13TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR B)

1st Reading         Wisdom 1: 13-15, 2: 23-24

Psalm                     30: 2 & 4. 5-6. 11-12a & 13b (R. 2a)

R:// "I will extol you, Lord, for you have raised me up" 

2nd Reading        2 Corinthians 8: 7. 9. 13-15

Gospel                   Mark 5: 21-43

THE CHOICE FOR GOD

Dear friends, today, the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B), is also the last Sunday and the last day in June 2024. Looking back, we cannot but be grateful to God for his providence and the gift of life, although daily life and experience show us harsh realities. As we talk about life, we necessarily think of its opposite, death, a reality in our world as we reflect on the Word of God. We shall also remember that last Sunday, we talked about how some of life's changing scenes can affect us. Death is one.

The first reading is from Wisdom 1: 13-15, 2: 23-24. We need to understand that we are reading from the Book of Wisdom, one of the 7 books called Deuterocanonical books. To understand the first reading we need to get the purpose of this book. Although classified as an Old Testament book, it is written in Greek. The purpose of the book is to strengthen the faith of Jewish believers in Alexandria who are faced with new and challenging understandings. In fact, there was a kind of a crisis of faith, and some of the Jews had abandoned the faith (Wis. 2: 12). Some other Jews were in danger of following the examples of others. They were also faced with existential questions as with Job: Why should the just suffer and wicked prosper? Why should some realities, like death and sickness, happen to them? The author of the book of Wisdom reflects on these painful realities and mind-blowing questions and gives a very positive answer from his personal faith. He did not create his perspective; he accepted it as the living tradition of Israel. Therefore, we learn from someone faithful to the pure religion of Israel. This is a faithful Jew. 

The author, in the first reading, deals with Death. The language seems to be that the author is reflecting on Genesis. The author says "God did not make death" (v. 13). He identifies that among God's creation, death is not one of them. Where did it come from? Wis. 2: 23-24 says God created us to be imperishable, thus not to die, and in "the image of his nature he made us" (v. 23). Let us understand this. Remember that in Gen. 1: 26-27, God created man in his image after his likeness. He created us like himself, not only physically but endowed us with what will make us be respected and valued, including freedom. He also created us, as the book of Wisdom says, according to his "nature". The word used there is "idiotētos" which is the word for "eternity". God is eternal. He created us to live forever. This emphasises that he never created "death". 

What kind of death is the author referring to? The kind of death is seen in the nature of the one who brought about death. "By the envy of the devil, death entered the world" (Wis. 2: 24a). The first implication is that death is brought about by the devil. The question is: "Who is the devil"? The term "devil" (from the Greek) means "to divide, put evil between two, slander", and translates the Hebrew term "satan" (satana), which designates the adversary, the accuser, the one who seeks to separate man from God. We can only lay claim to the event in the garden of Eden in Genesis 3 to clearly see the work of the "Devil". This one separated man from God. 

The major implication is that the kind of death the author is talking about is a separation from God. God did not create man to be separated from him. The separation occurred because of the envy of the devil, the one who separates two people. How the serpent entered the garden of Eden we are never told. However, we are told of his cunningness and the discourse of twisting the command of God leading Eve to even reanalyse God's command in a negative way and choosing to do otherwise. This is a matter of choice. Separation or death will occur if we decide to do what God's Law does not demand of us. The author then is sure to communicate to the Jews in Alexandria, and to us, that God respects our freedom to choose. Yet, the choice for anything other than God is Death, a separation from God. The destruction or building of man lies in man's own daily choices. Therefore, analyse and reanalyse your choices carefully so that they may align with God's will, if you desire not to be separated from him.

The Gospel passage is such an interesting and beautiful one. Mark 5: 21-43 narrates two different stories. The similarities and interrelations are very interesting. The first story is about Jairus' daughter, and the second is about the woman with Haemorrhages. First, the two stories are about women. Secondly, the number 12 is applied to both — 12 years of age for Jairus' daughter and 12 years of living with the condition for the woman with Haemorrhages. Thirdly, their healing involved a physical touch by and of Jesus. 

Another striking similarity is that both are experiencing issues of death. Jairus' daughter is already dead. The woman with Haemorrhage is on the way to death since "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" (Mk. 5: 26). It is death that is basic here, too. While this kind of death may be different from a separation from God as we looked at in the first reading, the reaction in both instances is what is worth emulating. Jairus, a Jewish Synagogue official, approached Jesus for healing for his daughter, "who was at the point of death" (Mk. 5: 23) . Similarly, the woman who was also at the point of death sought the help of Jesus. 

Additionally, the number 12 is very important because at the age of 12, Jews, especially boys, are deemed mature enough to participate in religious affairs, for which reason we would find Jesus travelling with his parents to the Temple at 12 years (Lk. 3: 41; ). What it means for these two women is that Jairus' daughter who is 12 years and can start participating fully in Temple affairs cannot do so. She is prevented from the source of contact with God. That is her death. For the woman with Haemorrhages, she also cannot go because she had an issue of blood. She needs to purify or clean herself up first. Because she cannot enter the Temple, she is experiencing separation from contact with God. That is also her death. 

The implication is that at various points in our lives, we may face instances of death, yet we need God's help to bring us back to union with him. Some of these deaths and separations may be by our own choices and decisions. Life's changing scenes may want to separate us from God. Yet, we need to hold fast to God and believe that he alone can restore us.

Whenever we do not choose God, we experience death, a separation from him. Yet, God does not desire such separation for us because he did not create it. He wants us to remain connected to him always. He goes out to heal us of our individual situations of death and restores us. 

Pax et Bonum.