Tuesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
I have been thinking lately about what it means to believe in Jesus and to affirm that I am a Christian, so as I reflected on today’s readings I was reminded of the fact that it is not enough to have the kind of faith that simply acknowledges that God is there or that Jesus is Lord. We are also called to act in response to the recognition of these articles of faith; however, it is so easy not to do so. Our failure to act in response to them can demonstrate a lack of belief that it is really worth taking them seriously.
Sometimes our response to Jesus, even as Christians, is to say ‘Is that really possible?’ Jesus promises that we can have new life if we follow him. How often has each of us said to ourselves “that’s nice” but we do not really believe that we can live differently – don’t believe that our lives can be transformed by God. The readings today provide an excellent opportunity to ask ourselves these questions and to discren whether we are allowing ourselves to be transformed by God’s love. How do we respond to Jesus’ invitation to be his disciples? Do we resemble the relatives of Jairus who ridiculed Jesus for saying that Jairus’ daughter was not dead but merely asleep – or do we take the opportunity to allow Jesus to come and wake us from the slumber of complacency that we can sometimes fall into. The girl’s physical resuscitation is a sign of Jesus’ power to heal and to help people overcome the power of sin in their lives. It is significant that Jesus undertakes to help Jairus’ daughter because Jarius himself initiates it. Jesus is responding to a petition from Jairus. This demonstrates that we too must take initiative to ask for help, and that initiative will be answered by Jesus.
The first reading helps point us in a helpful direction and gives inspiration at this point. It uses the wonderful image of running a race as a metaphor for the Christian life. It instructs us to cast off the burdens that weigh us down in order to make it easier for us to ‘run the race’, which is to follow Jesus. The writer of Hebrews refers to the communion of saints who have gone before and who are praying for our success – even cheering us on. This is an inspiring image. The reading also reminds us that Jesus himself can serve as our biggest inspiration. For in Jesus’ struggle to overcome sin he even was willing to die for it.
Today let us allow ourselves to consider that what may be holding us back from ardently following Jesus is an attitude that it doesn’t matter if we take him seriously.
Let us also consider the ways we can allow ourselves to open up to his transforming power in our lives.
Joel Schickel