Have you ever noticed that in the Gospels, death is never, ever present where Jesus is? Martha and Mary were absolutely justified in telling Jesus, "If you had been here, our brother would not have died." Did Jairus, the father who left his daughter's deathbed to find Jesus, know that?
The only thing any of them could do was hold on to faith. ("If you believe, you will see the glory of God," Jesus told Martha, while to the frantic father, he said simply, "Do not be afraid; just have faith.") That faith was demonstrated by the woman who reached out to touch Jesus' robe as he moved through the crowd. As far as God is concerned, even the most tenuous connection to Jesus is enough to draw the power of life from him. His clothes became a sacrament!
"Power went forth from him…"
It still does.
Do we have that faith?
1 comment:
A beautiful thought, Sister Anne. I was moved by David's grief over his son Absalom's death. "Oh that it had been me instead". I felt that. And then I thought of God feeling that and sending Jesus. Such deep feelings from today's readings.
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