On this 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time, the word of God leads us to reflect on life and death, on the passing of time and eternity, on our human condition, but also on our destiny to live a life without end. “Upon each of us, whatever portion of pain we carry within, whatever portion of death is ours, the Lord sends down the blessing of those ancient words: ‘Talitha koum.’ Young life, get up, rise again, take up faith, struggle, discovery, life; return to receiving and giving love” (Ermes Ronchi).
13th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
1st week, leap year.
Texts taken from the missal “Sulla Tua Parola” May-June 2021
FIRST READING
From the Book of Wisdom (Wis 1:13-15; 2:23-24)
God did not make death, nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living. For he created all things that they might exist; the creatures of the world are wholesome, and there is no destructive poison in them, nor does the underworld hold sway on earth. For righteousness is immortal. Yes, God created man for incorruptibility and made him in the image of his own nature. But through the devil’s envy death entered the world, and those who belong to him experience it.
Commentary on the first reading
The readings that the liturgy offers us today are a hymn to life, justice, and drawing near to others through sharing the goods we have received. The first reading, taken from the Book of Wisdom, reminds us of God’s plan for humanity as described in the Book of Genesis (1:27). God is the Lord of life and did not create death, nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living. We should remember this especially when our lives come to a standstill before those “whys” that make faith so complicated. We do not believe in a God of death but of life, who does not surrender before the evil we carry within, but begins again from the goodness our hearts preserve, because “the creatures of the world are wholesome, and there is no destructive poison in them.” Our difficulty is that God’s plan is life, while our experience is death, and not only physical death. Therefore, it is up to us not to betray God’s trust, always recognizing our need for his help and never taking the side of evil, which poisons us and those we meet along the way.
SECOND READING
From the second letter of Saint Paul the apostle to the Corinthians (2 Cor 8:7, 9, 13-15)
Brothers and sisters, as you excel in everything - in faith, discourse, knowledge, complete earnestness, and in the love we have for you - may you excel in this gracious act also. For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. Not that others should have relief while you are burdened, but that there might be equality. At the present time your abundance should supply their needs, so that their abundance may also supply your needs, that there may be equality, as it is written: “Whoever had much did not have more, and whoever had little did not have less.”
Commentary on the second reading
The apostle Paul’s invitation to the community of Corinth is to share their goods with those living in poverty, particularly the Christians of the Church of Jerusalem. To encourage them to perform works of charity, he invites them to take the Lord Jesus as their example: though he was rich, he became poor to enrich us. Saint Paul helps us understand that, just as Jesus gave his entire self to free us from the poverty of sin, we too are called to experience the wealth that springs from love for our brothers and sisters in difficulty. If we truly want to embody the Word, we must not be people of fine words or good intentions alone, but Christians capable of performing concrete acts of charity, just as the flesh of Christ, who died and rose for us, is concrete. We are truly rich, even though we are often in situations of real material poverty, because our wealth that lasts forever is Jesus himself, his grace, and his presence in our lives.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY
From the Gospel according to Mark (Mk 5:21-43)
At that time, Jesus crossed again in the boat to the other side, and a large crowd gathered around him. He was by the sea. One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward. Seeing him, he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying: “My little daughter is dying. Please, come lay your hands on her so that she may get well and live.” He went off with him, and a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years. She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors and had spent all that she had. Yet she was not helped but only grew worse. She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak. She said, “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.” Immediately her flow of blood dried up. She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who has touched my clothes?” But his disciples said to him, “You see how the crowd is pressing upon you, and yet you ask, ‘Who touched me?’” And he looked around to see the woman who had done this. The woman, realizing what had happened to her, approached in fear and trembling. She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.” While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official’s house arrived and said, “Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?” Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official, he caught sight of a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. So he went in and said to them, “Why this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep.” And they ridiculed him. Then he put them all out. He took along the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and entered the room where the child was. He took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise!” The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around. At that they were utterly astounded. He gave strict orders that no one should know this and told them to give her something to eat.
Commentary on the Gospel of the day
Mark presents us with two stories that intertwine, as they do in life: apparently different, yet very similar in meaning. They concern two women, one twelve years old and the other ill for twelve years (the number twelve represents the whole of Israel); both are struck by death, one biological and the other social, both having become impure and untouchable. Both women are called “daughters”; both are healed and saved. “Talitha koum” is not a magic formula but the invitation the Lord continually addresses to us when life brings us down. He takes us by the hand and says: “Rise from your conviction that you are not loved; rise when you feel rejected; rise if pain has brought you to your knees.” In the case of the woman with the hemorrhage, the true miracle Jesus performs does not concern her physical healing, but restoring her dignity and freeing her from the social marginalization to which her illness had condemned her. Where people give up, God continues to hope and to act. In the face of illness and death, when we think there is nothing left to do, Jesus tells us: “Do not be afraid; just have faith.”
