Jan 30, 2023
(Heb.12:1-4; Ps.22:26-28,30-32; Mk.5:21-43)
“Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus,
who inspires and perfects our faith.”
Like the woman in our gospel who saw Him in the crowd and with great confidence made her way toward Him but to reach out and “touch His clothing,” knowing in her heart that by this she “shall get well”; like the official of the synagogue who draws near and falls at His feet begging healing for his daughter, who even after being told, “Your daughter is dead,” does “not grow despondent or abandon the struggle” but takes refuge in the Lord’s encouragement to trust; like all the “cloud of witnesses” that have sought Him, that have believed in Him, that have never taken their eyes off Him or His love – let us be saints who “lay aside every encumbrance of sin which clings to us and persevere in running the race which lies ahead,” and we shall receive our reward even as those who have gone before us have done. By endurance in faith we shall find Jesus.
Sin it is, of course, that is the greatest obstacle to sanctity in the Lord, to achieving our goal of eternal life in heaven; death and disease are merely the fruits of this poisonous tree. And so the “fight against sin” is truly our greatest struggle, for once sin is set aside, peace comes to our souls and we are no longer anxious or fearful, despite any workings of the devil – despite the destruction in his hands. The woman’s “flow of blood” (for as many years as Jairus’ daughter, “a child of twelve,” has been alive) is but symptomatic for us of the greater affliction of transgression against God. And even the young girl’s death is nothing really, for it is so that “she is [only] asleep,” as the Lord says, and not dead at all… and so death and disease mean nothing unless they are accompanied by sin. It is this plague which must be overcome.
And for this healing we come to Him. For this grace we must press upon Him, like the crowds who surround Him this day. And like the raised child’s parents our “astonishment [will be] complete,” for we shall be clean: we shall be alive in the Lord. “To Him alone shall bow down all who sleep in the earth”; by Him alone all shall be raised. So let us keep our eyes and our hearts fixed upon Him, knowing “they who seek the Lord shall praise Him” – in Him our faith is complete. “To Him alone [our] soul shall live”; therefore, let us bleed with Him this day.
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O LORD, let us be freed of all illness;
let us be raised from our graves to walk with you.
YHWH, our faith unites us to you and so we find healing for every disease and every sin, for no evil lives in you. And so, help us to endure all, keeping our eyes ever fixed on your Son and the hope He brings to our souls, and we shall be well in your presence.
O LORD, you raise us from the sleep of death and sin. Your Son who walks in our midst leads us to your glory. And so, let us bow down before Him, humbling ourselves in faith, and our every prayer shall be answered; and we shall be united to you and your glorious majesty.
Why should we be afraid? Why should we fear placing our trust in you? Let no obstacle stand in the way of our coming to you that we might join the band of your holy ones in your eternal kingdom. Though we must shed our blood in the struggle, let us know our salvation is assured.