When You Need Healing From God, Do These. Sunday 13th Week

Sunday Breakfast with the Word 13th Week Ordinary Time of the Year B

 

Wisdom 1:13-15,2:23-24, 2 Corinthians 8:7,9,13-15, Mark 5:21-43.

 

When you walk through the streets, you will come in contact with souls who are passing through different types of suffering. You will encounter people who need encouragement and solace from anyone. Among us and within us are people who have lost hope in life.

 

They need someone who can encourage them again. Some are passing through betrayals, mistakes and failures of the past. There are people who think God can never forgive their past again. Everyday their pasts keep tormenting them.

 

They need people who can console and heal their past. In the hospitals are souls who are undergoing pains, those who have different types of ailments and chronic diseases that seem to have surpassed medical attention. 

 

When we talk about healing, we are not limiting ourselves to the medical and physical aspect of healing but holistic healing. This comprises physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual healing. 

 

Today when we look at the mistakes our pasts, the sins we have committed, we are filled with guilt and it will look as if God can never forgive us again. The question then arises: how can these souls be healed again?

 

What do we do to encounter divine healing, to embrace the peace that comes from a divine encounter? How can we be well again? How can we encounter God’s healing power in the midst of all these? The readings of today seem to give answers to these seeming unlimited questions about life. In the readings of today, we can find what we can do when we truly need healing from God. They are :

 

Understand Who Jesus Is. 

 

I wrote this because many see Jesus as someone who is deaf and heart hardened. To ask for something, you need to know the true nature of the person you want to ask from.

 

When we truly understand who Jesus is and how He operates, we can sacrifice anything and make sincere efforts to seek Him for healing. This is the type of attitude we can observe in Jairus, the woman with the haemorrhage and the centurion. 

 

These people must have heard about Jesus, or have seen where Jesus heals. Otherwise, they may even doubt coming to Him. That full assurance to come to Jesus is a sign that they have heard about Him and become fully assured that He can do what they are asking.

 

This is the reason, it is good to constantly meditate on the word of God. We know God and what He can do through the word.

 

Through this, we can understand His kindness and love for us. 2 Peter 3:9, says that it is not the will of God that His children should perish.

 

The first reading also says that God takes no pleasure in the extinction of the living. In the second reading, Paul reminds us how generous Jesus is. That though He was rich, He became poor for our sake to make us rich. Rich in grace, health and divine blessings.

 

 Therefore in His love, He wants us to be well. We do not go in His presence, thinking He is a wicked God, who does not want the best from His children.

 

When Jairus begged Him to come to heal His daughter, Jesus did not say yes or no. He simply stopped what He was preaching and followed Jairus immediately. That shows someone always willing to save whenever He is called upon. So, before we approach Him, let us know that He is already willing to hear and answer our prayers.

 

Humble Yourself before God.

 

In Luke 18:9-14, Jesus uses the example of the prayer of the tax collector and the Pharisee to give an example of the need to humble ourselves before God. We do not go in God’s presence to show how much wealth we have accrued, how you have fasted and prayed for forty days and forty nights.

 

We do not go in God’s presence to show that we are prayer warriors, we know how to speak in tongues and command heaven to hear our prayers. What God needs from us is humility. When You Need Healing From God, learn to be humble and come to Him. Therefore, we are nothing before Him.

 

We need humility to come to a spiritual director and open ourselves to Him. We need Humility to seek for forgiveness through the sacrament of penance. Therefore, we do not go in God’s presence, telling Him how righteous we are.

 

Secondly, We do not go to God to show how powerful we are or how you have been using your resources to help the church.

 

What we need in the presence of God is nothing but humility. This will help us to open ourselves to Him and come to Him with respect and obedience.

 

Example,  Jairus is one of the rulers of the synagogue.These are laymen who have administrative responsibilities in building and supervising the worship in the synagogue. They assign who to lead. One of them in Luke 13;10-17 warned the people of coming to the synagogue on the sabbath day to be healed when Jesus was preaching. 

 

Remember that at Antioch Paul and Barnabas were invited by the synagogue rulers to participate in the service (Acts 13:15).

 

Despite his position, Jairus jettisoned his dignity and pride and prostrated before Jesus and was even begging for help. His humility is one of the virtues that attracted the attention of Jesus. Let us humble ourselves in God’s presence.

 

Faith is Very Important.

 

Before I talk about faith, let us take a stroll to John 2 at the wedding feast at Cana. At the wedding feast at Cana, the Blessed Virgin Mary teaches us what it means to have faith. Through her, we see faith at its practice.

 

When She approaches Jesus and tells Him there is no wine, Jesus replies that His hour has not yet come. Mary did not talk with Jesus again or argue. She proceeds and tells the servants that whatever He tells them, they should do.

 

Therefore, She made her request known to Jesus, she expected that Jesus would answer her and Jesus did not disappoint. This is faith. Faith is a certainty that God can answer our prayers.

