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Connections&
July 2, 2000
13th Sunday of the Year
One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, fell at Jesus' feet and pleaded, "My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live." Mark 5: 21-43
The joy of single life?
In a recent episode of the
comic strip Shoe, the "Perfessor," a confirmed bachelor, espouses the joys of being single:
"Ah, the advantages of single life," the old bird declares in the first panel. "Total control of the television remote& nag-free over-the-sink dining& no dress code& "
But in the last panel, sitting alone in his big comfortable chair with his remote and bag of potato chips, the Perfessor sighs, "Too bad no one's here to see how happy I am without them."
[Shoe by Jeff MacNelly, March 19, 2000.]
CONNECTION: Life can be so much easier and safer when we have nothing to do with others -- don't get involved, walk away, mind your own business are much safer approaches to life. But in today's Gospel, Jesus does not hesitate to wade into the messiness of life in order to transform such messiness into healing, such death into life. In the two miracles we hear today, Jesus ignores custom and taboo in a way that modern readers may miss: in taking the dead girl by the hand, in allowing the sick woman to touch him, Jesus became ceremoniously unclean and not permitted to enter the synagogue or temple. But to respond compassionately to the plight of these families becomes more important, more sacred, than the "safety" of convention and tradition. May we imitate that same compassion of the healing Christ, risking our own sense of safety and satisfaction in order to bring that love into the lives of others. <
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