Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Perhaps you remember that last Sunday we heard two miracle stories in the gospel reading – the story of the healing of the woman who had been ill for 12 years, and the little girl who was raised to life. Both these stories were inspired by faith – the first miracle, by the faith of the woman who believed that she would be healed simply by touching Jesus’ garments; the second by the faith of Jairus, a synagogue official. Jesus commended both these people for their faith. Especially to the woman, Jesus had said, "Daughter, your faith has saved you" (Mk 5:34). For that matter, all of Chapter 5 of Mark is made up of stories of faith. In Chapter 5, the story before the stories of the woman and Jairus’ daughter is the story of a demoniac who was possessed by Legion (a multitude of evil spirits). In that story, even the Legion acknowledged Jesus’ power and confessed that Jesus was the Son of God. He cried out “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?” (Mk 5:7).
But Mark was not done yet. In Chapter 6, Mark continues with his lesson on faith. This time, though, he adopts the via negativa – or he gives us examples of non-faith. Thus, in today’s gospel reading Jesus encounters the lack of faith in his hometown.
Unfortunately, Mark gives no explanation of what he means by “faith” or the lack of faith. It is left to the readers to develop their own definition of faith from the stories. Today, I would like to reflect with you on faith.
May I offer three insights on faith.
Confidently Approaching God
The first noticeable thing in Mark’s faith stories is that all three characters – the demoniac possessed with Legion, the synagogue official, and the woman ill for twelve years took the initiative and approached Jesus. The demoniac possessed by the Legion acknowledged Jesus, the synagogue official earnestly pleaded him to lay his hand on his daughter (Mk 5:23), and the ill woman said, “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured" (Mk 5:28). Contrast this with the sentiments in today’s first reading. Ezekiel is warned that the people God was sending him out to were “hard of face and obstinate of heart” (Ez 2:4). They lacked the faith of the characters in Mark’s stories. The rejection that Ezekiel was warned about is the kind of faithlessness that Jesus encountered in his hometown. Marks tells us that Jesus was amazed at their lack of faith (Mk 6:6). Even more, “Jesus “was not able to perform any mighty deed there,” because of their lack of faith” (Mk 6:5). Through these stories, Mark was contrasting people with faith with the faithlessness of those who either could not bring themselves to believe in Jesus or outright rejected Jesus.
Today, you are I are in Church. I hope you realize the significance of this gesture. Whether it is with the faith of the woman ill for twelve years, or Jairus, or the demoniac, we are here. We have dared to approach God. Often people are too hard on themselves because they feel that unless there is a miracle their faith is weak. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
First and foremost, faith is recognizing that God is God, and then, intentionally and confidently approaching God. In the most basic sense, faith is about drawing near. It is not first and foremost about definitions, creeds, doctrines, rites and rituals. Like the woman ill for twelve years, first and foremost faith is simply about reaching out to touch God.
Today, please give yourself a little more credit. Don’t beat yourself up for lack of faith. If you find yourself having the desire or even the thought to approach God, you are already a person of great faith.
Being Vulnerable
The second thing we learn about faith from today’s scripture readings is the ability of the demoniac, the ill woman, and Jairus to abandon their life completely into the hands of God. The synagogue official set aside his status, position, and power and “earnestly begged” Jesus to come and lay his hands on his daughter. The woman ill for twelve years simply threw herself at Jesus feet. When Jesus became aware that power had gone out from him (Mk 5:29) and inquired who had touched him, instinctively she allowed herself to be vulnerable before God. There were no pretentions, no pride, no self-defense, no excuses and no justifications. She merely told Jesus the “whole truth” (Mk 5:33). These people were not “hard of face and obstinate of heart” (Ex 2:4). If you remember, in the story of the raising of the dead girl to life, Jesus put out the people who ridiculed him. Perhaps, Jesus did so because they could not abandon themselves into God’s hands.
If in my first point I said that faith is the ability to approach God, the second step in faith is have the ability to be vulnerable before God. This is the meaning of Paul’s declaration in today’s second reading, “For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor 12:10). Paul experienced a weakness in his life. He does not give us any details, but he calls it a “thorn in the flesh” (2 Cor 12:7). He pleads with the Lord that this weakness might leave him (2 Cor 12:8), but it did not. Finally, he comes to the realization that the Lord was inviting him to be vulnerable. The Lord said to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor 12:9).
Faith is not about being strong. Faith is about being vulnerable. Faith is about laying our life, no matter what it is like, at the feet of the Lord. Faith is about knowing that it is when we are weak that we are strong. Faith is abandonment.
With Awe
The woman, the synagogue official and the demoniac teach us something else about faith. On the one hand, they approached Jesus with confidence and became vulnerable before God, and on the other hand, they had a deep sense of awe as they stood before God.
Let me use the story of the woman with hemorrhage. When she realized what had happened, she approached Jesus with “fear and trembling” (Mt 9:33). This ability to approach God with total confidence and abandonment, and yet to stand before God in “fear and trembling” is what is meant by ‘a sense of awe’. This woman knew the power of God and she knew that she must acknowledge it, respect it, and reverence it. The same is true of the demoniac. He approached Jesus, draw near to God, saying, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High!”
In other words, faith is the ability and the confidence to draw near to God, yet to do so with the spirit of the awe. Another way to describe faith is ‘awe.’
Today as we approach God in this Eucharist, as we become vulnerable and lay our lives before God, let us do so in awe – for faith is to be before God in total awe. Amen.
- Fr. Satish Joseph
Fr. Satish Joseph