 

This goes with confidence, certainty and expectation (Hebrews 11:1-6). In faith, there is nothing like doubt. For Jairus to come to Jesus, to the extent of prostrating before Him, is a sign that He truly believes with certainty that Jesus is going to heal his daughter. When you need healing from God, do you come in God’s presence to try Him? Or do we come believing certainly that He is going to hear our prayers?

 

2. In the same way the woman who had a haemorrhage which could be a sort of uterine disease-causing bleeding that persisted for twelve years came all the way to look for Jesus.

 

Even Luke wrote that no one could heal her. Mark says that she had suffered much and was treated by doctors but instead of getting better, she was getting worse.

 

So, coming to Jesus is an indication that She has accepted that Jesus has the power to do what others could not do. This is faith. Faith is believing in the power of God to heal even when others have certified that there could be no healing again.

 

3. As Jesus was speaking with the woman suffering from haemorrhage, people arrived from the house of Jairus and told him that His daughter is dead so that he can stop giving Jesus any more trouble. For them, all hope is lost. ’ But Jesus overheard this and said to the official, ‘Do not be afraid; only have faith.’ Therefore there is something behind faith.

 

When you need healing from God, do we believe that He can or that He cannot? Do we say let us try if He can? Some will say, “let us challenge God”. Therefore when you need healing from God, there should be an absolute belief and acceptance that He can do even beyond what we request of Him. 

 

What You Say Matters.

 

There are many today who are undergoing difficulties. Some have been praying that God will listen to their prayer but it looks as if God is keeping silent. Sometimes because of this, they doubt the power of God to heal them again.

 

This is the reason many of us say a lot of negative things when it comes to faith and our worship of God. We have to know today that what we say before we go in God’s presence matters a lot. It shows if we truly believe that He can do what we ask of Him or not.

 

Before the woman of haemorrhage met Jesus today, She first said in her heart that if She could touch only his cloth, she will be healed.

 

In this statement, we see conviction and certainty. When you need healing from God, what you say matters a lot. What you tell yourself is very important. Some may be saying things like “I cannot come out of this sickness”, “this will be too much for me, it is better I lose hope” or things like: “ I have made mistakes in life, there is nothing I can do”, “God has hated me already”

 

When we continue to say negative things about ourselves, the more we go into depression and worry. But when we replace these with faith-filled words like “God is my healer, I believe He will surely heal me”, “He is a merciful God, He has taken care of my past”, “no difficulty can make me surrender my faith”, “Only God is my strength”. The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. Etc.

 

Such faith-filled words can help bring us to life again. When you need healing from God, remember to utter faith-filled words as much as you can. 

 

Pray Hard and Work hard.

 

When you need healing from God, it is a time to pray hard. You will always encounter some seeming difficulties but never allow those difficulties to stop you from the journey. Pray hard despite the challenges we face. Do not allow yourself to be stopped by any stumbling block.

 

The woman suffering from a haemorrhage encountered the crowd on her way to Jesus which would have stopped her. 

 

Jairus also came to Jesus despite the crowd. Both of them may have struggled to get through the crowd to meet Jesus.

 

Therefore,  this teaches that on our way to Jesus we may meet challenges and difficulties that may try to stop us. Also on our way to be successful in life, we must encounter factors that may stop us. Do not be weak when you encounter these rather this is the time to pray hard, work hard and fight through.

 

The problem is that instead of doing this, we become more weak and distressed. When we need healing from God, we need to show that we truly need it. In these two people today, we see people who have already made up their minds to go through anything to get what they want.

 

Be Wary of What People Tell You.

 

In the time of difficulties is the time people will come from far and wide to advise you to do different sorts of things which may be against your faith. Many may come to you and tell you how impossible your situation may be. But in the midst of all this, be peaceful.

 

As Jesus was speaking with the woman suffering from haemorrhage, people arrived from the house of Jairus and told him that His daughter is dead so that he can stop giving Jesus any more trouble. For them, all hope is lost. ’ But Jesus overheard this and said to the official, ‘Do not be afraid; only have faith.’

 

Now He allowed no one to go with him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. For the people, the child is dead, but for Jesus, she is not.

 

Also, For the people, your situation may be impossible to solve but for God, it is not. Only God has the final say in your life.

 

When you need healing from God, what God says is more important than whatever anyone says. This is the time you need inspiration and encouragement and not a time to lose hope.

 

Always be His Presence.

 

One question we would like to ask today is that if Jairus was in his house sleeping away His time, would he encounter such miraculous power from Jesus? Had it been the woman suffering from haemorrhage was at home sleeping, would she encounter divine healing?

When you need healing from God, approach the throne of healing. Seek the face of God. If your past is the problem seek the mercy seat of God at the confessional. Go to confession and pray for God’s mercy. Long to be pure.

When you feel your past is worst, go in God’s presence often, visit the Blessed Sacrament.

We need to long for the presence of God. In the presence of God, there is healing, open doors, grace and forgiveness of sins.

