June 27, 2021: 13th Sunday B
50 years ago, two boys were born on the same date in a small community hospital in Donaldsonville. Perhaps the two boys were placed in the same nursery room after their birth. Their lives did not cross paths for the next 50 years. One boy grew up to marry and became a father of two daughters. The other boy became a Catholic priest and a spiritual father to many. A couple days ago, the two men’s lives were brought together by a death. The 50 year old father died of cancer, and the 50 year old priest celebrated the funeral mass for him. Neither knew each other, but one man brought them together--Jesus Christ who destroyed death and brought life to light through his death and resurrection. While the sadness of the family members hung in the air at the funeral mass, the message of heaven and of eternal life brought hope amid the tears. The family and friends at the funeral were reminded that God did not make death nor intended death to be the destiny of his sons and daughters. As written in the Book of Wisdom, through the envy of the devil death entered into God’s beloved creation. However, death is not our destiny; God has destined us to be imperishable through His Son.
Jesus demonstrated his power over suffering and death by curing a woman who suffered with hemorrhage for 12 years and raising from the dead a 12 years old girl. Both the woman and the father of the little girl had tried everything to alleviate the suffering. However, all of the human solutions failed, and the only thing left for the woman and the father was to surrender their self-reliance and place their trust in Jesus. “If I touch his clothes, I shall be cured,” the woman said to herself. The father pleaded before Jesus, “My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her so that she may get well and live.” Jesus confronted human hopelessness by urging them to trust in his life-giving love. “Daughter, your faith has made you well”; “Do not fear, only believe.”
Jesus revealed the very heart and desire of His Father through his healing ministry. From Jesus we learn that God hates sin but loves the sinner. God hates sickness but loves those who are sick. God hates death but loves the dying. God knows our fears and sadness. If we approach Jesus with faith, he will give us peace beyond our fear and hope beyond our sorrows. The Lord is trying to help us to grow in love; even in the most turbulent times, He is with us. Do we order our day with sincere desire to encounter Jesus? Are we coming to church out of obligation, or are we consciously making the effort to meet him in the Eucharist? Do we come to Jesus determined to touch him personally, with a lively awareness of the grace and power that can flow forth from him? Jesus seeks a personal encounter with each of us. We should seek it too.
We must also remember that we encounter the living Christ in one another. When the woman suffering from hemorrhage encountered Jesus, he was sensitive and courteous to the frightened woman. He made her feel as if she was the only person in the world. His touch healed her body; his words healed her spirit; his love healed her heart. We also can be like Jesus for others. I marvel at how God planned the encounter between the two boys born 50 years ago on the same date in the same hospital in a small town. The boy who became a priest never imagined that he would be Christ to the man who shared the same nursery room in the hospital. Every encounter with another person is in a sense an encounter with God. We have the choice to become the face of Christ to others, and let others be Christ to us. Let us ask for the grace to not dismiss the persons that God places in our path. Let us ask the Lord that our eyes may be merciful, so that we may never suspect or judge from appearances, but look for what is beautiful in our neighbors’ souls and come to their rescue.
