. Mas importante ang schedule natin, ang convenience natin, ang oras natin… All according to our terms. Si Hesus, hindi pabida.  In fact, walang break time, lunch time, siesta para sa kanya basta may nangangailangan sa kanya. Sila lagi ang mauuna. He does not complain that they have delayed His schedule. He does not scold them for being so needy and impatient. 

Jesus’ empathy allows Him to put Himself in their shoes, to understand their despair and their pain. That is enough to make Him drop everything and turn a merciful gaze upon them because His heart was bursting for love of them.  As the saying goes, “the lover only has eyes for the beloved.” This is similar to what St. Augustine prays in The Confessions: “O good and all-powerful God, who cares for each of us as though each were the only one, and for all alike with the same tenderness you show to each.” (The Confessions, Book III. 11, 19)

Let us all be mindful that regardless of who we are, where we are and what situation we are in, we can in our humble ways, reach out and help others. No quarantine can and should stop us from being kind and generous to those who are in need. St. Paul urges the Corinthians to imitate Jesus that “though he was rich, for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9) Through the Spirit we all have been gifted with the grace to be sensitive to the needs of others, to be instruments of God’s healing touch for our sick brothers and sisters. May we always strive to be healers for one another reaching out and making ourselves available for others.