Readings: Hosea 2:14bc.15cd-16.19-20; Ps.145, Matt 9:18-26
Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.
COURAGE! YOUR FAITH HAS RESTORED YOU
Sometime in life, it seems as if we are not making progress because we don’t have enough faith to subdue our challenges and out of fear we feel helpless and want to give up. The fact is that, we have faith but we have not been able to actively and radically put it into action like the official whose daughter had died but came to Jesus for help and also the woman with a hemorrhage in our Gospel passage today.
For today, we are presented with the story of the faith of a woman with a hemorrhage set inside the story of a little girl who died and the father in faith came to Jesus for help. However, Mark 5:21-43 and Luke 8:40-56 tell the story in greater detail. In Mark and Luke, the woman with the hemorrhage interrupts Jesus’ journey to the home of a child who might die before he arrives, creating an urgency that is not present in Matthew’s account. In Matthew’s account, the girl is already dead, so there is no need to hurry.
Here, the father confesses a resurrection faith, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” The father believes that even Jesus’ slightest touch will restore life to his daughter likewise the woman with a hemorrhage. The stories of the little girl and the woman have interesting similarities: Both are called “daughter” (9:18,22). Both are restored in the presence of people (the woman and the father) who seek Jesus’ help. The woman has been ill for twelve years, and the little girl was twelve years old. Both the woman and the little girl have been cut off from normal society by their unhealthy physical condition.
But there are also differences between the two stories. The father is a man of high standing in the community, and the woman is unclean an outcast. The man approaches Jesus boldly, and the woman approaches him timidly. The girl was raised based on the father’s radical faith, the woman was restored through her own faith for she was very sure that the very moment she touched the Lord’s cloak all her troubles were ended, for her body was made whole again.
This woman actually represents the sinful humanity in need of God’s mercy, salvation and restoration. Her bleeding signifies the iniquity of all humanity who are defiled by the constant shading of innocent blood through violent, wars and abortions, thereby unworthy of God’s presence. Her reaching out to touch Jesus and her restoration signifies the effort each one of us needs to make to reach out to God in order to be restored and finally the willingness of Jesus to heal all of us just as he had healed the woman from all of her troubles. But this requires that we radically put our faith into action.
This can be linked to what prophet Hosea is saying in our first reading today, as he talks about God’s mercy, love and compassion for each and every one of us. Telling us that God will restore humanity once again and she will embrace God as her husband’, no longer will humanity be wallowing in ignorance worshiping of the Baals of this passing world. Because God will betroth us to Himself in faithfulness for ever, and will betroth us with integrity, justice, tenderness and love, so that we will come to know God and be restored once again.
Dear friends, today we are made to know that, it is not enough to have faith, we must radically put our faith into action no matter the circumstances we find ourselves. For it is through active faith that we can reach out to God in prayers and so obtain what we desired. Therefore, having faith in the Lord is necessary for us to obtain God’s restoration.
LET US PRAY: Lord God, we thank you for the gift of faith, give us the grace and courage to put our gift of faith into positive action that yields positive results. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful week ahead.
