First Reading:
Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24

13 because God did not make death,
and he does not delight in the death of the living.
14 For he created all things that they might exist,
and the generative forces of the world are wholesome,
and there is no destructive poison in them;
and the dominion of Hades is not on earth.
15 For righteousness is immortal.
23 for God created man for incorruption,
and made him in the image of his own eternity,
24 but through the devil's envy death entered the world,
and those who belong to his party experience it.



Responsorial Psalm:
Psalm 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11, 12, 13

R. (2a) I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

I will extol you, O LORD, for you drew me clear
and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
O LORD, you brought me up from the netherworld;
you preserved me from among those going down into the pit.

R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

Sing praise to the LORD, you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger lasts but a moment;
a lifetime, his good will.
At nightfall, weeping enters in,
but with the dawn, rejoicing.

R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me;
O LORD, be my helper.
You changed my mourning into dancing;
O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.

R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.



Second Reading:
2 Corinthians 8:7, 9, 13-15

7 Now as you excel in everything –– in faith, in utterance, in knowledge,
in all earnestness, and in your love for us –– see that you excel i
n this gracious work also.
9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich,
yet for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.
13 I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened,
14 but that as a matter of equality your abundance at the present time should
supply their want, so that their abundance may supply your want,
that there may be equality.
15 As it is written, "He who gathered much had nothing over,
and he who gathered little had no lack."


Gospel:
Mark 5:21-43

21 And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side,
a great crowd gathered about him; and he was beside the sea.
22 Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Ja'irus by name;
and seeing him, he fell at his feet,
23 and besought him, saying, "My little daughter is at the point of death.
Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live."
24 And he went with him.
And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him.
25 And there was a woman who had had a flow of blood for twelve years,
26 and who had suffered much under many physicians,
and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse.
27 She had heard the reports about Jesus, and came up behind him
in the crowd and touched his garment.
28 For she said, "If I touch even his garments, I shall be made well."
29 And immediately the hemorrhage ceased; and she felt in her body
that she was healed of her disease.
30 And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone forth from him,
immediately turned about in the crowd, and said,
"Who touched my garments?"
31 And his disciples said to him, "You see the crowd pressing around you,
and yet you say, `Who touched me?'"
32 And he looked around to see who had done it.
33 But the woman, knowing what had been done to her, came in fear and
trembling and fell down before him, and told him the whole truth.
34 And he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace,
and be healed of your disease."
35 While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler's house some
who said, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?"
36 But ignoring what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue,
"Do not fear, only believe."
37 And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and
John the brother of James.
38 When they came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, he saw a tumult,
and people weeping and wailing loudly.
39 And when he had entered, he said to them, "Why do you make a tumult
and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping."
40 And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside, and took the child's
father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was.
41 Taking her by the hand he said to her, "Tal'itha cu'mi"; which means,
"Little girl, I say to you, arise."
42 And immediately the girl got up and walked (she was twelve years of age),
and they were immediately overcome with amazement.
43 And he strictly charged them that no one should know this,
and told them to give her something to eat.


or

Mark 5:21-24, 35b-43

21 And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side,
a great crowd gathered about him; and he was beside the sea.
22 Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Ja'irus by name;
and seeing him, he fell at his feet,
23 and besought him, saying, "My little daughter is at the point of death.
Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live."
24 And he went with him.
And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him.
35 While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler's house some
who said, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?"
36 But ignoring what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue,
"Do not fear, only believe."
37 And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and
John the brother of James.
38 When they came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue,
he saw a tumult, and people weeping and wailing loudly.
39 And when he had entered, he said to them,
"Why do you make a tumult and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping."
40 And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside, a
nd took the child's father and mother and those who were with him,
and went in where the child was.
41 Taking her by the hand he said to her, "Tal'itha cu'mi"; which means,
"Little girl, I say to you, arise."
42 And immediately the girl got up and walked (she was twelve years of age),
and they were immediately overcome with amazement.
43 And he strictly charged them that no one should know this,
and told them to give her something to eat.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Overview of the Gospel:

Last Sunday if we celebrated the 12th Sunday of Ordinary Time (sometimes it’s supplanted by the Solemnity of the Nativity of John the Baptist), we heard about Jesus calming the sea. Immediately after that miracle, he spends some time on the eastern shore of the sea in the Gentile region of Gerasa, where he heals a demoniac (Mark 5:1-20). This Sunday’s Gospel reading picks up at verse 21, after he returns to the western (Carpernaum) side of the sea. For the sake of brevity, we will primarily be looking at the optional shorter reading, which concerns the synagogue ruler Jairus and his sick daughter.

The synagogue ruler (or archisynagogist) was not a priest or rabbi, but one who’s function was to organize the meetings of the synagogue on Sabbaths and holy days, to lead the prayer and hymns, and to indicated who should explain Sacred Scripture (See Luke 4:16-21).

As soon as Jesus disembarks from the boat, Jairus throws himself at his feet. He begs Jesus to lay his hands on the little girl. This was a common gesture of healers at the time. As it turns out, Jesus did not do so (verse 41).

(The stories of Jairus and the sick woman do have interesting parallels: both involved females; both involve healing as a result of faith; both involve “12 years;” both involve Jesus’ touch.)


Questions:

For all the people pressing for Jesus’ attention, two (Jairus and the sick woman in verses 25-34) get through to him in this passage. Why?

How is Jairus’ situation similar to that of the sick woman? How is it different?

What is Jesus’ reaction to the news that the child is dead? Jairus reaction? Why did Jesus say the child was asleep? Why was it not necessary for Jesus to lay his hands on the child to heal her? As Jairus, what would you say to the crowd outside your house after Jesus left?

Mark tells us that Jairus “fell at Jesus’ feet” and begged him to heal his daughter. When was the last time you “fell at Jesus’ feet” and begged for help?

What does Jesus “ignore” in verse 36? What does he tell Jairus? What might God advise you to ignore in order to exercise faith?