Even trivial experiences of exclusion can shatter our sense
of self. So imagine what effects
full-blown ostracism might have on the individual who is systematically
isolated from her community, cut off from love and human affection.
In the Gospel this week, Jesus heals a woman who has bled for twelve years. In the minds of her community, her
condition has left her unclean, and
she has therefore been shunned, excluded from full participation in that
community. Likewise, Jairus’ daughter,
whom Jesus raises from the dead, would have been ritually impure, but that does
not stop Jesus from taking the child by the hand and raising her to
life. In both cases, Jesus restores the
afflicted to relationship, thereby calling all those around him to be generous
in their love and inclusive in their embrace of Other. All
creatures of the world are wholesome, the Book of Wisdom tells us. Jesus’ interventions in the lives of the
woman with a hemorrhage and Jairus’ daughter teach us to value the human contact
that is central to our humanity, and to reach out to others with a strong sense
of justice, working for that which is life-giving, supplying the needs of all, inclusive of the poor, the wounded, the
rejected, for they, too, are the image of
God’s nature, and reflect God’s love for the world.
This reflection is based on notes from Fr. Pat's Thursday night Scripture class.
No comments:
Post a Comment