When you need healing from God, always be in His presence, the peace of God will surely descend on you.

Power flows from His presence, By meeting Jesus, the woman of haemorrhage encountered divine healing. Through this encounter, Jesus observed that energy has gone out through Him.

 

Therefore, from His presence flows streams of divine energy, divine power and divine healing.

 

This is why the psalmist says that a day in the Lord’s house is better than a thousand years elsewhere and he would rather be a doorkeeper in the Lord’s house (Psalm 84:10). So. Let us always long for His presence.

 

Conclusion

 

1. When the woman of today touches the cloth of Jesus, She did that so that Jesus can get unnoticed by that. Yet Jesus was aware that power had flowed out from Him. Jesus asks “who touched Him? Therefore Faith carries great power. Like Jesus notices that the women that touched Him, faith attracts divine attention.

 

Today the problem is that we have more churchgoers than true believers.We have those who say prayers but do not truly believe in what they say. Jesus knows the power of faith when He tells the centurion “let what you believe happens to you”. He knows the power of faith when He tells Jairus “do not be afraid, only have faith. There is a secret behind faith. When approaching the throne of God, we must possess this virtue.

 

Secondly, by telling the woman that her faith has saved her, Jesus is trying to teach her the secret of salvation, the secret of healing and the secret of miracle which is faith in the mercy, love and healing power of Jesus Christ. A Christian without faith is a powerless Christian says, St. Clare.

 

2. Today’s gospel is the only time in the gospel Jesus addresses someone as a daughter. This shows Jesus’ admiration and love in His encounter with the woman.

 

Therefore, to gladden the heart of Jesus, we need to have a very strong faith. Secondly, by coming close to God, we develop an intimacy with Him, which is very necessary for our physical, psychological, spiritual and physical healing.

 

When you develop the attitude of being in God’s presence, there will be a time, you will not like to glory in sin again. Gradually your life begins to grow. Then you begin to understand God’s love for us. He longs to heal and to take care of our pasts. 

 

3. To raise the girl from the dead Jesus says “Talitha koum,” which Mark conveniently translates for his Gentile readers: “Little Girl, I say to you, get up!” Mark is the only Evangelist who preserves the original Aramaic here. Aramaic was the language of Palestine in the first century A.D.

 

It was gathered that Jesus spoke Aramaic. Hence by speaking to the dead body, the girl woke up and was even moving around. That means the word of Jesus brings not just life but strength to work and walk around.

 

When you need healing from God, we need His words. Also, allow Jesus to speak over your life, With Jesus, you can always live again.

 

Secondly, read His word often, take time and meditate on it and allow Him to speak to you. His words bring life again to our souls and spirit. It can rejuvenate us to do better. The problem today is that we do not even have time for God and not to talk of reading and meditating His word.

 

3b. The cases that happened today shows that with God all things are possible. The woman suffering from haemorrhage has tried everywhere but could not be cured. But Jesus was the solution.

 

For Jairus’s daughter, the people even laughed at Jesus when He told them that the girl is sleeping, which means for them the girl cannot be healed. But these encounters teach us that when we need healing, Jesus is the secret.

 

With Him every situation bows. When people laugh at you and think your life has ended, God can still decide otherwise. 

 

4. In today’s encounters the number 12 played a very significant role. The woman who had a haemorrhage has suffered for 12 years and the girl that was saved from death was 12 years old. The number 12 represents authority and perfection.

 

Hence, the situation today reveals that Jesus has full authority over every human condition, even the ones beyond our control. Secondly, Only God has the power to perfect our healing from sin, healing from ailments, and psychological healing.

 

The power of sickness and death may be impossible in the sight of man but it is not the same in God’s sight. When we are dead to sin, we need God’s presence again to speak silently to our souls, We need a spiritual director who can talk to our spirit at the confessions, we need God’s word to inspire us again.

 

5. Finally, another lesson we can learn from today’s encounter is to seek Jesus first. Jairus went to Him first. God should not be the last but the first we have to approach when things go wrong.

 

Jesus says in Matthew 6:33 “seek you first the Kingdom of God and other things would be added unto you. Do not rush to seek those who would prophesy this or that for you. Seek the presence of Jesus. Only Jesus has the full authority and perfection.

 

5b. Therefore like Jesus, can we also have time to intervene in the life of others? Jesus moved quickly to save Jairus’ daughter. Do we wait for people to worship us before we can help them? Can touching lives make us happy?

 

The woman suffering from haemorrhage thought that Jesus would be angry but Jesus was even happy despite that the woman did not take permission to touch Him. When people come to us seeking that we extend our consoling and healing touch to them, how do we treat them? To be a true christians is to be like Jesus. 

 

Let our presence also be an instrument of healing to souls languishing in pains, a tool of repentance and healing to sinners seeking a way to come back to God and an instrument of peace to broken homes. This is our identity, this is our call.

 

 

May God heal every infirmity in your life and give you the grace to overcome your challenges. Amen. 

 

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