June 30, 2024 at Saint Peter the Apostle and Saint William Churches in Naples, FL
Wisdom 1 13-15, 2: 23-24 + Psalm 30 + 2 Corinthians 8: 7, 9, 13-15 + Mark 5: 21-43
We began this Mass listening to the book of Wisdom. Just in case you had not settled down enough to focus, let me refresh your memory: “God did not make death. God does not rejoice in the destruction of the living.” God is the author of life. Death, ancient wisdom says, is the work of the devil and people who choose the devil’s way. To me, that is just another way of suggesting that we have more to fear from spiritual death than from biological death.
I’ve run into a lot of people in this life and I’ll bet you have too who are the walking dead. They have no life even though they are breathing, eating, and working. Because, real life is way more than biological life. It is a kind of fullness, a way of being that comes from intimacy with God. In people who are really alive, there is a kind of divine spark. They really know how to live, and I don’t mean “live it up.” We have all found comfort in the face of someone’s death whose life was full, profoundly rich in friendship, in service, love, and compassion.
When we hear the two stories of today’s Gospel, it is tempting to focus on this Synagogue leader who is so different from the other leaders who will have nothing to do with Jesus. Or, to sympathize with that woman who has suffered for so long and spent all that she had. With nothing to lose, she has one last chance. But, there is another option for us to focus on, and that is the crowd that Jesus sends away. Unlike the Jairus or the woman with no name, they are spiritually dead. Their level of faith is insufficient to face the challenge of death. So, they are dismissed. The contrast between Jairus and his wife against the that crowd is important to see. They hold on to the love of God that makes all things possible. That mourning and wailing comes from people who are afraid. They are overcome by the reality of death, and Jesus puts them out. Jesus does not bring the girl back to life. He awakens her. He takes her hand and with tender words draws her into intimacy with God as he calls her “daughter.”
Think about this too. Blood for us in this holy place is very important and very sacred. From that cup of blood, we have real life, not physical life, but spiritual life. A writer I once studied said: “God owns blood.” So, God’s love stopped the flow of blood in that woman and restored the flow of blood in the twelve-year-old girl. We would all do well, to think of this as we approach this altar to receive the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ.
“Do not be afraid. Have faith” Jesus says to all of us who must face physical death. There is something far worse than that. It is living with fear rather than with faith. As the Book of Wisdom says today, “God formed us to be imperishable, in the image of his own nature.”
We come into this church sometimes like sleepwalkers and always as sinners. This place holds the promise of life for all of us. If there is any place where folks are equal, where the poverty that so many face each day is banished, and where power means nothing at all, it is here around this altar where we taste the banquet of heaven. We stand here together as witnesses to the power of faith in Jesus Christ. It might be a good thing to make a little noise about that now and then in contrast to that noisy crowd who ridiculed Jesus. Maybe we could make enough noise with our laughter and our joy to wake up the walking dead and make them wonder how it is we can live so full of love, so full of peace, and so full hope.